Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

EO or Uh-Oh: Biden’s Executive Order Requiring Project Labor Agreements on Federal Construction Projects

March 14, 2022 — Nicole Stone, Jones Walker LLP - ConsensusDocs
On February 4, 2022, President Biden issued Executive Order (“EO”) 14063[1]. The EO requires that a Project Labor Agreement (“PLA”) be in place for any federal “large-scale construction projects” estimated at $35 million or more. To compete for or perform projects subject to the PLA requirement contractors must agree to be subject to the applicable PLA. For federal projects under $35 million or projects receiving federal financial assistance are not required by the EO to have PLA, but federal agencies will have discretion to require PLAs. The EO will not go into effect until after implementing regulations are finalized, probably after the beginning of June 2022. Requiring PLAs on federal construction projects is a substantial shift from even the Obama Administration’s policy in favor of PLAs. Biden’s PLA EO will have an impact on federal contractors and likely industry repercussions beyond federal procurement. Only time and experience will tell whether those impacts will all be positive as the Biden Administration insists or will drive up construction costs and give unions more leverage than they have in the market as the critics insist. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Nicole Stone, Jones Walker LLP (ConsensusDocs)
Ms. Stone may be contacted at nstone@joneswalker.com

Building Growth Raises Safety Concerns

November 20, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
With the resurgence of the construction industry, another trend is going up and it’s not good. The workplace fatality rate for the construction industry has increased for the first time since 2006, according to a new report from Marsh Risk Consulting, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase to 9.5 deaths per 100,000 workers is attributed to “an influx of new, inexperienced workers” and that “some contractors are stretching their hiring standards to meet project demands.” Read the court decision
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Landowners Try to Choke Off Casino's Water With 19th-Century Lawsuit

December 17, 2015 — Edvard Pettersson – Bloomberg
California’s latest water war is being waged at the edge of wine country against an Indian tribe planning a massive casino expansion as a group of landowners tries to stop them with a lawsuit from 1897. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians is spending $170 million to build out its resort, featuring a 12-story tower on a bucolic landscape where only the mountains are higher. The tribe has also snapped up 1,400 more acres to house cramped residents of its reservation. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Edvard Pettersson, Bloomberg

NY Gov. Sets Industry Advisory Council to Fix Public Contracts Process

February 01, 2022 — James Leggate - Engineering News-Record
A New York construction industry advisory group, created under a law Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in December, will study and recommend adjustments to state public contracting to address damages incurred by contractors, subcontractors and others because of payment delays on public projects. Reprinted courtesy of James Leggate, Engineering News-Record Mr. Leggate may be contacted at leggatej@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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National Infrastructure Leaders Visit Dallas' Able Pump Station to Tout Benefits of Water Infrastructure Investment

September 25, 2023 — American Society of Civil Engineers
DALLAS, TX. — An award-winning pump station in south downtown Dallas that protects residents from the Trinity River today was showcased by the national Engineering and Public Works Roadshow as an example of how infrastructure investment can improve the resilience of a community, protect residents, and encourage economic growth. The Able Pump Station in downtown Dallas, Texas won awards from both the American Council of Engineering Companies and the American Society of Civil Engineers since its completion in 2019 and has been credited with providing 100-year flood protection to approximately three square miles of high-profile land that was historically vulnerable to severe flooding events from the Trinity River. The Engineering and Public Works Roadshow is a joint project of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the American Public Works Association (APWA), and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The properties adjacent to the previous Able sump complex had experienced frequent flooding. The sump complex included nine separate and interconnected ponds that store stormwater, as well as two existing pump stations, constructed in the 1930s and 1950s, with a combined capacity of 220,000 gallons per minute. To help prevent the loss of life as a result of flooding, the City of Dallas hired HDR to design the new Able Pump Station, which increases the pumping capacity nearly fourfold, to 875,000 gallons per minute. It also lowers the 100-year flood elevation from 399.0 to a design elevation of 392.5 feet. As the federal government continues to implement this monumental legislation, the second year of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will not be fully realized without an expanded and robust workforce. It is imperative that students nationwide are educated on the rewarding careers of civil engineering and public works so that these professions have the necessary staffing to complete transformative projects. Read the court decision
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Industry Standard and Sole Negligence Defenses Can’t Fix a Defect

June 14, 2021 — Lian Skaf - The Subrogation Strategist
Strict products liability cases have been the subject of much fluctuation in the Pennsylvania courts over the last few years. Utilizing hope created by the courts in recent strict liability cases, defendants have tried to revive defenses based on meeting industry standards and the plaintiff’s contributory negligence. Recently, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania tempered that hope with limitations of how far strict liability defenses can extend. In Sullivan v. Werner Co., No. 3086 EDA 2019, 2021 Pa. Super. LEXIS 210, an appellate panel of the Superior Court reviewed the lower court’s decision to exclude evidence of industry standards and of the plaintiff’s negligence in a trial that resulted in a $2.5 million verdict for the plaintiff. Upholding the decision of the lower court, the court found that the proffered evidence was within the discretion of the court to exclude. In Sullivan, Michael Sullivan (Sullivan) was working as a union carpenter at a renovation project for a local school. He and his apprentice were installing exterior sheathing to the outdoor walls. In order to install the sheathing, Sullivan had to use a scaffold. He put together a new SRS-72 scaffold manufactured by Werner Company (Werner) that his foreman bought at Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (Lowe’s) and used the scaffold during the course of his work. While on the scaffold, Sullivan fell through and crashed to the ground. He suffered permanent injuries as a result of the incident. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Lian Skaf, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Skaf may be contacted at skafl@whiteandwilliams.com

Are You Ready For 2015?

January 07, 2015 — Craig Martin- Construction Contractor Advisor Blog
Last month’s Engineering News Record Magazine contained an editorial noting the worst projects of the year. Are you prepared if you have a bad project? As the editors aptly pointed out: "By their nature, bad projects disappoint owners, incite hostility among team members, slip months and years past scheduled completions and drain finances." ENR pointed noted a few projects from 2014 that did not go well. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Craig Martin, Lamson, Dugan and Murray, LLP
Mr. Martin may be contacted at cmartin@ldmlaw.com

MapLab: Why More Americans Are Moving Toward Wildfire

October 24, 2021 — Marie Patino & Laura Bliss - Bloomberg
Climate change is making wildfires more frequent, severe and hard to predict — not to mention more costly, as governments, insurers and local residents pay to pick up the pieces after a blaze. Yet Americans are flocking to areas at high risk for burning, and the pandemic accelerated that trend: During the first year of Covid-19, the number of U.S. households moving into areas with a recent history of wildfire increased 21% over the previous year. Areas without that recent history saw net moves fall by 15%. Those shocking statistics were among the many findings made by my colleague Marie Patino and me in our investigation of recent U.S. migration into the wildland-urban interface, or the edge between highly developed areas and flammable forests and mountains. Between affordability pressures and cultural ideals, our story explores the motivations for why so many people are settling there — in many cases, within the literal footprints of recent wildfires — as well as the staggering cost of this long-term trend. We paired the narrative with rich visuals, including photographs, data visualizations, and maps, with the help of our graphics colleague Jackie Gu. Reprinted courtesy of Marie Patino, Bloomberg and Laura Bliss, Bloomberg Read the court decision
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FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES