Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Appraiser Declarations Inadmissible When Offered to Challenge the Merits of an Appraisal Award

March 14, 2018 — Valerie Moore and Christopher Kendrick - Publications & Insights
In Khorsand v. Liberty Mutual Fire Ins. Co. (No. B280273, filed 2/27/18), a California appeals court affirmed an appraisal award favorable to a homeowners insurer, ruling that it was improper to admit as evidence in opposition to a petition to confirm the award a declaration from the policyholders’ appraiser, except for the limited purpose of showing improprieties in the appraisal, bias, partiality or other improper conduct. The homeowners had a pipe leak and submitted a claim. The insurer responded to an estimate from the owners’ adjuster by retaining an expert and paying an undisputed amount that was significantly less. Eleven months later the owners had upper deck damage and submitted another claim. Relying on the same expert, the insurer paid another undisputed amount significantly less than the owner’s estimate. The owners requested appraisal but the insurer denied the request, contending that the dispute was over coverage and outside the scope of appraisal. The owners’ petition for appraisal was granted, with the court ordering separate listing of items the insurer disputed regarding coverage or causation. The appraisal panel issued an award stating that total damage was $132,293, of which $96,530 was contested by the insurer. The insurer filed a petition to confirm the award, which was granted despite the fact that the owners’ appraiser had refused to sign it. Reprinted courtesy of Valerie Moore, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP and Christopher Kendrick, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP Ms. Moore may be contacted at vmoore@hbblaw.com Mr. Kendrick may be contacted at ckendrick@hbblaw.com Read the court decision
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Senate Overwhelmingly Passes Water Infrastructure Bill

November 06, 2018 — Tom Ichniowski – Engineering News-Record
Congress has approved major water infrastructure legislation that authorizes $3.7 billion for new Army Corps of Engineers civil-works projects and $4.4 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water program. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tom Ichniowski, ENR
Mr. Ichniowski may be contacted at ichniowskit@enr.com

Federal District Court Addresses Anti-concurrent Cause Language in Property Policy

February 04, 2025 — James M. Eastham - Traub Lieberman
In Surchi1, LLC v. Travelers Indem. Co., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 227796 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 17, 2024), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois addressed a carrier’s obligation to cover costs associated with remediating water-related damage to insured property. In July 2022, the insured property experienced water-related damage and resulting repair costs. A claim was submitted for coverage under a property policy issued by Travelers. Travelers denied the claim and the insured initiated an action against Travelers seeking coverage. During the litigation Travelers maintained its position that it was not obligated to cover the water-related damage, because (1) under the policy, Travelers is not obligated to cover damage caused by surface water, even if surface water contributed only in part to the damage, and (2) the pleadings irrefutably establish that surface water contributed, at least in part, to the property damage. The insured took the contrary view arguing that Travelers was obligated to cover water-related damage (1) because the damage was the result of a water or sewage backing up or overflowing from sewers, and (2) this obligation remains, even if surface water contributed in part to the damage. The court began with a review of the relevant policy language. Under the policy, Travelers "will not pay for loss or damage caused directly or indirectly by ... surface water." At the same time, under a change endorsement to the policy, Travelers agreed to cover "direct physical loss of or damage to Covered Property at the described premises caused by or resulting from water or sewage that backs up or overflows from a sewer, drain, or sump." In light of this language, the parties dispute centered on whether Travelers is obligated to cover damages caused concurrently by surface water (an excluded peril) and by water or sewage that backs up or overflows from a sewer, drain, or sump (a covered peril). Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of James M. Eastham, Traub Lieberman
Mr. Eastham may be contacted at jeastham@tlsslaw.com

Construction Jobs Expected to Rise in Post-Hurricane Rebuilding

November 07, 2012 — CDJ STAFF
Businessweek reports that construction jobs and materials will see increased demand as property owners in New York and New Jersey rebuild after hurricane Sandy. Tom Jeffery, of Irvine, California-based CoreLogic, a real estate information service, noted that “a high percent of damaged properties are going to be repaired.” Experts estimate property damage to total anywhere from $7 billion to $40 billion. It is also estimated that about 739,000 properties in the area are underwater in the way that has nothing to do with flooding, with negative equity of 25 percent or more. Many of these homeowners are likely to walk away from their mortgages. Ken Simonson, chief economist of the Associated General Contractors of America, expects “localized spikes in construction employment throughout November and the winter.” Martin Connor, the chief financial officer of Toll Brothers, expects to see more a rise in labor costs than in materials. Read the court decision
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Locating Construction Equipment with IoT and Mobile Technology

May 13, 2019 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
It can take hours, or even days, to find a specific scissor lift on a large construction site – multiply that with hundreds of machines on the site and, then, you grasp the scale of the dilemma. Three companies joined forces to test an IoT solution that could fix the problem, cost-efficiently. Ramirent is a construction equipment rental and service firm that operates in nine European countries. It uses digital tools and services to add value to its customers and improve the efficiency of construction operations. In November 2018, Ramirent, SRV, and Kaltiot completed a test on promising technology that is used to locate construction equipment indoors. The experiment took place in Helsinki and was partly funded by the national KIRA-digi digitalization project. Setting up the Test Tomi Anttila, Development Manager at Ramirent Finland Oy, explained that they chose scissor lifts as a test subject for a particular reason: “They are an essential tool in construction. Whenever you have to work flexibly above the floor level – doing HVACE installations, for example – you need a movable lift. On our test site, REDI, there were over 150 lifts at any moment.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

2023’s Bank Failures: What Contractors, Material Suppliers and Equipment Lessors Can Do to Protect Themselves

May 15, 2023 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
It has been a tumultuous year for the banking industry. Since the beginning of this year the industry has seen the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the shotgun marriage between failing Credit Suisse and USB, and, most recently, the collapse of First Republic Bank this past week and its purchase by JP Morgan Chase. Indeed, according to the New York Times, these three bank failures cum bailouts alone were bigger than the 25 banks that collapsed during the financial crises of 2008 and some are concerned that it is just the beginning. This, of course, has impacted the stock market, with Forbes reporting that the banking industry lost more than $300 billion in market value as of the end of March. However, it also raises concerns regarding liquidity on construction projects. While the failing banks have either been bought out by other banks or shored up by the federal government, which, in the case of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, involved the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve stepping into to protect depositors by guaranteeing deposits in excess of the current FDIC limit of $250,000, there continues to be concerns over access to cash. This can impact construction projects in several ways. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

The Three L’s of Real Estate Have New, Urgent Meaning

April 15, 2024 — Mark Gongloff - Bloomberg
What will it take to make Americans stop rushing headlong into climate peril? Cheaper housing in safer places, for one thing. But maybe big red flags on property listings will help, too. Redfin Corp., the digital real estate company, last week added air-quality data to its listings as part of its “climate risks” feature, which aims to warn homebuyers of the chances their dream home could succumb to a global-warming nightmare. Using data from the climate research firm First Street Foundation, Redfin estimates a property’s current and predicted risk levels for flooding, wildfires, extreme heat, high winds — and now days when the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index tops 100, a category known as “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Mark Gongloff, Bloomberg

After Fatal House Explosion, Colorado Seeks New Pipeline Regulations

May 10, 2017 — Mark Shaw - Engineering News-Record
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) has ordered comprehensive inspections, along with new monitoring and testing procedures, for all oil and gas pipelines located near houses and other buildings across the state. The action follows an April gas explosion in a northern Colorado home that killed two people. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Mark Shaw, ENR
Mr. Shaw may be contacted at shawm@enr.com

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