Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Avoid L&I Violations by Following Appropriate Safety Procedures

November 07, 2022 — Reeya Patel - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Department of Labor and Industries of the State of Washington v. Roof Doctor, Inc. d/b/a Roof Doctors, Inc. of Tacoma (Unpublished opinion) Roof Doctor, a company engaging maintenance of roofs, was hired to complete work for a commercial building in Tacoma in February 2018. During the job, Roof Doctor was cited for two violations by a Washington State Department of Labor and Industries’ (L&I) compliance inspector and seven additional asbestos violations. Each citation was rated with a probability of 1 – 3 to determine the likelihood of injury, illness, or disease. The ratings allowed issuance of an appropriate monetary penalty. The disputes among the parties on appeal were as follows: First, L&I and Roof Doctor disputed the asbestos probability ratings and calculated penalties. L&I produced as evidence, the fact that nine employees were physically hanging roofing material with asbestos, but none had training or knew that the material contained asbestos. L&I did agree that that most of the employees were experienced in handling roofing material and knew of the dangers that asbestos presented. Roof Doctor explained that because the employees were working outdoors, the danger of asbestos exposure was mitigated due to a low probability that a high concentration of asbestos could be inhaled by the employees when outdoors. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC

Steel Makeover Under Way for Brooklyn's Squibb Footbridge

January 13, 2020 — Tom Stabile - Engineering News-Record
Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Squibb Bridge has 127 fewer years of existence than the borough’s iconic East River span, but the pedestrian crossing got lots of New York City attention since it was first opened in 2013 after being shut down twice—once for excessive “bounciness” and again due to rotting wood. Now its reconstruction, hopefully for good, is anything but a straightforward operation. Tom Stabile, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Contractor Sentenced to Seven Years for Embezzling $3 Million

July 20, 2020 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
Michael Medeiros was not a good guy. Ok, on a scale of 1 to 10, maybe not a 9 or 10 (when you’re including guys like Charles Manson), but a solid 6 or 7 at least. The next case, People v. Medeiros, Case No. A155648, 1st District Court of Appeals (March 26, 2020), is less important for its legal holding than as a reminder that while most legal disputes on construction projects end up with one party owing the other party money, sometimes, when a party’s conduct has been really bad, it can end in a loss of liberty (i.e., jail time) as well. People v. Medeiros Medeiros was a painting contractor operating under the name Professional Painting Company, Inc. In the early 1990s, Medeiros met Susan Lambert, who served as the property manager for a homeowners’ association, Woodlake Association, in Hayward, California. Lambert was an alcoholic. Following a series of surgeries in 2005 and 2007 she became addicted to opiates as well. She also had a gambling problem. As a result, Lambert regularly found herself in financial difficulty. And this is where Lambert and Medeiros found that they shared common ground. At some point, Medeiros confided to Lambert that he was having cash flow and tax problems. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Design-build Trends, Challenges and Risk Mitigation

August 26, 2019 — Bill Webb - Construction Executive
As the commercial construction industry continues to evolve and grow, design-build methodologies are becoming increasingly popular for their ability to speed completion rates, control costs and produce an overall more efficient process under the guidance of the design-build contractor (DBC). The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) predicts that “over half of owners have already or will use design-build in the next five years” due to the opportunities it provides for innovation and fast-tracking projects. The organization also expects that design build methodologies will account for approximately 45% of all nonresidential construction spending over the 2018 – 2021 forecast period. Design-build provides many benefits to projects owners, however, holding contractual responsibility for both design and construction does accompany its fair share of challenges and risks for the DBC. Although basic risk management principles are inherent to design build through improved communication and collaboration, strong contractual language and proper insurance programs can greatly control risk exposures. Reprinted courtesy of Bill Webb, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Mr. Webb may be contacted at Bill.Webb@rtspecialty.com

Let the 90-Day Countdown Begin

February 11, 2019 — Amy L. Pierce & Robert A. James - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Most contractors are diligent about making sure that they pay their licensing fees, renew worker’s compensation insurance, and maintain the required bonds. What may be less obvious is how critically important it is to have current company personnel listed on the company’s licensing records with the Contractor’s State Licensing Board. Only personnel listed on the CSLB’s records are authorized to act on behalf of the licensee with respect to CSLB-related matters. Although this may sound simple enough, all such personnel will be required to comply with fingerprinting (and background check) requirements before their applications to be added to the company’s licensing records can be approved. No new personnel will be associated with the licensee until their application is determined to be acceptable and all other requirements are met. Unforeseeable processing delays could result in this new personnel being unable to timely act on behalf of the licensee. Reprinted courtesy of Amy L. Pierce, Pillsbury and Robert A. James, Pillsbury Ms. Pierce may be contacted at amy.pierce@pillsburylaw.com Mr. James may be contacted at rob.james@pillsburylaw.com Read the court decision
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The Latest News on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

May 01, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The Federal Housing Finance Agency released a report on April 30th, which stated that in a severe economic downturn Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) “could require an additional bailout of as much as $190 billion… according to the results of stress tests,” according to Clea Benson writing for Bloomberg. “These results of the severely adverse scenario are not surprising given the company’s limited capital,” FNMA Senior Vice President Kelli Parsons said in a statement, as reported by Benson published in Bloomberg. “Under the terms of the senior preferred stock purchase agreement, Fannie Mae is not permitted to retain capital to withstand a sudden, unexpected economic shock of the magnitude required by the stress test.” Furthermore, in another Bloomberg article, Cheyenne Hopkins and Clea Benson reported that Democrats remain divided on how to replace FNMA and FMCC. “If we don’t get this right, we’ll create major disturbances in the housing market which will have a profound impact on families, on homeownership and certainly on our national economy,” Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley said in an interview, as reported by Cheyenne and Benson. “Merkley described himself as ‘still in negotiations’ with the bill’s sponsors.” Read the full story, Clea Benson Article... Read the full story, Cheyenne Hopkins & Clea Benson Article... Read the court decision
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A New Study: Unexpected Overtime is Predictable and Controllable

January 31, 2022 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
A new study by Dodge Construction Network and Versatile, a construction technology pioneer using artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT) to optimize construction processes, found that unexpected overtime is predictable and controllable through regular job site activity measurement. According to the study, overtime is predictable at an 88% confidence level, if proper measurement is utilized. Overtime is a persistent feature of construction sites, however, it is often unplanned and unpredictable. Despite the cost of overtime, its impact on skilled workers, and its implications for safety and other key factors on a project site, it is often applied to address immediate concerns rather than planned to maximize its effects. This recent study shows that in order to best understand overtime and its impact, data and measurement of jobsite activities are key. “Unique insights derived from advanced data and analytics tools will empower construction crews to build better,” said Meirav Oren, co-founder and CEO of Versatile. “Overtime can be a very effective tool on the jobsite. Through the power of data, general contractors gain the ability to minimize unnecessary overtime while maximizing its strategic benefits.” 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

Appeals Court Overruled Insured as Additional Insured on Subcontractor’s Commercial General Liability Policy

April 02, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Scott R. Murphy and Clifford J. Shapiro of Barnes & Thornburg LLP in the publication National Law Review analyzed the findings of the Mississippi case Carl E. Woodward, LLC v. Acceptance Indemnity Insurance: “the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overruled the district court’s determination that a general contractor was insured as an additional insured on its subcontractor’s commercial general liability (CGL) policy for claims arising out of the allegedly defective work performed by the subcontractor.” “This case underscores the fact that many standard policy forms do not include completed operations coverage for additional insureds,” Murphy and Shapiro declared. “Owners and contractors that desire to have such coverage therefore need to check their contracts to be make sure the contract language requires completed operations coverage for additional insureds, and they also need to obtain and review the actual additional insured endorsement contained in their subcontractors’ insurance policies before work commences to make sure that the required completed operations insurance coverage is provided.” Read the court decision
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CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES