Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Consolidated Case With Covered and Uncovered Allegations Triggers Duty to Defend

May 20, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The Illinois Court of Appeals held that the insurer had a duty to defend a consolidated case that included one complaint alleging intentional acts and another complaint alleging negligence. Farmers Auto. Ins. Ass'n v. Neumann, 2015 Il. App. 140026 (Ill. Ct. App. March 24, 2015, reh'g denied March 24, 2015). Neumann allegedly hit Bitner with his automobile as Bitner, a police offier, was directing traffic. Bitner sued Neumann, alleging intentional assault and intentional battery. Farmers rejected Neumann's tender because the policy did not cover intentional acts. Farmers filed for a declaratory judgment. In his answer, Neumann included an affidavit stating that he did not intend to strike or cause bodily harm to Bitner. The trial court granted the motion to strike the affidavit. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Trial Court's Award of Contractual Fees to Public Adjuster Overturned

June 03, 2019 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
A judgment awarding the public adjuster his compensation for work performed under contract was remanded for further proceedings by the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals. Joslin v Ota Camp-Makibaka Ass'n, 2019 Haw. App. LEXIS 155 (Haw. Ct. App. April 5, 2019). A fire destroyed the homeowners' residence on September 19, 2013. The property was subject to the bylaws of the Association of Apartment Owners of Ota Camp. The Association had a policy with Alterra Excess & Surplus Insurance Company and submitted a claim for all units damaged in the fire. The Association's adjuster came the following day to inspect the site. Separately, Robert Joslin, public adjuster, entered a contract with the homeowners to adjust their claim in exchange for twelve-percent of any insurance proceeds obtained. Over the next several months Joslin pursued insurance proceeds from Alterra on behalf of the homeowners. On December 18, 2013, Joslin filed a complaint with the Insurance Division arguing that Alterra had failed to timely make payments on the claim. On February 10, 2014, Alterra's third party administrator, Engle Martin & Associates, sent a check to Joslin for $231,940 made out to the Association, the homeowners and Joslin. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Glendale City Council Approves Tohono O’odham Nation Casino

August 13, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
With a 4-3 vote, the Glendale, Arizona city council “approved an agreement with the Tohono O’odham Nation to build a casino adjacent to the city,” according to the Arizona Public Media. The tribe, under the agreement, “will commit more than $25 million over the next 20 years to the city.” The agreement also stipulates that Glendale “will try to convince state and federal officials to end their opposition to the casino plans.” City Councilman Gary Sherwood stated that he “he doesn't believe the tribe has firm plans for construction yet, but he said he wouldn't be surprised if there was gaming on the site by next fall.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

New York Developer gets Reprieve in Leasehold Battle

March 19, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to The Real Deal, a “Manhattan Supreme Court judge granted an injunction in favor of Tribeca Mews developer Thurcon Properties, which is fighting to keep the leasehold on several adjacent parcels in connection with a certificate of occupancy.” In 2013, Thurcon Properties was sued by the condo board, who claimed “the certificate of occupancy was pushed back at the building due to a number of construction defects.” The Real Deal further reported that the condo board “claimed the developers sold about 10 units to an outside buyer, and took some of the proceeds for themselves.” Recently, a judge “ordered Feldman Heritage, owner of the ground lease at 125 Church and several adjacent sites, to appear in court on April 30,” because he wants the lease owner “to show why Thurcon should not be given the chance to cure the alleged lease default.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Lien Claimant’s Right to Execute against Bond Upheld in Court of Appeals

February 10, 2012 — Douglas Reiser, Builders Council Blog

Stonewood v. Infinity Homes is a simple construction dispute over a matter of about $9,000.00. But sometimes these tiny little disputes turn into expensive legal battles over mere procedural quivering. In Stonewood, a small subcontractor won a big victory yesterday when the Divison 1 Court of Appeals upheld its judgment against a lien release bond posted by an owner.

Infinity Homes contracted with Stonewood Design to lay tile in one of its customer’s homes. Stonewood did the work, but Infinity withheld roughly $9,000.00 of the contract sums for what it alleged were trade damages left on the tile. The two parties were unable to come to an agreement over payment and Stonewood proceeded with a lien under RCW 60.04. It then filed an action to enforce the lien against the homeowner, Infinity and its bonding company.

Read the full story…

Reprinted courtesy of Douglas Reiser of Reiser Legal LLC. Mr. Reiser can be contacted at info@reiserlegal.com

Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Wendel Rosen Construction Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers

August 30, 2017 — Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP - California Construction Law Blog
Two members of Wendel Rosen’s Construction Practice Group were recognized recently. Garret Murai was selected for inclusion in the 2017 list of Northern California Super Lawyers and Matthew Graham was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2018 edition. Garret Is co-chair of the firm’s Construction Practice Group and Matt is a 30+ year veteran of construction law. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Insurers' Communications Through Brokers Not Privileged

April 20, 2016 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The court granted the insured's motion to compel documents withheld for privilege by the insurers. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's v. Amtrack, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27041(E.D. N.Y. Feb. 19, 2016). Plaintiffs were insurers who did business in the London Insurance Market and who issued one or more liability policies issued to Amtrak. Amtrak demanded coverage under the policies for alleged environmental contamination and/or asbestos exposure. Coverage was denied and the insurers filed for a declaratory judgment. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Homebuilders See Record Bearish Bets on Shaky Recovery

June 18, 2014 — Callie Bost – Bloomberg
Someone thinks the housing rebound is built on shaky foundations. A record 180,000 puts traded on the SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB) exchange-traded fund on June 11, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The contract with the highest ownership pays off in the event of a 20 percent slump by December in the ETF tracking stocks from DR Horton Inc. to Williams-Sonoma Inc. Prospects for rising interest rates and an uneven recovery in the housing market have hurt returns this year, sending the SPDR Homebuilders ETF down 3.3 percent. While economic data yesterday showed that builders broke ground on 1 million U.S. homes in May, permits, a proxy for future construction, decreased because of fewer applications for condominiums and apartment buildings. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of
Ms. Bost may be contacted at cbost2@bloomberg.net

SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES