Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Ben L. Aderholt Joins Coats Rose Construction Litigation Group

February 25, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to a press release on PR Newswire, “Ben Aderholt has joined Coats Rose law firm's Houston office as Of Counsel.” Aderholt was a “past President of the Houston Bar Association, past Chair of the Mayor's Council and a Director of the State Bar of Texas.” Furthermore, he “has taught commercial law at the University of Houston” and “continues to be active on the Editorial Board of the Construction Law Journal.” Coats Rose has offices in Houston, Clear Lake, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and New Orleans. Read the court decision
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Zero-Net Energy Homes Costly Everywhere but at the Electric Meter

August 27, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
On one hand, your walls are about nine inches thick. On the other hand, your heating and cooling costs are nonexistent. Greenhill Contracting is building “zero-net energy” homes in New Paltz, New York. The homes are designed to create more power than they consume. In addition to the walls, which WDTN News describes as “castle thick,” the homes include solar panels, triple-glazed windows, and geothermal heating and cooling systems. The cost for a three-bedroom home in this development starts at about $400,000. Meritage Homes is offering net-zero as an option on its homes. Based in Arizona, Meritage builds homes across the country. Another national builder, Shea Homes, calls its net-zero option “SheaXero,” and has built about a thousand in four western states and in Florida. One Arizona homeowner notes that she runs her air conditioner constantly, but “I still have never paid more than $18 and some change.” Sometimes she even gets a credit. Read the court decision
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Four Things Construction Professionals Need to Know About Asbestos

September 23, 2019 — Daniel King - Construction Executive
Although asbestos had its heyday in America half a century ago, asbestos exposure remains a major health risk and financial liability for construction professionals. One study estimates that at least 1.3 million construction industry workers are still at risk for occupational asbestos exposure. Up until the 1980s, U.S. manufacturers mixed asbestos into thousands of construction products. Asbestos is a unique mineral that can be worked into flexible fibers while still retaining its durability and heat resistance. Unfortunately, the fibrous nature of asbestos also makes it highly toxic. This article provides an overview of what construction professionals need to know about asbestos, including:

potential long-term health consequences of asbestos exposure for workers and short-term financial consequences for employers;
Occupational Safety and Health Administration asbestos regulations;
how to identify and safely remove asbestos-containing materials; and
what people should do if they have a history of asbestos exposure.

Reprinted courtesy of Daniel King, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Mr. King may be contacted at dking@asbestos.com

Pulte Home Corp. v. CBR Electric, Inc.

August 24, 2020 — Michael Velladao - Lewis Brisbois
In Pulte Home Corp. v. CBR Electric, Inc., 50 Cal.App.5th 216 (June 10, 2020), the California Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s entry of judgment in favor of six subcontractors with respect to an equitable subrogation lawsuit filed by St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company (“St. Paul”). St. Paul filed the lawsuit after defending Pulte Home Corp. (“Pulte”) against two construction defect lawsuits. The lawsuit contended that St. Paul was entitled to seek recovery of defense costs incurred on behalf of Pulte based on equitable subrogation. St. Paul relied on the indemnity clauses in each of the subcontracts, and argued that the subcontractors had breached their contracts with Pulte. As such, each subcontractor was obligated to pay an equitable share of the defense of the construction defect lawsuits relating to their work on the homes at issue in such lawsuits. The trial court ruled against St. Paul and held that the subcontractors’ failure to pay defense costs did not “cause” the homeowners’ claims, such that there was no causal connection supporting a claim for equitable subrogation. In addition, the trial court found that “equitable subrogation was an all-or-nothing claim, meaning it required a shifting of the entire amount of defense costs to the subcontractors on a joint and several basis and did not allow for an apportionment of costs among the defendant subcontractors.” In reversing the trial court’s decision, the Court of Appeal reasoned that St. Paul stood in the shoes of Pulte and was limited to pursuing recovery from the subcontractors based on the same rights as afforded to Pulte under the subcontracts. The Court of Appeal noted that St. Paul was seeking reimbursement of defense costs from the subcontractors based on the theory that they were contractually liable for paying an equitable share of defense costs. The Court of Appeal also noted that St. Paul’s claim was not premised on the contention that the subcontractors’ failure to pay defense costs caused the homeowners’ claims. Rather, St. Paul’s claim was premised on the subcontractors’ breach of their defense duty owed to Pulte under the indemnity clauses in their subcontracts. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michael Velladao, Lewis Brisbois
Mr. Velladao may be contacted at Michael.Velladao@lewisbrisbois.com

The Moving Finish Line: Statutes of Limitation and Repose Are Not Always What They Seem

June 01, 2020 — Kenneth E. Rubinstein & Nathan Fennessy - Construction Executive
Having an end date for risk is important to construction professionals who need to know when they can close their books and destroy files relating to old projects. While professionals typically look to the statute of limitations and repose, these deadlines can sometimes be harder to determine than one might think. State Laws Prohibiting Alteration of Statutes of Limitation Many contractors seek to control the extent of their risk by negotiating the length of their liability period. In some instances, contractors may seek to shorten the statute of limitations to protect against stale claims. While in other instances, owners periodically negotiate for longer periods to ensure that they will not be time barred from pursuing valid claims. While the majority of states enforce such contractual provision, a number of states hold such clauses unenforceable. In these instances, the state’s original statute of limitations will apply regardless of what the contract says. Reprinted courtesy of Kenneth E. Rubinstein & Nathan Fennessy, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Mr. Rubenstein may be contacted at krubinstein@preti.com Mr. Fennessy may be contacted at nfennessy@Preti.com Read the court decision
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Nonparty Discovery in California Arbitration: How to Get What You Want

January 08, 2019 — Leilani L. Jones - Payne & Fears
Opting for arbitration requires attorneys to balance efficiency and procedural protections. The implications of arbitration are something clients certainly have to carefully consider both when drafting arbitration provisions, and after initiating a demand. While arbitration can in many respects streamline the civil discovery process, one of the largest roadblocks for cases in California arbitrations is “streamlining” discovery from nonparties. This article explores the challenges presented by third party discovery in arbitration, and proposes strategies for obtaining such discovery efficiently and expeditiously. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Leilani L. Jones, Payne & Fears
Ms. Jones may be contacted at llj@paynefears.com

Fast-Moving Isaias Dishes Out Disruption in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast

August 24, 2020 — Jim Parsons - Engineering News-Record
Far from the most powerful storm to strike the Eastern Seaboard, Hurricane Isaias nevertheless proved disruptive enough to rival some infrastructure impacts from Superstorm Sandy in 2012 while also raising concerns about the potential of additional doses of destruction arriving in the coming months. Jim Parsons, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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MBIA Seeks Data in $1 Billion Credit Suisse Mortgage Suit

June 26, 2014 — Chris Dolmetsch and Jody Shenn – Bloomberg
MBIA Inc. (MBI) asked a judge to order Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) to turn over internal records that the bond insurer says bolster its contention the bank lied about how it processed loans packaged into mortgage-backed securities. MBIA said in a court filing today that Credit Suisse has withheld evidence about how the bank’s actual practices diverged from its representations -- including documents identified as exhibits in other lawsuits based on the same allegations. The bond insurer asked Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan to force the bank to search documents and e-mails on its policies and practices including those related to loan underwriting and origination, due diligence and post-acquisition quality-control review. Mr. Dolmetsch may be contacted at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net; Ms. Shenn may be contacted at jshenn@bloomberg.net Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Chris Dolmetsch and Jody Shenn, Bloomberg

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