Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

White and Williams Lawyers Recognized by Best Lawyers

August 26, 2015 — White and Williams LLP
Twelve White and Williams lawyers have been listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2016. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer-review. The methodology is designed to capture the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area. Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. 2016 Best Lawyers Attorney / Practice Area Frank Bruno / Patent Law James Coffey / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Timothy Davis / Real Estate Law Joseph Foster / Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants William Hussey / Tax Law; Trusts and Estates Michael Kraemer / Employment Law - Management; Labor Law; Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment Randy Maniloff / Insurance Law John Orlando / Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants Thomas Rogers / Real Estate Law Joan Rosoff / Real Estate Law Craig Stewart / Insurance Law; Product Liability - Defendants William Taylor / Construction Law Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of
You may contact White and Williams LLP attorneys at www.whiteandwilliams.com

Environmental Justice: A Legislative and Regulatory Update

November 01, 2021 — Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel
Environmental Justice, as an urgent policy priority of the Federal Government, dates back to 1994, and President Clinton’s issuance of Executive Order 12898. This order directed federal agencies to identify and address, as appropriate, “the disproportionately high and adverse human health and environment effects of its many programs, policies, and procedures on minority populations and low-income populations.” Executive Order 12898 supplements Executive Order 12550 (1980), whose primary legal basis was Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in particular, Sections 601 and 602, which prohibit discrimination in programs and activities receiving federal financial aid and assistance. Over the years, the Supreme Court has reviewed the scope and importance of Title VI. For example, in Alexander v. Sandoval, decided in 2001, the Court concluded that while private parties could sue to enforce Section 601 or its implementing regulations, Section 601 only prohibits intentional discrimination; which is very difficult to prove. In addition, the Court ruled in Sandoval, that private parties cannot sue to enforce regulations implementing Section 602. Perhaps as an acknowledgement of these shortcomings, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has for many years operated an administrative system to process environmental justice complaints (see 40 CFR Part 7). The process is complex and the results—usually whether a state agency has failed to uphold Title VI—have generally been unsatisfactory. To be successful, many proponents of environmental justice believe that a statutory foundation must be established, and significant efforts have been made to do so. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury
Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com

School Board Settles Construction Defect Suit

October 22, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The Lafayette Parish School Board has settled a claim that water intrusion was caused by faulty design and construction. The board initially sued the contractor and the design firms, but under Louisiana law, the suit came too late to sue the contractor, so Ratcliff Construction was dropped from the suit. The two design firms, Corne-Lemaire Group, which did the architectural design for the school, and Beaullieu & Associates, which did the engineering, also sought to be removed from the suit due to the statute of limitations, but an appeals court concluded that the law at the time of construction did not allow this. Details of the settlement were not released. Tim Basden, the attorney for the school board acknowledged that “the principal problems were related to construction, but the lawsuit wasn’t filed timely.” According to Basden neither design firm conceded “liability or malpractice of any kind.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Harmon Tower Case Settled Prior to Start of Trial

January 09, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to the Las Vegas Sun, MGM Resorts International settled with “six of seven contractors in a massive civil breach-of-contract lawsuit over a never-opened Las Vegas Strip tower called the Harmon.” Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez announced the settlement agreement just before the trial was to begin. The Las Vegas Sun reported that “just a list of exhibits — not the exhibits themselves — filled 100 banker's boxes.” Michael Infuso, Show Canada Inc.’s attorney, stated that “[b]ecause of the complexity of this case, it was going to be impossible to try it.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

New York Public Library’s “Most Comprehensive Renovation” In Its History

May 13, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Manhattan’s New York Public Library’s renovation plans have been revised after being “the subject of at least three lawsuits and repeated protests by academics, activists, writers and historians,” according to Construction Digital. The previous $300 million plan by Foster & Partners would have required the circulation collections to be relocated during the renovation process. Now, that plan has been abandoned for one that New York Public Library President Anthony Marx calls “the most comprehensive renovation in its history.” “Instead of removing the central stacks and placing the Mid-Manhattan Library in that space, we are proposing to renovate Mid-Manhattan Library at its current site,” Marx told Construction Digital. “This renovation will add much-needed computer labs and an adult education center, and an inspiring, comfortable space for browsing our largest circulating collection.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

California Court of Appeal Finds Alleged Inadequate Defense by Insurer-Appointed Defense Counsel Does Not Trigger a Right to Independent Counsel

January 11, 2022 — Robert Dennison - Traub Lieberman
The California Second District Court of Appeal had occasion to examine an insurer’s duty to provide independent counsel (“Cumis counsel”) to its insured in a declaratory relief action entitled Nede Management, Inc. v. Aspen American Insurance Company. The action arose from a fire on a property covered by an insurance policy issued by Aspen American Ins. Co (“Aspen”). Aspen’s insureds were sued for wrongful death and negligence by tenants and squatters allegedly injured by the fire. Aspen defended three individual members of the family who owned the property and the family business, Nede Management, Inc. (“Nede”), which managed the property. The defense was subject to reservations of rights on the lack of an obligation to pay any judgment in excess of the $1 million policy limits and no coverage for punitive damages. Aspen appointed defense counsel to defend its insureds. The insureds sought independent counsel based on the assertion that defense counsel appointed by the insurer defended the action inadequately, failed to communicate an initial settlement demand within policy limits and failed to fully investigate the case. Aspen did provide Cumis counsel to Nede for a period but terminated the arrangement after revoking its reservation of rights to that entity. The underlying case eventually settled at no cost to the insureds. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Robert Dennison, Traub Lieberman
Mr. Dennison may be contacted at rdennison@tlsslaw.com

Overruling Henkel, California Supreme Court Validates Assignment of Policies

October 02, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
In a major ruling, the California Supreme Court applied a statutory provision to overrule its prior decision in Henkel Corp. v. Hartford Accident & Indemn. Co., 29 Cal. 4th 934 (2003) and ruled that liability policies can be assigned despite non-assignment provisions. See Fluor Corp. v. Superior Court, 2015 Cal. LEXIS 5631 (Cal. Aug. 20, 2015). The Hawaii Supreme Court relied on Henkel when it also found anti-consent provisions valid. See Del Monte Fresh Fresh Produce (Hawaii), Inc. v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 117 Haw. 357, 183 P.3d 734 (2007) [see posts here and here]. For decades, Fluor Corporation performed engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) operations through various corporate entities and subsidiaries. Beginning in 1971, Hartford issued up to 11 CGL policies to Fluor from 1971 to 1986. Each policy contained a consent-to-assignment clause reading: "Assignment of interest under the policy shall not bind the Company until its consent is endorsed hereon." Beginning in the mid-1980s, Fluor Corporation was sued in numerous lawsuits claiming personal injury from asbestos exposure. Fluor Corporation tendered the early lawsuits to Hartford, which accepted the defense. Fluor Corporation subsequently went through a reverse spinoff under which a newly formed subsidiary, Fluor 2, took over the continuation of the company's EPC businesses. The original Fluor transferred all of its EPC-related assets and liabilities to Fluor-2, making Fluor-2 the parent of the EPC subsidiaries. The transaction did not except any insurance rights from the transfer of "any and all" assets. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Proposed Florida Construction Defect Act

January 09, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Michael J. Furbush and Thomas P. Wert of Roetzel & Andress discussed Florida’s House Bill 87, which proposes to “substantially overhaul Florida’s Construction Defect Act, Chapter 558, requiring property owners to provide more detailed notice of the alleged defect and imposing sanctions on property owners who make frivolous claims.” Representative Kathleen Passidomo sponsored the bill, which “requires claimants to provide additional details about the alleged defect in the notice of claim, including the specific location of each alleged defect, and the specific provisions of the building code, plans, or specifications that serve as the basis of the defect claim. The failure to include this information in the notice of claim would be considered prima facie evidence of a defective notice.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES