Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Former UN General Assembly President Charged in Bribe Scheme

October 21, 2015 — Patricia Hurtado & Greg Farrell – Bloomberg
A former president of the United Nations General Assembly and a billionaire Macau developer were accused of taking part in a four-year corruption scheme that included bribes to help fund a campaign for the post at the organization in exchange for the promotion of Chinese businesses. John Ashe, president of the UN General Assembly from September 2013 to September 2014, accepted more than $1 million in payoffs from developer Ng Lap Seng and an associate to help persuade the international body to build a multibillion-dollar conference center in Macau and promote Chinese businesses, including a bank, in Antigua, according to the U.S. The new charges, announced Tuesday, relate to an earlier case against Ng, 68, who has a personal net worth of about $1.8 billion. He’s been held in a federal jail in Manhattan since he was arrested Sept. 19, accused of bringing $4.5 million into the country and lying about its purpose to U.S. authorities. Reprinted courtesy of Patricia Hurtado, Bloomberg and Greg Farrell, Bloomberg Read the court decision
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Design-Assist Collaboration/Follow-up Post

March 16, 2020 — John P. Ahlers - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Shortly after posting the blog article “Design-Assist an Ambiguous Term Causing Conflict in the Construction Industry,” I received an email from Brian Perlberg, the Executive Director and Senior Counsel for ConsensusDocs. He brought two ConsensusDocs forms to my attention: ConsensusDocs 541 Design Assist Addendum and ConsensusDocs 300 Integrated Form of Agreement (IFOA). In the ConsensusDocs model of “design-assist,” the lead design professional retains design responsibility but benefits from input and consultation from the construction team during design development. By contrast, in the design-build project delivery method, the constructor assumes design responsibility and liability for either the entire project design (design-build) or just a component of the design (delegated design). The ConsensusDocs 541 document goal is to provide “accurate information concerning program, quality, cost, constructability and schedule from all parties.” It provides a range of standard and optimal services during design development that essentially shifts the curve of selecting the construction manager (CM) and most importantly, special trade contractors, to much earlier in the process, perhaps as soon as the owner’s program is developed. This opens a world of possibilities for the design and construction team to collaborate early and often. The design professional, however, does not abdicate its design responsibility or authority in this process. The ultimate goal is to end the all-too-common wasteful cycle of design and redesign that is common in construction projects.[1] Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of John P. Ahlers, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Mr. Ahlers may be contacted at john.ahlers@acslawyers.com

New Jersey Supreme Court Upholds $400 Million Award for Superstorm Sandy Damages

February 22, 2021 — Kerianne E. Kane - Saxe Doernberger & Vita
In New Jersey Transit Corp. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London,1 New Jersey’s highest court upheld an appellate decision2 finding that New Jersey Transit Corporation (“NJT”) was entitled to full coverage under its property insurance policy for damages caused by Superstorm Sandy. In July 2012, NJT secured a multi-layered “all risks” property insurance program from eleven insurers for the policy period of July 1, 2012, to July 1, 2013. The policies covered all perils and damage to NJT’s property unless specifically excluded. The primary layer, issued by Lexington Insurance Company, provided the first $50 million of coverage. The second layer provided coverage up to $100 million, the third layer provided an additional $175 million, and the fourth layer provided coverage of $125 million, for a total of $400 million in coverage. The excess layer insurers included Certain Underwriters At Lloyd’s, London, Torus Specialty Insurance Company, and several other carriers. All participating insurers’ policies included a standard policy form and separate endorsements, some of which were included in all policies and some of which were unique to specific insurers. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Kerianne E. Kane, Saxe Doernberger & Vita
Ms. Kane may be contacted at kkane@sdvlaw.com

COVID-19 Impacts on Subcontractor Default Insurance and Ripple Effects

April 20, 2020 — Smith Currie
Subcontractor default insurance (“SDI”) may be described as an alternative to bonding subcontractors. SDI is first-party insurance that compensates the general contractor insured in the event a covered subcontractor fails to fulfill its contractual obligations. Under SDI policies, general contractor insureds are obligated to develop and implement rigorous subcontractor prequalification procedures. Basic questions and answers about how SDI might come into play and impact the construction industry in response to COVID-19 follow: Who may make a claim on an SDI policy? The general contractor may make a claim. An Owner may make a claim if the general contractor becomes insolvent in many cases. Subcontractors may not make claims on SDI policies. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Smith Currie
The Smith Currie firm may be contacted at info@smithcurrie.com

Traub Lieberman Attorneys Burks Smith and Katie Keller Win Daubert Motion Excluding Plaintiff’s Expert’s Testimony in the Middle District of Florida

September 20, 2021 — Burks A. Smith, III & Kathryn Keller - Traub Lieberman
Traub Lieberman Partner, Burks Smith, and Associate, Katie Keller, represented a national property insurer in a breach of contract action brought by a homeowner in the Middle District of Florida for substantial property damage alleged to have been caused by hail and wind. Throughout the course of litigation, the homeowner disclosed his expert, which is the same individual that prepared the homeowner’s estimate of damages and causation report. The expert’s credentials list that he is a general contractor, independent adjuster, and inspector. Mr. Smith and Ms. Keller moved under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) and Federal Rule of Evidence 702 to exclude testimony and introduction of any evidence prepared by the homeowner’s expert. Mr. Smith and Ms. Keller argued that the homeowner’s expert was not qualified to render expert testimony in this case, as he did not have the requisite qualifications to render an expert opinion, the methodology utilized by the expert to form his opinion was not sufficiently reliable, and his anticipated testimony was not helpful in the case, as it is imprecise and unspecific. Therefore, the expert’s opinions did not meet the standards for admission of expert testimony as set forth in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), and should not be admitted as expert testimony at trial. Reprinted courtesy of Burks A. Smith, III, Traub Lieberman and Kathryn Keller, Traub Lieberman Mr. Smith may be contacted at bsmith@tlsslaw.com Ms. Keller may be contacted at kkeller@tlsslaw.com Read the court decision
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Ireland Said to Plan Home Loans Limits to Prevent Bubble

October 01, 2014 — Joe Brennan – Bloomberg
Ireland’s central bank plans to impose limits for the first time on how much banks can lend home buyers as real estate values soar again in the home of western Europe’s worst property collapse, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The regulator is preparing to publish a consultation paper on its proposals within weeks, said one of the people, who asked not to be named, as the matter is private. Banks and lobby groups will have a chance to comment on the plans, which center on introducing loan-to-value and loan-to-income restrictions. A spokesman for the central bank in Dublin declined to comment. Irish homes prices are surging even as banks grapple with the aftermath of mortgage crisis that forced the government to bail out most of the nation’s lenders. A quarter of the country’s owner-occupier home loans are in arrears or had their terms eased. Loans granted during the boom for more than 85 percent of the property value were most likely to default in the wake of the crash, central bank economists said today. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Joe Brennan, Bloomberg
Mr. Brennan may be contacted at jbrennan29@bloomberg.net

Toll Brothers Climbs After Builder Reports Higher Sales

February 26, 2015 — John Gittelsohn – Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury-home builder, rose the most in a year after the company reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and said it sold more properties at higher prices. Net income for the three months through January was $81.3 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with $45.6 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier, the Horsham, Pennsylvania-based builder said in a statement Tuesday. The average of 14 estimates was for 28 cents a share, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of John Gittelsohn, Bloomberg
Mr. Gittelsohn may be contacted at johngitt@bloomberg.net

The Impact of the IIJA and Amended Buy American Act on the Construction Industry

May 23, 2022 — Chad Theriot & Stan Milan - ConsensusDocs
Contractors working on federally funded construction projects need to be aware of the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and amendments to the Buy American Act (BAA) which have expanded the requirement that contractors use domestic goods and materials on their projects. Failure to consider these requirements could have far-reaching impacts. Overview of Domestic-Procurement Laws and Regulations A number of domestic-preference laws exist today, which generally require that certain goods purchased with federal funds must be produced primarily in the United States. Projects affected include Department of Transportation (DOT)-funded highways, public transportation, airports, aviation, and rail, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-funded water infrastructure initiatives, among others. Reprinted courtesy of Chad Theriot, Jones Walker (ConsensusDocs) and Stan Millan, Jones Walker (ConsensusDocs) Mr. Theriot may be contacted at ctheriot@joneswalker.com Mr. Millan may be contacted at smillan@joneswalker.com Read the court decision
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FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES