Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Liebherr Claims Crane Not Cause of Brazil Stadium Construction Accident

February 14, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Crane manufacturer Liebherr said in a statement that “its crane was not the cause” of the November 2013 construction incident that killed two workers, according to KHL. Liebherr claimed that “its investigations show that the crane had no technical defects and that the ground was not sufficiently stable for crane travel with a suspended load on the day of the accident.” Liebherr “assumes that all the reports currently being prepared about the accident will not reach any different conclusions,” reported KHL. Read the court decision
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The Four Forces That Will Take on Concrete and Make Construction Smart

September 17, 2018 — Massimiliano Moruzzi - Construction Executive
When it comes to building a bridge, what prevents it from having the most enduring and sustainable life span? What is its worst enemy? The answer is, simply, the bridge itself—its own weight. Built with today’s construction processes, bridges and buildings are so overly massed with energy and material that they’re inherently unsustainable. While concrete is quite literally one of the foundations of modern construction, it’s not the best building material. It’s sensitive to pollution. It cracks, stainsand collapses in reaction to rain and carbon dioxide. It’s a dead weight: Take San Francisco’s sinking, leaning Millennium Tower as an example. Reprinted courtesy of Massimiliano Moruzzi, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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OIRA Best Practices for Administrative Enforcement and Adjudicative Actions

November 23, 2020 — Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel
On March 2, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency revised its “On-Site Civil Inspection Procedures” in accordance with Executive Order 13892 . (The rules are located at 40 CFR Part 31.) These rules set forth the components of an appropriate inspection procedure. Briefly, the rules require that, after the inspector’s credential are made available, the object of the inspection will be discussed (and most inspections will be held during regular working hours), consent to enter must be obtained, there should be an opening and a closing conference with facility representatives, safety protocols must be observed, confidential business information must be protected, and there will be an opportunity for split sampling. Once the report is completed, it will be shared with the facility. A few months later, on August 31, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) circulated a memo to the heads of all federal agencies to implement the principles of fairness in administrative enforcement and adjudication. This directive implements Executive Order 13924, and includes a comprehensive list of “best practices” that should be employed in their administrative enforcement and adjudicative actions. Briefly, these best practices (which are framed in broad terms) are: 1. The government has the burden of proving a violation of the rules or other authorities; Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury
Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com

Traub Lieberman Attorneys Recognized as 2020 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

November 16, 2020 — Traub Lieberman
Traub Lieberman is pleased to announce that Super Lawyers has named nineteen of our attorneys as 2020 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars. Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a multiphase selection process in which nominations and evaluations are combined with independent research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis. The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel. The Super Lawyers designation recognizes the top 5% of attorneys in the U.S. and the Rising Stars designation recognizes the top 2.5% of attorneys in the U.S. under the age of forty, as chosen by their peers and through independent research within their practice area. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Traub Lieberman

The Construction Project is Late—Allocation of Delay

November 17, 2016 — David Adelstein – Florida Construction Legal Updates
The construction project is late. Very late. The owner is upset and notifies the contractor that it is assessing liquidated damages. The contractor, in turn, claims that the project is late because of excusable, compensable delays and, perhaps, excusable, noncompensable delays. This is a common and unfortunate story between an owner and contractor on any late construction project. Now the fun begins regarding the allocation of the delay! Through previous articles, I discussed that in this scenario the burden really falls on the contractor to establish that the liquidated damages were improperly assessed against it and, thus, it is entitled to additional time and/or extended general conditions as a result of excusable delays. Naturally, this requires the contractor to develop a critical path analysis (time impact analysis) allocating the impacts / delays (and the reasons for the impacts/ delays) to the project completion date. The reason the burden really falls on the contractor is because the owner’s burden is relatively easy – the project was not complete on time pursuant to the contract and any approved changed orders. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Katz, Barron, Squitero, Faust, Friedberg, English & Allen, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@katzbarron.com

The Contractor’s Contingency: What Contractors and Construction Managers Need to Know and Be Wary Of

December 04, 2023 — Skyler L. Santomartino - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Contractors and construction managers who enter into cost reimbursable contracts subject to a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) are responsible for all project costs exceeding the GMP. For this reason, it is imperative that contractors negotiate and incorporate into the GMP a financial buffer that accounts for the unanticipated project costs that are not reimbursable as change orders or costs of the work. This is where the contractor’s contingency comes into play.[1] The contractor’s contingency is a vehicle that allows contractors to mitigate some of the risks inherent in GMP contracts. When drafted properly, a contingency clause allows the contractor and only the contractor to access funds set aside by the owner to address unpredictable or unknown project costs. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Skyler L. Santomartino, Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Mr. Santomartino may be contacted at ssantomartino@pecklaw.com

Blackstone Suffers Court Setback in Irish Real Estate Drama

August 20, 2014 — Donal Griffin and Dara Doyle – Bloomberg
At 11:15 a.m. on July 29, Irish property developer Michael O’Flynn realized that Blackstone Group LP (BX) was trying to gain control of his real estate empire, which includes the country’s tallest residential tower. Ten weeks earlier, the private equity firm had bought 1.8 billion euros ($2.4 billion) of loans to O’Flynn’s companies and the developer personally. Coming out of a meeting, he learned Blackstone was demanding the immediate repayment of 16 million euros of personal loans secured on his shareholdings -- even though he wasn’t in default. By the end of the day he had lost control of the business he’d spent more than 30 years building. “I was shocked that they’d made this demand,” O’Flynn, 57, said in an interview. “It took time to understand the gravity of it because I’ve never been served with a demand in my 36 years of business. I was very recently transferred to Blackstone and I was doing my damnedest to work with them.” Mr. Doyle may be contacted at ddoyle1@bloomberg.net; Mr. Griffin may be contacted at dgriffin10@bloomberg.net Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Donal Griffin and Dara Doyle, Bloomberg

Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Rose at Slower Pace in May

July 30, 2014 — Victoria Stilwell – Bloomberg
Residential real-estate prices rose in the 12 months ended May at the slowest pace in more than a year as a lull in the U.S. housing market limits appreciation. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities increased 9.3 percent from May 2013, the smallest year-to-year advance since February 2013, after rising 10.8 percent in the year ended in April, the group said today in New York. The median projection of 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 9.9 percent year-over-year advance. Compared with the prior month, prices dropped for the first time in two years. Higher mortgage rates and strict lending requirements are bridling sales, which will probably prompt sellers to lower their expectations of how much they can get for their properties. Continued job growth and greater balance between supply and demand will be needed to bring some potential homebuyers back into the market. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Victoria Stilwell, Bloomberg
Ms. Stilwell may be contacted at vstilwell1@bloomberg.net

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES