SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Congratulations to Partner Madeline Arcellana on Her Selection as a Top Rank Attorney in Nevada!

July 02, 2024 — Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP is proud to announce that Las Vegas Partner Madeline Arcellana was once again selected by Nevada Business Magazine as a Top Rank Attorney in Nevada for her work in Civil Litigation, General Liability, and Personal Injury! Nevada Business Magazine‘s Top Rank Attorneys list is comprised of attorneys in both private and public practice who are voted for by nearly 3,000 Nevada-licensed attorneys. The attorneys on this list are at the top of their field and each nomination is put through an extensive verification process. To view Nevada’s 2024 Top Rank Attorneys, please click here. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Dolores Montoya, Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

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Contractors: Beware the Subordination Clause

October 15, 2014 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
A bit of mechanics lien trivia. What is the only state in the United States in which mechanics liens are a constitutional right? If you answered California, ding, ding. Article XIV of the California Constitution states:

Mechanics, persons furnishing materials, artisans, and laborers of every class, shall have a lien upon the property upon which they have bestowed labor or furnished material for the value of such labor done and materials furnished; and the Legislature shall provide, by law, for the speedy and efficient enforcement of such liens.

But how does that constitutional right stand up against contractual rights? Not so well it seems. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@kmtg.com

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The Black Woman Architect Who Hopes to Change the Face of Design in America

January 16, 2024 — Kriston Capps - Bloomberg
In the US, only 2% of licensed architects are Black. Less than a single percent are Black women. Architects tend to be older, White and men, as reflected by the leadership of both firms and professional groups. So when the American Institute of Architects inaugurated its 100th president, Kimberly Dowdell — the first Black woman to lead the association, and at 40 the youngest architect to ever hold the post — it suggested an optimistic change of course. A principal and director of strategic relationships for the global design firm HOK, Dowdell comes to her new position from a leadership background. She has served as the president of the National Organization of Minority Architects and sits on the board of the Chicago Central Area Committee and Chicago Architecture Biennial, among other groups. She is the winner of both the AIA’s Young Architects Award and the Women in Architecture award from Architectural Record. Dowdell spoke to Bloomberg CityLab about her goals as AIA president, the challenges facing the field and why every city should hire its own chief architect. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Kriston Capps, Bloomberg

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Connecting IoT Data to BIM

September 04, 2018 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
Internet of Things sensors and IoT-capable devices provide a huge amount of data from buildings. To make this data useful and usable for research, Aalto University is developing and testing a service that links IoT with building information models, BIMs. “The idea to start an experiment on linking IoT with BIM at the Otaniemi campus originated from discussions we had within professor Martti Mäntylä’s Aalto campus IoT group. We realized that several small research projects were simultaneously testing IoT here. So we decided to create a framework for sharing information between the projects,” says Seppo Törmä, CEO of VisuaLynk. 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

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Insurance Law Alert: Ambiguous Producer Agreement Makes Agent-Broker Status a Jury Question

September 10, 2014 — Valerie A. Moore & Christopher Kendrick - Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
In Douglas v. Fidelity National Ins. (No. A137645; filed 8/29/14), a California appeals court held that it was a jury question whether a retail insurance service with limited binding authority should be deemed a broker or an agent for the purpose of determining if application misrepresentations would void coverage. In Douglas, the homeowners needed insurance for a house they had used as a group home. They sought coverage from Cost-U-Less, which provided personal lines insurance from, among others, Fidelity National Insurance Company. According to the couple’s wife, she went to a Cost-U-Less office where she answered application questions from a person on the telephone, who was later identified as an employee of another company, InsZone. InsZone had a producer contract with Fidelity. In practice, InsZone would be contacted by Cost-U-Less via telephone, at which point an InsZone employee would verbally solicit information from the client, with the information being entered into a computer by the InsZone employee and then transmitted electronically to Fidelity. Reprinted courtesy of Valerie A. 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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Reprinted courtesy of

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August Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Appreciate at Faster Pace

October 28, 2015 — Victoria Stilwell – Bloomberg
Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose at a faster pace in the year ended August, a sign the industry continues to strengthen on improving demand. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values climbed 5.1 percent from August 2014 after rising 4.9 percent in the year ended in July, the group said Tuesday in New York. The gain was the biggest in a year and matched the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Nationally, prices increased 4.7 percent after a 4.6 percent advance in the 12 months through July. A tight supply has supported price appreciation, which may in turn entice more owners to put their properties on the market as the payoff grows. More homes that are affordable for first-time or young buyers will be needed to keep the housing recovery on track, providing a boost to consumer spending in the process. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Victoria Stilwell, Bloomberg

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Florida Supreme Court Adopts Federal Summary Judgment Standard, Substantially Conforming Florida’s Rule 1.510 to Federal Rule 56

June 07, 2021 — Lewis Brisbois
Effective May 1, 2021, the Florida courts will transition to a new summary judgment standard meant to “align Florida’s summary judgment standard with that of the federal courts and of the supermajority of states that have already adopted the federal summary judgment standard.” In re Amends. to Fla. Rule of Civ. Pro. 1.510, 309 So. 3d 192, 192 (Fla. 2020). Consistent with this amendment, Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510 has been amended to adopt the federal summary judgment rule, with exceptions for timing-related issues. The Florida Supreme Court’s most recent opinion on rule 1.510 and the text of new rule 1.510 can be found here. As background, on December 31, 2020, the Florida Supreme Court adopted the federal summary judgment standard by amending Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510(c) to include the following sentence: “The summary judgment standard provided for in this rule shall be construed and applied in accordance with the federal summary judgment standard articulated in Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1976); and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574 (1986) [(the ‘Celotex trilogy’)].” In re Amends. to Fla. Rule of Civ. Pro. 1.510, 309 So. 3d at 196. The court’s amendment was slated to take effect on May 1, 2021, subject to a public comment period. The court also sought guidance from the Florida Bar’s Civil Procedure Rules Committee. After careful consideration of numerous responses, the court ultimately chose to adopt the substance of the text from federal rule 56. Along with its amendments, the court provides substantial guidance as to how the Florida courts and practitioners should interpret the new rule. A summary of the court’s thorough discussion follows. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

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Court of Appeals Issues Decision Regarding Second-Tier Subcontractors and Pre-Lien Notice

February 06, 2023 — Travis Colburn - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight
Velazquez Framing, LLC (“Velazquez”) v. Cascadia Homes, Inc. (“Cascadia”) is a Court of Appeals, Division 2 case where the primary issue on appeal was whether a second tier subcontractor was required to provide pre-lien notice under RCW 60.04 for its labor. The defendant, Cascadia, was the general contractor that planned to build a home on property it owned in Lakewood, Washington.[1] High End Construction, LLC (“High End”), submitted a bid to Cascadia for framing work on the home. High End began work on Cascadia’s home, but later subcontracted with Velazquez to complete the framing work.[2] Velazquez did not submit a prelien notice for its work on Cascadia’s home, and Cascadia claimed it was unaware that High End subcontracted with Velazquez for framing at the project. High End invoiced Cascadia and was paid for its work, but High End never paid Velazquez. Subsequently, Velazquez recorded a lien for both labor and materials, and later filed a complaint to foreclose its lien. Cascadia, due to the fact Velazquez did not provide it with prelien notice, moved for summary judgment, arguing prelien notice was required under RCW 60.04.031(1)[3] and the labor portion of a lien cannot be segregated where a subcontractor’s lien includes both labor and materials. Velazquez argued that no prelien notice was required under RCW 60.04.021[4] and RCW 60.04.031 and claimed that subcontractors can segregate the labor portion from the materials portion. The trial court granted Cascadia’s motion and ruled Velazquez did not fall within one of the exceptions for prelien notice in RCW 60.04.031(2), and therefore, could not enforce the lien. Velazquez appealed. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Travis Colburn, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight
Mr. Colburn may be contacted at travis.colburn@acslawyers.com

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