Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Recent Third Circuit OSHA Decision Sounds Alarm for Employers and Their Officers

October 14, 2019 — John Baker - White and Williams LLP
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion that should serve as a warning not only to employers, but to their corporate officers. The case against Altor, Inc., a New Jersey-based construction company, began in 2012 when the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) directed Altor and its sole director and officer to pay a $412,000 penalty (Payment Order) to OSHA for several violations, including the failure to comply with fall protection standards. The company refused to pay, arguing that it did not possess sufficient assets. The Secretary of Labor filed a Petition for Civil Contempt against Altor and its President, Vasilios Saites. The court acknowledged that the company and Mr. Saites could defend against a contempt finding by showing that he and the company were unable to comply with the Payment Order. Beyond merely stating that they could not pay, the court required that they must show that they made good faith efforts to comply with the Order. After considering all of the evidence, the court ultimately relied on Altor’s bank records, which reflected that the company ended each month during a two-year period after the violations with a positive bank balance. Thus, the court determined that Altor could have made “at least relatively modest” payments and emphasized that the company never attempted to negotiate a reduced sum or a payment plan. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of John Baker, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Baker may be contacted at bakerj@whiteandwilliams.com

Largest Per Unit Settlement Ever in California Construction Defect Case?

October 28, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

BusinessWire reports that the Chelsea Court Homeowners Association has settled their construction defect case for $5.4 million. That works out to $169,000 per unit, which BusinessWire describes as “California’s largest per-unit recovery known to be on record to date.”

Most of the money in the settlement is coming from insurance companies for the builder and thirteen subcontractors. Issues included roof and window leaks, deck failures, and unsafe walkways.

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Bankruptcy on a Construction Project: Coronavirus Edition

May 25, 2020 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
Experts are warning of a wave of bankruptcies in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In some industries, such as the hard hit retail sector, that rising tide has already begun as J. Crew and Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy protection this past week. While the federal government’s stimulus package, including the $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program which is part of the larger 2.2 trillion CARES Act, may help to stem the tide of bankruptcies, Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings increased 26% in April over the same period last year. How the pandemic will impact the construction industry is uncertain. Anecdotally, we’ve been hearing from clients that some project owners are stalling projects that are still in the planning stages as they evaluate the situation, which suggests long term impacts that can be ridden out rather than short term impacts that can devastate on-going construction projects. Nevertheless, with 24-7 coverage of the pandemic, project owners, contractors, material suppliers, and equipment lessors are understandably concerned with the impact a bankruptcy might have on a construction project. So, here’s a primer on bankruptcies on a construction project. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Hawaiian Electric Finalizes $2 Billion Maui Fire Settlement

November 18, 2024 — Mark Chediak - Bloomberg
Hawaiian Electric Industries formalized a $2 billion agreement to settle damage claims from a wildfire that razed the historic town of Lahaina and killed more than 100 people. The utility-owner had reached a tentative agreement in August in which it, along with other defendants including the state of Hawaii, Maui County and landowners, would pay $4 billion to resolve hundreds of lawsuits stemming from last year’s wildfire, according to a filing Tuesday. The settlements don’t resolve claims with insurers that are part of separate lawsuits. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Mark Chediak, Bloomberg

Single-Family Home Starts Seen Catching Up to Surging U.S. Sales

May 07, 2015 — David Wilson – Bloomberg
New single-family houses are selling fast enough in the U.S. that homebuilders will have to pick up the pace of starting them, according to Neil Dutta, head of U.S. economics at Renaissance Macro Research LLC. The attached chart compares annual growth rates in sales and starts, as compiled by the Commerce Department, during the past 25 years. The top panel shows the rates, while the bottom panel tracks the percentage-point gap between then. Last month’s sales of one-family homes totaled 510,000 at an annual rate, according on the average estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey. The projection amounts to a 26.6 percent increase from a year ago. Builders began working on 2.7 percent fewer homes in March, according to data released yesterday. The 29.3-point differential would be the widest since July 1995. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Wilson, Bloomberg
Mr. Wilson may be contacted at dwilson@bloomberg.net

Landlord Duties of Repair and Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment

February 10, 2020 — Lawrence S. Glosser - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
A recent case from Division I Washington Court of Appeals addressed both a landlord’s duties of repair and maintenance and the Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment in commercial leases. Votiv, Inc. v. Bay Vista Owner LLC, No. 78289-4-I, 2019 WL 4419446 (Wash. Ct. App., Sept. 16, 2019). The Plaintiff in that case leased an office space in a mixed-use residential/office/commercial building in Seattle. Although the ownership groups of the various portions of the building were each separate, the entire building was managed by defendant Bay Vista Owner LLC (“BVO”), that was also the Plaintiff’s landlord. There was a need to replace a deteriorating roof membrane to repair water intrusion into the building. The work involved significant demolition on the roof surface over the premises that Votiv, Inc. (“Votiv”), a music/media company, leased on the top floor. The repair work was done primarily during business hours causing significant disturbance to Votiv’s business operations. Votiv sued BVO and other defendants for, among other things, nuisance, breach of lease, constructive eviction, and breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment. The trial court denied Votiv’s claim for injunctive relief and granted summary judgment to the Defendants. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Lawrence S. Glosser, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Mr. Glosser may be contacted at larry.glosser@acslawyers.com

Residential Mortgage Lenders and Servicers Beware of Changes to Rule 3002.1

December 08, 2016 — James C. Vandermark & Amy E. Vulio – White and Williams LLP
This December, residential mortgage lenders and servicers will be required to comply with new requirements for providing notices of payment changes (PCNs) and post-petition fees, expenses, and charges (PPFNs) to mortgage borrowers in Chapter 13 bankruptcies. While the new Federal Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1 will provide much needed clarity, it will also significantly increase the number of PCNs and PPFNs that lenders will need to file. Reprinted courtesy of James C. Vandermark, White and Williams LLP and Amy E. Vulio, White and Williams LLP Mr. Vandermark may be contacted at vandermarkj@whiteandwilliams.com Ms. Vulpio may be contacted at vulpioa@whiteandwilliams.com Read the court decision
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After More than Two Years, USDOT Rejects WSDOT’s Recommendation to Reinstate Non-Minority Women-Owned DBEs into DBE Participation Goals

February 24, 2020 — Ellie Perka - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
For the past several years, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight has been closely following news of Washington State Department of Transportation’s (“WSDOT’s”) exclusion of non-minority women-owned Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (“DBEs”)[1] from qualifying toward Condition of Award (“COA”) Goals on federally-funded projects. See ACS’s letter of January 9, 2014 and blog articles of June 2, 2017 and September 21, 2017. In a striking—and long awaited—decision issued just days ago, USDOT rejected WSDOT’s recommendation to unwind the exclusion of non-minority women-owned DBEs from COA Goals, meaning women-owned DBEs in Washington remain excluded from DBE COA participation goals until September 2020. As background, the DBE program is a program created by Congress with the goal of increasing women and minority-owned business participation in federally-funded transportation contracting. To withstand constitutional scrutiny, each state must tailor its program to the specific discrimination found to exist in that state.[2] To that end, every three years, WSDOT must conduct a “Disparity Study,” aimed at statistically measuring the “discrimination” in the marketplace. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Ellie Perka, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Ms. Perka may be contacted at ellie.perka@acslawyers.com

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES