Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

TRI Pointe Merges with Weyerhaeuser’s Real Estate Company

July 09, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to Big Builder, “TRI Pointe settled--expectedly--on its mammoth $2.8 billion deal to acquire Weyerhaeuser's five home building operations in the Northwest, California/Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and the Mid-Atlantic regions, a talent-rich operator group, 27,000 building lots, and power brand names via a complex Reverse Morris Trust financial transaction.” This now makes TRI Pointe “one of the top 10 largest public homebuilders in the United States by equity market capitalization based on the closing price of TRI Pointe common stock on July 8, 2014,” according to their press statement, as quoted in Big Builder. Read the court decision
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Deadline for Hurricane Ian Disaster Recovery Applications Announced

October 17, 2022 — Lewis Brisbois
Washington, D.C. (October 11, 2022) - On Friday, October 7, 2022, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) announced that applications for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance Grant Program are due by October 29, 2022. FEMA provides disaster recovery assistance to eligible individuals, families, governments, and private non-profit entities. However, the process for recovering costs is complicated, and FEMA has broad discretion to determine whether applicants and their expenses are eligible. All too often, failure to understand FEMA regulations or submit sufficient documentation results in FEMA denying applicants’ claims, leaving individuals, local governments, and non-profits to bear the full cost of recovery. While ensuring successful recovery through the FEMA grant program can be challenging, clients can increase their likelihood of success when preparing the initial application and documentation by enlisting experienced legal counsel who understand the FEMA process and regulations. Read the court decision
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Condominium Association Wins $5 Million Judgment against Developer

July 31, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Belgravia Condominium Association, a group of condo owners in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have secured a $5.05 million judgment against the contractor who converted their 1902 building into condominiums. The suit alleged that the developers and engineers failed to disclose structural problems to the condominium buyers. One issue at hand was the maintenance of the building’s façade which has historic status. Repairs to the façade alone are expected to require $2 million. Ronald Williams, the lawyer for the association, noted that the iron canopy at the entrance had begun to break away and fall even before the condominium association came into being. The decision isn’t yet final, as the developer has an opportunity to appeal. Read the court decision
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Statutory Time Limits for Construction Defects in Massachusetts

November 27, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Construction defect claims are governed by a section of the Massachusetts laws and allow for three years after the work was completed, unless the defect is “inherently unknowable,” according to a post by John Shaffer on the web site of his firm, Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks, a New England law firm that specializes in condominium law. Those “inherently unknowable” defects fall into the six-year statute of repose. If, for example, a roof doesn’t show “significant water leakage” until after the end of the statutory period, “the association is out of luck and the responsible parties are off the hook,” writes Mr. Shaffer. “Even if the association could prove conclusively that the roof was improperly constructed and caused significant damage, the association’s claim will be barred.” One problem condominium associations can face is that defects in the earliest phases of building can sometimes become apparent while the developer still controls the board. “While a developer in control of a board has the same fiduciary obligation as owner-elected trustees to protect the association’s interests, it is probably safe to assume that few developers will be inclined to sue themselves.” Here, Mr. Shaffer notes that owners can join together and either “hasten the transition to owner control of the association” or “convince them to correct the identified deficiencies.” Mr. Shaffer notes that some questions concerning the statute of repose haven’t been answered by the Massachusetts courts. He does assure readers that “developers will no doubt argue that the statute of limitations has expired on defects because the association discovered or ‘should have discovered’ their existence more than three years before the lawsuit was started.” He advises condominium associations to calculate “their filing deadlines as conservatively as possible.” Read the court decision
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The Biggest Change to the Mechanics Lien Law Since 1963

December 08, 2016 — Wally Zimolong – Supplemental Conditions
The New Year will bring with it the biggest change to Pennsylvania’s Mechanics Lien Law since the current law was passed in 1963. These changes will impact owner, contractors, and subcontractors equally. However, the biggest benefits will probably be for real estate developers and other project owners. On December 31, 2016, Pennsylvania will go live with a website known as the State Construction Notices Directory. On that date, owners will have the option of making projects costing $1,500,000 or more “searchable projects.” An owner makes a project a searchable project by filing with the Notices Directory a “Notice of Commencement” before works begins. The Notice of Commencement must include the name, address, and email address of the contractor, full name and location of the searchable project, the county where the project is located, a legal description of the searchable property, and the name address, and email address of the searchable project owner. Importantly, the owner must also post a copy of this Notice of Commencement at the project site. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Wally Zimolong, Zimolong LLC
Mr. Zimolong may be contacted at wally@zimolonglaw.com

Urban Retrofits, Tall Buildings, and Sustainability

January 14, 2025 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
As I took a small break between cases and contract reviews, an article in the November 2, 2009 issue of ENR Magazine caught my eye. The article discusses the efforts of a Chicago architect to create a holistic approach to the renovation and “de-carbonization” of the Chicago Loop area. The plan involves large scale energy retrofits and sustainable reuse of Chicago’s tall buildings. Another interesting aspect of this article points out that tall buildings in general have hit the construction skids in the US and Latin America, this is not the case in Europe and the Middle East. However, those buildings that are going up (and up and up) are trying to go “green.” Several of the worlds tallest buildings, or soon to be so, are seeking LEED gold or platinum certification. These two trends, in my view, are healthy. First of all, much like the goal of Build2Sustain, the Chicago effort is a move toward sustainable reuse and retrofit/renovation. I see this as a great trend and a way to perform the “Three R’s” (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), by reusing existing building materials and footprints without the cost and use of newer materials from tear downs and rebuilds. Read the court decision
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Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

Breaking the Impasse by Understanding Blame

January 13, 2020 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
For this week’s Guest Post Friday (on a Thursday) here at Construction Law Musings, Victoria Pynchon (@vickiepynchon) joins us for the 4th time. Victoria is an attorney-mediator with ADR Services, Inc. in Century City; an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association in Los Angeles, California; and, a negotiation consultant and trainer world-wide. Victoria co-founded She Negotiates Training and Consulting in 2010 and writes for ForbesWoman at its She Negotiates blog. She is the author of one of my favorite books on conflict resolution, A is for A*@!#, the Grownups’ ABC’s of Conflict Resolution reviewed at Musings here. First Let’s Talk About Anger Please raise your hand if your clients — corporate clients — are angry about the burdens of litigation. Irritated with the document “demands” and interrogatories. Frustrated about the e-discovery. Ticked off at the way opposing counsel asks them questions as if they’re lying. Hot under the collar about the mounting attorneys’ fees and the distance between the day suit was filed and the probable day on which a trial might eventually be scheduled. Simmering about the time the litigation consumes, time they’d prefer to be spending doing their actual jobs — planning for and implementing business strategies for a profitable future instead of fighting about the unprofitable past. And we’re not even talking about your clients’ anger at the defendant who has stolen their intellectual property or stopped worked at the construction site or refused to release the remaining funds in the construction loan account. And if you believe that powerful people in highly successful and profitable businesses do not fear that litigation might hurt their careers, think again. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

Legislatures Shouldn’t Try to Do the Courts’ Job

March 01, 2012 — CDJ STAFF

David Thamann, writing in Property Casualty 360, argues that current actions by legislatures on insurance coverage amount to “legislative interference or overreach.” He notes that under current Colorado law, “a court shall presume that the work of a construction professional that results in property damage — including damage to the work itself or other work — is an accident unless the property damage is intended and expected by the insured.” He argues that here legislators are stepping into the role of the courts. “Insureds and insurers are not always going to be pleased with a court ruling, but that is the system we have.”

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FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES