Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

HOA Coalition Statement on Construction-Defects Transparency Legislation

May 12, 2016 — David M. McClain – Colorado Construction Litigation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bill Ray / 303-885-1881 DENVER—The Homeownership Opportunity Alliance—a broad coalition of business groups, builders, elected officials and affordable housing advocates—provided the following statements on reports that there will be no construction-defects transparency legislation this session: “We are disappointed that negotiations broke down today and that event was immediately turned into an effort to use the media to score political points. The Homeownership Opportunity Alliance has worked on this issue for three years, and we are committed to finding a resolution that will address Colorado’s housing needs, especially through the development of attainable condominiums,” said Tom Clark, Chief Executive Officer of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation. “We understand the importance of this issue for our state, for working families, for first-time homebuyers and for anyone along the housing spectrum who is struggling to find a home. That's why we will remain committed to working on this issue.” The Homeownership Opportunity Alliance’s diverse coalition includes more than 50 organizations from across Colorado. The coalition also includes individual mayors and 14 different communities that have passed local ordinances to address attainable condominium development. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David M. McClain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
Mr. McClain may be contacted at mclain@hhmrlaw.com

Know Whether Your Course of Business Operations Are Covered Or Excluded By Your Insurance

December 27, 2021 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
It is a good idea to know what your insurance covers and does not cover. This way, if your course of business has you performing a certain (risky) operation, you know whether that operation is covered or excluded under your policy. If you are not sure, discuss with your insurance broker — this is important. There is little value performing an operation that is NOT covered by your insurance policy, as you are now performing a risk that is not covered by insurance. If you know it is not covered by insurance you may elect to change your operations or see if there is insurance to cover the risk. Below is a case study of this occurrence dealing with a commercial automobile liability policy where an insured’s operations using a crane mounted to a super duty truck was not covered under their automobile liability policy. In People’s Trust Ins. Co. v. Progressive Express Ins. Co., 46 Fla. L. Weekly D262a (Fla. 3d DCA 2021), homeowners hired a company to install a shed. The company hired another company to deliver and install the shed using a crane; the company used a crane mounted to a Ford F-750 super duty truck. This company improperly operated the crane resulting in the shed falling and damaging the homeowner’s roof. The homeowners submitted a claim to their property insurer and their property insurer subrogated to their rights and sued. The company operating the crane’s commercial automobile liability insurer denied coverage, and thus, denied the duty to defend. As a result, a Coblentz-type agreement was entered into where the company operating the crane consented to a judgment in favor of the property insurer (subrogee) and assigned its rights under its commercial automobile liability policy to the property insurer. The property insurer then sued the automobile liability carrier for coverage. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the automobile liability insurer finding there was no coverage and this was affirmed on appeal. Why? Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Claim for Punitive Damages Based on Insurers' Alleged Bad Faith Business Practices Fails

September 05, 2022 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court granted the insurer's motion to dismiss the bad faith claim based upon allegations of a general business practice of acting recklessly toward an insured's rights under the policy. Sandpiper Isle Condo. Ass'n v. Empire Indem. Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114279 (M.D. Fla. June 28, 2022). Sandpiper suffered property damage from Hurricane Irma. Empire accepted the claim but there was disagreement on the value of the damage. An appraisal issued an award in favor of Sandpiper but Empire failed to pay the benefits for two years. 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

ASCE Report Calls for Sweeping Changes to Texas Grid Infrastructure

March 28, 2022 — C.J. Schexnayder - Engineering News-Record
A just-released detailed analysis of the catastrophic 2021 Texas winter storm finds systemic flaws in the state's electric sector contributed to a “cascade of failures” that overwhelmed its power grid and left millions freezing in the dark. Reprinted courtesy of C.J. Schexnayder, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Just Because I May Be An “Expert” Does Not Mean I Am Giving Expert Testimony

January 17, 2022 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
On a construction project, it’s hard to argue that the involved parties — whether an architect, engineer, contractor, subcontractor, developer, etc. — are not experts in their field, i.e., they all some scientific, technical, or specialized knowledge or skill particular to their industry. However, this does NOT mean when they testify in trial, at an arbitration, or at a deposition regarding the construction project they are offering expert opinions / testimony as it pertains to that project. Testifying as to facts based on personal knowledge or involvement on a project makes you a fact witness and is different than evaluating and rending an after-the-fact opinion as to the work of others. This does not minimize your knowledge or expertise; it simply means that relative to the construction project you are involved with, your testimony is that of a fact witness and not of an expert. (It is possible to wear both the fact witness and expert witness hat, but that depends on your subsequent role in the litigation or arbitration.) Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Home Prices Beat Estimates With 0.8% Gain in November

January 28, 2015 — Prashant Gopal – Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. home prices rose more than economists estimated in November, a sign job growth is helping to boost housing demand. Prices climbed 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from October, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said in a report from Washington. The average economist estimate was for a 0.3 percent increase, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Prices increased 5.3 percent from November 2013. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Prashant Gopal, Bloomberg
Mr. Gopal may be contacted at pgopal2@bloomberg.net

Revisiting Termination For Convenience Clauses In Uncertain And Ever-Changing Economic Times

February 27, 2023 — Adam M. Tuckman & Brittney M. Wiesner - ConsensusDocs
In these times of persistent inflationary forces and efforts to tame the consequences through rising interest rates, economic uncertainty abounds in the United States and around the world. As an approximately $1 trillion contributor to the economy in the United States (4.2% of GDP in 2021) alone according to the Associated General Contractors of America, the health and the growth of the construction industry is certainly susceptible to these rapidly changing macroeconomic conditions. Presently, an unanswered question is how project developers will react to unpredictable fluctuations in project costs and interest rates. Although it seems unlikely to be a prevalent response, it is possible that substantial increases in borrowing, labor, or material costs would cause owners to pull the plug on projects that are in the advanced stages of construction. For projects in the nascent stages of development or construction, however, the calculous for owners becomes more tenuous. Both public and private owners may find it more prudent to indefinitely suspend or cancel pending or ongoing projects due to any, or a combination of, forecasted increases in project costs, shrinking funding, higher borrowing costs, or macro-economic uncertainty. Facing this quandary, how would an owner already under contract with a constructor and design team suspend or cancel its project? One potential approach is to invoke a termination for convenience clause found in the parties’ contract. Reprinted courtesy of Adam M. Tuckman, Watt, Tieder, Hoffar, & Fitzgerald, LLP (ConsensusDocs) and Brittney M. Wiesner, Watt, Tieder, Hoffar, & Fitzgerald, LLP (ConsensusDocs) Mr. Tuckman may be contacted at atuckman@watttieder.com Read the court decision
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EO or Uh-Oh: Biden’s Executive Order Requiring Project Labor Agreements on Federal Construction Projects

March 14, 2022 — Nicole Stone, Jones Walker LLP - ConsensusDocs
On February 4, 2022, President Biden issued Executive Order (“EO”) 14063[1]. The EO requires that a Project Labor Agreement (“PLA”) be in place for any federal “large-scale construction projects” estimated at $35 million or more. To compete for or perform projects subject to the PLA requirement contractors must agree to be subject to the applicable PLA. For federal projects under $35 million or projects receiving federal financial assistance are not required by the EO to have PLA, but federal agencies will have discretion to require PLAs. The EO will not go into effect until after implementing regulations are finalized, probably after the beginning of June 2022. Requiring PLAs on federal construction projects is a substantial shift from even the Obama Administration’s policy in favor of PLAs. Biden’s PLA EO will have an impact on federal contractors and likely industry repercussions beyond federal procurement. Only time and experience will tell whether those impacts will all be positive as the Biden Administration insists or will drive up construction costs and give unions more leverage than they have in the market as the critics insist. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Nicole Stone, Jones Walker LLP (ConsensusDocs)
Ms. Stone may be contacted at nstone@joneswalker.com

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES