Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Contractor’s Coverage For Additional Insured Established by Unilateral Contract

November 18, 2011 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii

The contractor was covered as an additional insured under the subcontractor’s policy even though the parties had never actually signed an agreement to add the contractor to the policy. Evanston Ins. Co. v. Westchester Surplus Lines Ins. Co., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 20081 (9th Cir. Oct. 3, 2011).

The policies held by Bellevue Master, the general contractor, required it to be an additional insured under any subcontractor’s liability policy. Northwest Tower Crane Services was a subcontractor. Bellevue Master LLC, faxed a message that Northwest could continue to be a subcontractor on the project if it complied with Bellevue Master’s insurance requirements. Northwest contacted its insurance broker and requested an insurance certificate be issued to Bellevue Master so that it would be an additional insured under Northwest’s policy.

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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii. Mr. Eyerly can be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

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Buyer's Demolishing of Insured's Home Not Barred by Faulty Construction Exclusion

June 21, 2017 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Loss of the insured's home caused by a renter who demolished the home was covered under the homeowner's policy. Fisher v. Garrison Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 2017 Idaho LEXIS 143 (Idaho May 26, 2017). The insured, Shammie L. Fisher, entered a Purchase Agreement to sell her home to Ron Reynoso. The purchase of the property was contingent upon Reynoso obtaining financing. Before completing the purchase, he would lease the property. The Agreement stated, "Buyer intends to make certain improvements to the property upon possession, with the intent to sell the property for a profit." Within two months of renting the property to Reynoso, Fisher learned that he had demolished the entire house down to the foundation. He then ceased work and left. Fisher made a claim under her policy, but Garrison Property and Casualty Insurance Company denied coverage based upon the exclusion for faulty, inadequate or defective work. When Fisher sued, the trial court granted summary judgment to Garrison. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Thieves Stole Backhoe for Use in Bank Heist

July 31, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
You can do a lot with a backhoe, but maybe not use it for bank robbery. The New York Daily News wasn’t clear on how many were involved, but described them as “a brazen crew of bandits.” They stole a backhoe from a construction site and used it to pry an ATM from a bank. When they couldn’t get the ATM open, they jumped into a black SUV and left the scene. The bandits were engaging in a sort of ATM spree. They did manage to open two ATMs, each holding more than $7,000 in cash. They were less successful at their use of heavy machinery. In an earlier heist, they used a tow truck to try to remove an ATM, but the chain snapped and the bank’s alarm rang. The Daily News quotes one former tow truck driver who said that it was “stupid to use a tow truck.” In her experience, “those chains snap at any time.” Read the court decision
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OIRA Best Practices for Administrative Enforcement and Adjudicative Actions

November 23, 2020 — Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel
On March 2, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency revised its “On-Site Civil Inspection Procedures” in accordance with Executive Order 13892 . (The rules are located at 40 CFR Part 31.) These rules set forth the components of an appropriate inspection procedure. Briefly, the rules require that, after the inspector’s credential are made available, the object of the inspection will be discussed (and most inspections will be held during regular working hours), consent to enter must be obtained, there should be an opening and a closing conference with facility representatives, safety protocols must be observed, confidential business information must be protected, and there will be an opportunity for split sampling. Once the report is completed, it will be shared with the facility. A few months later, on August 31, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) circulated a memo to the heads of all federal agencies to implement the principles of fairness in administrative enforcement and adjudication. This directive implements Executive Order 13924, and includes a comprehensive list of “best practices” that should be employed in their administrative enforcement and adjudicative actions. Briefly, these best practices (which are framed in broad terms) are: 1. The government has the burden of proving a violation of the rules or other authorities; Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury
Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com

Berkeley Researchers Look to Ancient Rome for Greener Concrete

June 28, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
While modern concrete often crumbles after fifty years, some concrete laid down during the Roman Empire is still strong, even after 2,000 years. Researchers at UC Berkeley have been puzzling over the secrets of Roman concrete, using samples from a breakwater near Naples. The breakwater was built about 37 BC, and the concrete is still strong. Unlike modern concrete, the Romans made theirs with a mixture of lime and volcanic ash. Paulo Monteiro, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Berkeley, noted that one of the drawbacks of Roman cement was that it hardens more slowly than modern concrete. An advantage is that it is more environmentally friendly, and the researchers are trying to determine if volcanic ash cement would be a good substitute. Professor Montiero hopes that fly ash and volcanic ash cements “could replace 40 percent of the world’s demand for Portland cement.” Read the court decision
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A Brief Primer on Perfecting Your Mechanics Lien When the Property Owner Files Bankruptcy

January 22, 2024 — William L. Porter - Porter Law Group
Overview of the Mechanics Lien Law This is a brief description of steps to be taken when the Owner of property on which you have recorded a mechanics lien files bankruptcy. The California mechanics lien is a powerful tool for contractors, subcontractors and materials suppliers to secure payment of unpaid construction debts. A contractor, subcontractor or materials supplier is allowed to record a mechanics lien on real property, based on the value added to the property by the claimant during the construction process. The recorded mechanics lien provides the claimant with legal right to force the sale of the improved real property and thereby obtain the funds necessary to pay the delinquent debt. Under the usual procedure, the first step is the recording of the mechanics lien with County Recorder’s office in the County where the property is located. A lawsuit to foreclose on the lien must then be filed in the County Superior Court of that County, within ninety (90) days after the mechanics lien is recorded. The goal of the lawsuit is to obtain a judgment for foreclosure on the mechanics lien in order to force a sale of the property. The net proceeds of the sale will be used to pay the unpaid construction debt secured by the recorded mechanics lien, assuming sale proceeds exceed the amount of senior liens and encumbrances. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of William L. Porter, Porter Law Group
Mr. Porter may be contacted at bporter@porterlaw.com

No Coverage Under Exclusions For Wind and Water Damage

March 30, 2016 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the granting of summary judgment to the insurer that there was no coverage under the all risk policy for loss caused by wind and water. Porter v. Grand Casino of Miss., Inc., 2016 Miss. LEXIS 3 (Miss. Jan. 7, 2016). Cherri Porter's home was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. The destruction occurred when the barge operated by Grand Casino of Mississippi came loose from its moorings and collided with her home. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Construction Law Job Opps and How to Create Them

October 24, 2021 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
For this weeks Guest Post Friday, Kirsten Grant (@kgrantcareers on Twitter) has graced us with her thoughts on a very timely topic: How to get a job as a construction attorney. Before becoming a career specialist at Kaplan University, one of the largest online universities in the nation, Kirsten Grant had faxed almost 1000 resumes, e-mailed close to 300 resumes, personally mailed 20 resumes with each one featuring “special inserts” to encourage hiring managers to read her resume (50% of those resumes received calls for an interview) and interviewed with 50 companies over the course of 5 months. Based on the feedback hiring managers provided, in addition to 10 years experience in human resources, training, recruiting and staffing she REALLY learned what hiring managers look for in a candidate and today helps over 40,000 adult learners understand how to conduct successful job searches and earn a promotions. As the real estate industry makes torrid adjustments to right itself due to foreclosures, short sales, and falling house prices, court rooms are seeing more construction law cases. As houses and properties fall into states of disrepair and as efforts are taken to repair them a chain of events take place:

Property is purchased
Contractors are hired to make repairs to a property
The selected contractor files permits for the type of work performed
After work has been performed, contactor receives compensation

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Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

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