Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Candlebrook Adds Dormitories With $230 Million Purchase

November 05, 2014 — John Gittelsohn - Bloomberg
Candlebrook Properties LLC, a closely held company with about 5,000 apartments in the eastern U.S., is diversifying into student housing with the $230 million acquisition of five off-campus properties. Candlebrook joined with Lubert-Adler Partners on the purchase of buildings with about 3,400 beds near colleges in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and Virginia. Formerly known as Vantage Properties LLC, Candlebrook began as an investor in New York City apartments in 2005 and later expanded to New Jersey and the Philadelphia area. “Student housing is a natural extension of our pre-existing business line,” Neil Rubler, president of New York-based Candlebrook, said in a telephone interview. It’s “a business that’s far less crowded than multifamily, which has been our core business.” Capitalization rates on apartments, a measure of profitability, have dropped as investors drive up property prices. Student housing has become an attractive alternative, luring homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) and private-equity firm Colony Capital LLC to an industry already home to real estate investment trusts American Campus Communities Inc. (ACC), Campus Crest Communities Inc. (CCG) and Educational Realty Trust Inc. (EDR) Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of John Gittelsohn, Bloomberg
Mr. Gittelsohn may be contacted at johngitt@bloomberg.net

Privette: The “Affirmative Contribution” Exception, How Far Does It Go?

August 10, 2020 — Courtney Arbucci, Peter A. Dubrawski & Austin F. Smith - Haight Brown & Bonesteel
In Horne v. Ahern Rentals, Inc. (No. B299605, filed 6/10/2020 ord. publ. 6/10/2020), Plaintiffs filed a wrongful death action against Defendant Ahern Rentals, Inc. (“Ahern”) arising out of the fatal incident involving Ruben Dickerson (“decedent”), while employed by independent contractor 24-Hour Tire Service, Inc. Decedent was ultimately crushed on Ahern Rentals, Inc.’s property when a forklift that was improperly placed on uneven ground collapsed as decedent laid under the raised forklift as he performed tire maintenance. Plaintiffs’ suit would normally be barred by the Privette line of decisions which arise out of the foundational principle that an independent contractor’s hirer presumptively delegates to the contractor its tort law duty to provide a safe workplace for the contractor’s employees. (Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689 (Privette).) The Privette rule is subject to a number of exceptions including the “peculiar risk” exception, the “nondelegable duty” exception and the “affirmative contribution” exception. (See Privette, supra.) Here, Plaintiffs’ claimed that their suit against Ahern arose out of the “affirmative contribution” exception to Privette as defined by Hooker v. Department of Transportation (2002) 27 Cal.4th 198, 202 (Hooker). Hooker allows suits otherwise barred by Privette to go forward if the hirer of the independent contractor “exercised control over safety conditions at the worksite in a way that affirmatively contributed to the employee’s injuries.” Reprinted courtesy of Haight Brown & Bonesteel attorneys Courtney Arbucci, Peter A. Dubrawski and Austin F. Smith Ms. Arbucci may be contacted at carbucci@hbblaw.com Mr. Dubrawski may be contacted at pdubrawski@hbblaw.com Mr. Smith may be contacted at asmith@hbblaw.com Read the court decision
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Mediation Scheduled for Singer's Construction Defect Claims

February 11, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
A judge has scheduled mediation and trial over the claims of Rihanna that her Beverley Hills home suffers from construction defects. The singer claims that the previous owners, Adriana and Heather Rudomin, did not disclose construction defects which lead to flooding from water leaks in January 2010. The Rudomins did not appear at the February 7th hearing, and the judge fined them $500. They will be required to explain their absence on March 12. The mediation will begin on May 7. The trial has been scheduled for February 24, 2014, and is expected to last three weeks. Read the court decision
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FAA Plans Final Regulation on Commercial Drone Use by Mid-2016

June 17, 2015 — Rachel Adams-Heard and Alan Levin – Bloomberg
The Federal Aviation Administration intends to issue final regulations for operating small commercial drones by the middle of 2016, a top administrator told a U.S. House committee Wednesday. “The rule will be in place within the year,” FAA Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker said at the House Oversight Committee hearing. He said, “hopefully before June 17, 2016.” While the FAA has previously said it was seeking to complete the rule as swiftly as possible, Whitaker’s comments in answering lawmakers’ questions are the most specific yet about timing. Reprinted courtesy of Rachel Adams-Heard, Bloomberg and Alan Levin, Bloomberg Read the court decision
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Partners Patti Santelle and Gale White honored by as "Top Women in Law" The Legal Intelligencer

September 22, 2016 — White and Williams LLP
Managing Partner Patti Santelle and Partner Gale White were among the 25 women recognized by The Legal Intelligencer as "Top Women In Law" for 2016. The honor shines a light on the outstanding work being done by female attorneys across Pennsylvania who are making strides to push the legal profession forward for women. Honorees were selected by The Legal, with the help of suggestions from the legal community. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of White and Williams LLP

Bidders Shortlisted as Oroville Dam Work Schedule is Set

April 13, 2017 — JT Long - Engineering News-Record
In a race to fix the damaged Oroville Dam’s main spillway by November, the California Dept. of Water Resources, the operator of the country’s tallest dam, is going to bid with a 65%-complete design that breaks recovery efforts into three parts, with an ultimate goal of doubling the main spillway’s release capacity to 270,000 cu ft per second. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of JT Long, ENR
ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com

Back to Basics: What is a Changes Clause?

July 18, 2018 — J. Cole Phillips – Smith Currie
The Changes Clause is one of the most important, perhaps the most important, provision in any construction contract. Project designs are rarely perfect. A Changes Clause provides a mechanism for dealing with such imperfections as well as allowing project owners the flexibility to update a project’s design as the project progresses. A good Changes Clause specifies when an owner can change the original scope of the contract, how the parties should resolve the value of the changed scope and when payment should be made to the contractor or a credit given to the owner. A good Changes Clause will also provide a mechanism for the contractor to notify the owner when it believes a change order is due and specify the time within which such notice must be given. For the contractor, failure to pay attention to the requirements of the Changes Clause can lead to forfeiture of the right to seek an adjustment to the contract value or contract completion date. For an Owner, failure to pay attention to and enforce the requirements of the Changes Clause can result in unnecessary payments to the Contractor. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of J. Cole Phillips, Smith Currie
Mr. Phillips may be contacted at jcphillips@smithcurrie.com

Professional Liability and Attorney-Client Privilege Bulletin: Intra-Law Firm Communications

January 07, 2015 — David W. Evans & Stephen J. Squillario – Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
Attorney-Client Privilege Protects Confidential Communications Between Law Firm Attorney Representing Current Client and Firm’s General Counsel Regarding Disputes with Client Who Later Files Malpractice Suit In a case of first impression in California, Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP v. Superior Court (No. B255182 - filed November 25, 2014), Division Three of the Second District Court of Appeal addressed the question of whether the attorney-client privilege applies to intrafirm communications between law firm attorneys concerning disputes with a current client, when that client later sues the firm for malpractice and seeks to compel production of such communications. The court concluded that when an attorney representing a current client seeks legal advice from the law firm’s designated in-house “general counsel” concerning disputes with the client, the attorney-client privilege applies to their confidential communications. The court held that adoption of the so-called “fiduciary” or “current client” exceptions to the attorney-client privilege is contrary to California law because California courts are precluded from creating implied exceptions to the statutorily created attorney-client privilege. Reprinted courtesy of David W. Evans, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP and Stephen J. Squillario, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP Mr. Evans may be contacted at devans@hbblaw.com; Mr. Squillario may be contacted at ssquillario@hbblaw.com Read the court decision
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FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES