SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Foundation Arbitration Doesn’t Preclude Suing Over Cracks

March 28, 2012 — CDJ STAFF

The Louisiana Court of Appeals has reversed the decision of a lower court, allowing a construction defect case to go through. In Greer v. Town Construction Company, the Greers hired Town Construction to build a home in Baton Rouge. The business relationship went sour, with disputes over “costs, change orders, workmanship, and timeliness issues.”



Town Construction filed an arbitration claim for the unpaid contract balance. In the counterclaim, the Greers made claims of mold and mildew problems, and wall cracks that they attributed to a “structural defect in the foundation.” In arbitration, Town Construction was awarded the full contract balance plus extra costs and interest, while the Greers were awarded for their structural claims.



Three years later, the Greers found additional cracks and filed a suit against Town Construction. Town Construction argued that the Greer’s lawsuit should be dismissed, as the claims had already been through the arbitration process. The district court agreed with Town Construction and dismissed the suit.



The appeals court noted that the Greers would have no ground for a suit if the arbitration was a “valid and final judgment,” and went on to note that there was no evidence in the trial record that the arbitration met this qualification. The court noted that although it was clear that both parties had agreed to the decisions of the arbiter, under Louisiana law, arbitration is not final until it has been “rendered by a court with jurisdiction over subject mater and over parties.”



The court remanded the case to the lower court, noting that “the district court is obligated to first determine whether a valid arbitration award is in existence and had been confirmed before considering the merits of the exception. The court noted that their decision “should not be read to express any opinion as to the merits of the claims or as to the propriety of damages sought in the Greer’s lawsuit.”

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Long-Planned Miami Mega Mixed-Use Development Nears Initial Debut

September 25, 2018 — Jim Parsons - Engineering News-Record
Economic crises, lawsuits and other complications have thrown multiple wrenches into plans for downtown Miami’s massive Worldcenter mixed-use project over the past 12 years. But to hear the master development group’s managing principal Nitin Motwani tell it, the timing for the $2-billion “city within a city” to finally come to fruition couldn’t be better. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jim Parsons, ENR
ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com

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Texas Federal Court Upholds Professional Services Exclusion to Preclude Duty to Defend

March 16, 2020 — Jeremy S. Macklin - Traub Lieberman Insurance Law Blog
In Project Surveillance, Inc. v. The Travelers Indemnity Company, No. 4:19-CV-03324, 2020 WL 292247 (S.D. Tex. Jan. 21, 2020), a Texas federal court held that a professional services exclusion in a commercial general liability policy precluded Travelers’ duty to defend its insured. The underlying lawsuit was a wrongful death action brought by the family of a worker killed on a construction site. Project Surveillance was present at the construction site “to provide safety supervision or other services.” The underlying lawsuit alleged that Project Surveillance negligently failed to inspect or adequately inspect the project and failed to warn or adequately warn the decedent of a dangerous condition. The underlying lawsuit also alleged that Project Surveillance was negligent in failing to stop work. At the time of the incident, Project Surveillance had commercial general liability insurance through Travelers and professional liability insurance through RLI. RLI agreed to defend Project Surveillance in the underlying lawsuit. Travelers, however, denied owing a duty to defend or indemnify based on an exclusion for “bodily injury” arising out of the rendering or failure to render any “professional service.” The Traveler policy defined the term “professional services” to mean any service requiring specialized skill or training, including “failure to prepare [. . .] any warning,” “supervision,” “inspection,” “control,” “surveying activity or service,” “job site safety,” “construction administration,” and “monitoring [. . .] necessary to perform and of [those] services.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jeremy S. Macklin, Traub Lieberman
Mr. Macklin may be contacted at jmacklin@tlsslaw.com

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2021 2Q Cost Report: Industry Execs Believe Recovery Is in Full Swing

August 04, 2021 — Jonathan Keller - Engineering News-Record
The first six months of 2021 have seen big materials cost hikes, increasing labor shortages and uncertainty over federal action on a major infrastructure package. Despite the headwinds, ENR’s Construction Industry Confidence Index has surged up 17 points to a rating of 68—the highest single jump between quarters since the index was started in 2009. The previous record was 16 points between Q4 of 2011 and Q1 of 2012. Reprinted courtesy of Jonathan Keller, Engineering News-Record Mr. Keller may be contacted at kellerj@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Litigation Roundup: “You Can’t Make Me Pay!”

August 19, 2024 — Daniel Lund III - Lexology
The foregoing is an accurate statement, generally speaking, for Louisiana public entities. Statutory and constitutional provisions in Louisiana protect public entities from being forced to pay monies – including satisfying court judgments – when the monies have not been specifically allocated for the purpose. Correspondingly, there is ordinarily no means to seize public assets to satisfy judgments. On the other hand, writs of mandamus in Louisiana – actions designed to compel a public official to undertake a ministerial duty over which the public official has no discretion – can be aimed at forcing a public official (on behalf of the public entity) to pay money. In an inverse condemnation case, plaintiffs prevailed on the theory that a Louisiana public entity had “damaged and interfered with their use and enjoyment of their private homes and church” during a New Orleans drainage project. The plaintiffs pursued a writ of mandamus to compel payment their approximately $1.5 million judgment for damages and fees as a “ministerial duty” of the public entity. To be sure, in connection with the judgment, the public entity had not at any time specifically allocated funds for the payment. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Daniel Lund III, Phelps
Mr. Lund may be contacted at daniel.lund@phelps.com

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Dorian’s Wrath: How Event Cancellation Insurance Helps Businesses Recoup Losses from Severe Weather

December 16, 2019 — Sergio F. Oehninger, Andrea DeField & Daniel Hentschel - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
As the 2019 hurricane season peaks, the Bahamas and the Southeast United States have already endured a catastrophic storm. Hurricane Dorian not only tragically caused loss of life and substantial property damage, but it also led to the cancellation or postponement of major events, resulting in considerable economic losses for affected companies. For instance, Hurricane Dorian forced the cancellation of one of the Rolling Stones’ concerts at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, as well as the cancellation of R&B singer Chris Brown’s concert in Fort Lauderdale. Dorian also affected the college football game between Florida State University and Boise State University in Jacksonville. Having sold 45,000 tickets to the game, officials were forced to move the game inland to Tallahassee at great expense and effort. The planners, headliners, teams and fans of these and similar events were not the only ones affected by the cancellations and schedule changes. Hotels, restaurants and businesses relying on tourism also were severely impacted by the schedule changes resulting from Hurricane Dorian over Labor Day weekend. Other programming that may have been affected includes conventions and meetings, fairs and festivals, trade shows and exhibitions, or any other corporate events planned to take place outdoors, requiring travel or with ticket-paying audiences. Reprinted courtesy of Hunton Andrews Kurth attorneys Sergio F. Oehninger, Andrea DeField and Daniel Hentschel Mr. Oehninger may be contacted at soehninger@HuntonAK.com Ms. DeField may be contacted at adefield@HuntonAK.com Mr. Hentschel may be contacted at dhentschel@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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San Francisco Law Firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman Hired New Partner

May 21, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The San Francisco law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has hired Clark Thiel as a new partner. Thiel has “significant experience in construction disputes” and “bolsters Pillsbury’s capabilities in litigation, mediation and domestic and international arbitration,” according to The Lawyer. Furthermore, Thiel is a licensed contractor and registered architect. Formerly, he was a partner at the firm Jones Day. Read the court decision
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Hawaii Federal District Court Remands Coverage Dispute

June 15, 2020 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Accepting the insured's amended complaint, the federal district court of Hawaii remanded the coverage action to state court. Hale v. Lloyd's, London, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9061 (D. Haw. Jan. 17, 2020). Hale purchased a policy for his home in Hilo, Hawaii, from Defendant Pyramid Insurance Centre. The policy was memorialized by a Lloyd's Certificate issued by Defendant Lloyd's. On September 19, 2017, Hale entered Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Included in the bankruptcy proceeding was Hale's home and a secured home mortgage loan now owned by Defendant Specialized Loan Servicing, LLC. The Bankruptcy Court issued a discharge order on January 18, 2018. On May 9, 2018, Hale's home was destroyed, being covered with lava from the Kilauea volcano eruption. Hale filed a claim with Lloyd's based upon the loss of his home. The claim was denied. Subsequently, however, Lloyd's issued a check for the full amount of the policy. Both Hale and Specialized Loan were listed as payees 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

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