Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Engineer Pauses Fix of 'Sinking' Millennium Tower in San Francisco

September 13, 2021 — Richard Korman - Engineering News-Record
Engineers paused work for at least two weeks on the $100-million foundation upgrade for San Francisco's 645-ft-tall Millennium Tower high-rise residential condominium after measurements showed increased settlement during the installation of pile casings for the new piles. Reprinted courtesy of Richard Korman, Engineering News-Record Mr. Korman may be contacted at kormanr@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Huh? Action on Construction Lien “Relates Back” Despite Notice of Contest of Lien

May 01, 2023 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Not every case law you read makes sense. This sentiment goes to the uncertainty and grey area of certain legal issues. It is, what you call, “the nature of the beast.” You will read cases that make you say “HUH?!?” This is why you want to work with construction counsel to discuss procedures and pros / cons relative to construction liens. An example of a case that makes you say “HUH” can be found in Woolems, Inc. v. Catalina Capstone Creations, Inc., 2023 WL 2777506 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023) dealing with a construction lien foreclosure dispute. Here, a contractor filed a lawsuit against a subcontractor with a summons to show cause why the subcontractor’s construction lien should not be discharged. This is a specific complaint filed under Florida Statute s. 713.21(4). This statute requires the lienor to essentially foreclose on its construction lien within 20 days after it was served with a “show cause” summons. The subcontractor filed its answer and counterclaim but did NOT assert a claim to foreclose its construction lien. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Limitations: There is a Point of No Return

September 06, 2023 — Amy Anderson - ConsensusDocs
After nearly any event that causes inefficiency, delay, or extra cost on a project, there are some things you should always do: review the contract and document the inefficiency, delay, or cost. However, how you document the particular issue likely changes depending on what is in your contract, your position on the project, and the outcome you hope to reach. In reviewing the inefficiency, delay, or cost, one thing to always consider is how long you have to actually recoup damages you may incur if they were caused by another party on the project. In every jurisdiction (state or federal), there is likely to be some outer limit to when you can bring litigation or arbitration against an opposing party to recover damages another party causes to you. This is generally called a statute of limitations or statute of repose, although it goes by other names depending on your state. The length of time will be specific to the locality. For example, in Texas, you have four years to bring a breach of contract claim but only two years to bring a negligence claim. Whether you fall under the two year or four year period may be highly fact intensive, depending on your claims. Do you have a contract directly with the party that is at fault? Is the claim based on your contract or some tort outside of the contract? Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Amy Anderson, Jones Walker LLP (ConsensusDocs)
Ms. Anderson may be contacted at aanderson@joneswalker.com

Ahlers & Cressman Presents a Brief History of Liens

August 20, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Brad Westmoreland on Ahlers & Cressman PLLC’s blog, presented the history of liens in the U.S., going back to 1789. In fact, the lien was created in response to the need of swift and extensive construction in Washington D.C. “Although it had an abundance of land at the time, America was short on labor and capital,” Westmoreland wrote. “Knowing the state of things, builders were hesitant to provide labor and materials without guarantees that owners would be able to pay.” According to the Ahlers & Cressman PLLC blog, Thomas Jefferson solved the issue by urging “the Legislature of Maryland to pass a law giving builders ‘a lien upon newly created values of [their] labors.’ The new law would provide builders with the assurance that contracts would not result in a total loss should the owners fail to pay.” Read the court decision
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Hunton Insurance Partner Syed Ahmad Serves as Chair of the ABA Minority Trial Lawyer Committee’s Programming Subcommittee

January 13, 2020 — Michelle M. Spatz - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
Syed Ahmad, a partner in Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Insurance Coverage practice, has volunteered to serve as Chair of the ABA Minority Trial Lawyer Committee’s Programming Subcommittee. The Minority Trial Lawyer Committee (MTL) serves as a resource for minority litigators, in-house counsel and law students, aiming to foster professional development, legal scholarship, advocacy and community involvement. As Chair of the Programming Subcommittee, Syed, who was named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under Hot List earlier this year, will help advance MTL’s mission of facilitating discussions about diversity and the law and providing career network opportunities for minority trial lawyers. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michelle M. Spatz, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Ms. Spatz may be contacted at mspatz@HuntonAK.com

Housing Markets Continue to Improve

February 11, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The National Association of Home Builders reports that for a sixth consecutive month there has been an increase in the number of housing markets that have shown improvement. The January report saw 242 improving markets, which in February grew to 259. The NAHB notes that there are now improving markets in every state, “suggesting that the housing recovery has substantial momentum.” Not all markets showed continued improvement. Three metropolitan areas were dropped from the list of improving markets, but another twenty were added. The NAHB has been tracking this data since September 2011, when there were only twelve improving markets through the whole country. Read the court decision
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Insurer Not Responsible for Insured's Assignment of Policy Benefits

February 21, 2022 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The Florida Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's granting summary judgment to the insurer after failing to abide by an assignment to which it was not a party. Expert Inspections, LLC v. United Property & Cas. Ins. Co., 2022 Fla. App. LEXIS 88 (Fla. Ct. App. Jan. 5, 2022). The insured's property sustained damage from Hurricane Irma resulting in a covered loss. The insured retained Expert Inspections to perform mold-related services. As payment, the insured assigned her policy benefits pursuant to an assignment of benefits agreement. Under the agreement, the insured agreed to cooperate with the assignee to ensure that payments were made by the insurer upon completion of work. The insured gave authority to the assignee to endorse any checks with her name listed on the check. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Build, Baby, Build. But Not Like This, Britain.

March 04, 2024 — Matthew Brooker - Bloomberg
The UK needs to do a lot more building. A lack of access to physical and digital connections is holding back the economy, the government says. Besides tackling the housing crisis, the country has to construct more roads, railways, wind farms and reservoirs to open up opportunity and drive productivity. The only problem is that Britain is notoriously inept at delivering infrastructure projects on time and within budget. The advantage of doing things badly is that at least you get to learn from your mistakes — in theory. Updates this month have offered some illuminating insights into two of the biggest civil-engineering undertakings in the country: High-Speed Rail 2, better known as HS2, and Hinkley Point C, which will be Britain’s first new nuclear power station since 1995. Here are five lessons that can be drawn from the issues encountered by two projects with a combined bill that’s likely to exceed £100 billion ($127 billion): Don't take budgets too seriously — especially at the start. Fixing an initial budget that was too low may have done much to feed later perceptions that HS2’s costs were spiraling out of control. The original estimate for the expanded train network was set too early and based on “very immature data,” Jon Thompson, appointed executive chair of High Speed 2 Ltd. in February last year, told the House of Commons transport committee. Numbers get more accurate and reliable as work progresses and the quality of information improves. What were viewed as cost blowouts partly reflected this process. The effect was unfortunate, undermining political support for HS2 and providing cover for cutbacks that have reduced the network to a single line between London and Birmingham that fails to fulfill most of its original purpose. To avoid this problem: Stick to a range rather than a single figure, and make sure people understand the uncertainties inherent in early-stage estimates. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Matthew Brooker, Bloomberg

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