Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Appraisal Goes Forward Even Though Insurer Has Yet to Determine Coverage on Additional Claims

December 11, 2023 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The trial court's order granting the insured's motion to stay litigation and compel an appraisal was affirmed even though the insurer had not determined coverage on the insured's additional claims.Heritage Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Wellington Place HOA, 2023 Fla. App. LEXIS 6405 (Fla. Ct. App. Sept. 13, 2023). The insured homeowner's association reported roof damage to its insurer, Heritage, after Hurrican Irma struck. Heritage agreed the damage was covered, but issued no payment because the amount of loss was less than the deductible. The insured hired its own adjuster. The insured requested an extension of the policy's two year time limit to complete repairs because the claim was still in dispute and the insurer had not yet paid sufficient funds to allow necessary repairs. Heritage sent a revised estimate and asked the insured to send its adjuster's estimate in order to address any disputes. The insured submitted its adjuster's estimate of more than $6 million, including, for the first time, the cost to replace all the windows and sliding glass doors. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Public Housing Takes Priority in Biden Spending Bill

November 15, 2021 — Kriston Capps - Bloomberg
The White House narrowed its housing agenda with the latest compromise version of President Joe Biden’s social spending bill, lowering funding levels by half while also shifting the bill’s priorities. Representative Maxine Waters and her allies had pushed for $327 billion for rental assistance, affordable housing and other progressive priorities in the reconciliation bill. The most recent White House framework for the Build Back Better Act shows that this figure has been cut in half: The new target is $150 billion, with funding for many of the same programs intact. As a result, the balance of the housing investment has shifted from rental aid to public housing, according to the text of the bill. Funds to repair, replace or build public housing amount to $65 billion, down from a proposed $80 billion yet close to half the total housing package. The White House describes the housing bill as “the single largest and most comprehensive investment in affordable housing in history.” A fact sheet states that it will build or preserve more than 1 million affordable apartments and homes. Biden’s bill also includes a soft repeal of the Faircloth Amendment, a provision that has banned any net new federal public housing units since 1999. Yet the latest version of the bill will not go as far to fulfill Biden’s promise to expand housing vouchers as a federal entitlement program. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Kriston Capps, Bloomberg

The National Building Museum’s A-Mazing Showpiece

July 09, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The “massive maze” designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is now open at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C., reported Architect Magazine. The roughly 60-foot square maze reaches about 18 feet, but the “walls slope in toward the center, allowing visitors to see more of the maze as they move through it.” When you reach the center, you get a complete overview of the maze. Read the court decision
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Is It Time to Get Rid of Retainage?

June 15, 2020 — David K. Taylor - Construction Executive
Many debate the pros, cons and claims of retainage—when one party to a construction contract withholds a percentage (typically 5%-10%) from an otherwise approved contractor pay application, and which typically is not paid until a project is substantially complete. If an owner withholds retainage from a prime contractor, typically the contractor will in turn withhold retainage from its subcontractors. While retainage has been part of the construction industry for decades, its concept, use (and abuse) have been under more discussion during the past 10 years. Based on heavy lobbying from primary subcontractor groups, state legislatures have passed laws to regulate retainage in commercial projects. Lenders have become more careful about loans and are frequently involved in retainage discussions. Bonded projects are subject to criticism when a surety does not step in and, like the mythical insurance company, write a check. Reprinted courtesy of David K. Taylor, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Mr. Taylor may be contacted at dtaylor@bradley.com

Precast Standards' Work Under Way as Brittle Fracture Warnings Aired

December 22, 2019 — Nadine M. Post - Engineering News-Record
The American Concrete Institute is gearing up to develop ACI’s first code requirements specifically for precast concrete. The recent announcement of the initiative comes on the heels of an article in the September issue of ACI’s monthly magazine, Concrete International, that sounds the alarm about the potential for brittle failures of precast, prestressed-concrete double-T parking decks, with flanges reinforced with a non-code-compliant polymer-coated carbon-fiber grid product, called C-Grid. Reprinted courtesy of Nadine M. Post, Engineering News-Record Ms. Post may be contacted at postn@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Newmeyer Dillion Announces Jason Moberly Caruso As Its Newest Partner

February 01, 2021 — Newmeyer Dillion
Prominent business and real estate law firm Newmeyer Dillion is pleased to announce that Newport Beach attorney Jason Moberly Caruso has been elected to partnership. "Jason has continually shown himself to be a gifted attorney, both in his ability to expand the firm's offerings in land use, environmental law, and the firm's growing appellate practice, as well as in his exceptional approach to client service," said the firm's Managing Partner, Paul Tetzloff. "His positive presence is felt wherever he goes, and we're honored to have him join the firm's partnership." Caruso focuses his practice on various aspects of "contaminated sites" environmental legal work, complex litigation, and appellate matters. He counsels and represents current and former facility owners and operators in state and federal proceedings, administrative actions, cost recovery cases, and non-litigation site remediation situations. The litigated matters frequently involve the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and its parallel California Hazardous Substances Account Act (HSSA). When clients must go to court, Caruso applies his significant experience in complex state and federal litigation over a broad range of substantive areas, including environmental, business, real estate, construction, and products liability. His experience extends from pre-litigation through trial and post-trial proceedings. Caruso's practice also includes a special emphasis on appellate matters. Caruso has briefed and argued multiple appeals in the state and federal courts, obtaining victories for clients in general appellate and extraordinary writ proceedings. Caruso has prosecuted and defended appeals involving the firm's existing cases and clients, but has also been engaged by outside clients after the conclusion of trial court proceedings. An active member of the community, Caruso serves as a mock trial attorney coach for University High School through the Constitutional Rights Foundation Orange County (CRF-OC) and as a member of CRF-OC's Board of Directors. He also serves as a member and secretary of the Orange County Bar Association's Professionalism & Ethics Committee, and is a member of the executive committee of the William P. Gray Legion Lex Inn of Court. Caruso is also committed to pro bono work, endeavoring always to be representing at least one pro bono client via Orange County's Public Law Center. Caruso earned his B.A., cum laude, from the University of Southern California, and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of California, Hastings College of Law. About Newmeyer Dillion For 35 years, Newmeyer Dillion has delivered creative and outstanding legal solutions and trial results that achieve client objectives in diverse industries. With over 65 attorneys working as a cohesive team to represent clients in all aspects of business, employment, real estate, environmental/land use, privacy & data security and insurance law, Newmeyer Dillion delivers holistic and integrated legal services tailored to propel each client's operations, growth, and profits. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with offices in Walnut Creek, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, Newmeyer Dillion attorneys are recognized by The Best Lawyers in America©, and Super Lawyers as top tier and some of the best lawyers in California and Nevada, and have been given Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review's AV Preeminent® highest rating. For additional information, call 949.854.7000 or visit www.newmeyerdillion.com. Read the court decision
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What If There Is a Design Error?

October 30, 2023 — Scott L. Baker - Los Angeles Litigation Blog
Many challenges can crop up when working on a construction project. Among these challenges, errors are the last thing that contractors or project owners want to face. Yet, they are not uncommon as you navigate the process. Design errors or mistakes are one such issue that can result in serious construction disputes and delays. It is important to determine who is liable when it comes to defects and design errors. So, who is responsible for design errors? Many might assume the architect – or the person who created the project design – is responsible for design errors. That is not necessarily true. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Scott L. Baker, Baker & Associates
Mr. Baker may be contacted at slb@bakerslaw.com

Nobody Knows What Lies Beneath New York City

August 10, 2017 — Greg Milner - Bloomberg
Before a single raindrop fell, Alan Leidner knew the waters could rise and throw the city into darkness. On this point, the maps were as clear as a crystal ball. All you had to do was look. It was 2010, and Leidner was consulting for the government services company Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., contracted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities in the nation’s critical infrastructure. Leidner was examining a region that included New York and New Jersey. One day he was thinking about the area’s electrical power grid. He consulted some flood projection maps the Federal Emergency Management Agency had prepared. Then he stared at a map of the grid maintained by Consolidated Edison Inc., the region’s power supplier. And it just jumped out at him: The substation at East 13th Street, on the banks of the East River, was smack in the middle of a flood zone. Leidner voiced his concerns with utilities, hospitals, and other major facilities. “The reaction was mostly, ‘Eh,’ ” he recalls, as we sit in the Tribeca offices of the Fund for the City of New York, where he directs the nonprofit organization’s Center for Geospatial Innovation. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Greg Milner, Bloomberg

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES