Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Hudson Tunnel Plan Shows Sign of Life as U.S. Speeds Review

April 19, 2021 — Elise Young - Bloomberg
The U.S. Transportation Department has committed to finishing an environmental review for a new Hudson River rail tunnel, after a three-year delay helped prevent the groundbreaking of one of the nation’s most urgently needed infrastructure projects. The evaluation of the new commuter link between New Jersey and New York City will be finished by May 28, according to an update to the federal government’s online permitting dashboard. If the study is cleared, the $11.6 billion Gateway project could potentially qualify for partial federal funding. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last month told lawmakers that the tunnel is among President Joe Biden’s priorities. Biden on Wednesday introduced a $2 trillion infrastructure plan, fed by a tax increase on the wealthy, that he called a “once-in-a-generation investment in America.” The proposal calls for rebuilt bridges and highways, a shift to cleaner energy and boosts for mass transit. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Elise Young, Bloomberg

Construction Injuries Under the Privette Doctrine. An Electrifying, but Perhaps Not Particularly Shocking, Story . . .

January 05, 2017 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
We’ve talked about the Privette doctrine before (see here, here, and here). The Privette doctrine, named after the court case Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689, provides in general that project owners and contractors are not responsible for worksite injuries suffered by employees of lower-tiered contractors they have hired, the rationale being that such workers should already be covered under their employers’ workers’ compensation insurance policies. In the twenty years since Privette was decided, however, several exceptions have evolved that have narrowed the doctrine. One exception, known as the retained control exception, allows a contractor’s employees to sue the “hirer” of the contractor (that is, the higher-tiered party who “hired” the lower-tiered party whose employee is injured) when the hirer retains control over any part of the work and negligently exercises that control in a manner that affirmatively contributes to the employee’s injury. Hooker v. Department of Transportation (2002) 27 Cal.4th 198. Another exception, known as the nondelegable duty exception, permits an injured worker to recover against a hirer when the hirer has assumed a nondelegable duty, including statutory and regulatory duties, that it breaches in a manner that affirmatively contributes to the injury. Padilla v. Pomona College (2008) 166 Cal.App.4th 661. In a recently decided case, Khosh v. Staples Construction Company, Inc., Case No. B268937 (November 17, 2016), the California Court of Appeals for the Second District examined the application of the Hooker and Padilla exceptions where a general contractor was contractually responsible for overall site safety. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@wendel.com

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (09/12/23) – Airbnb’s Future in New York City, MGM Resorts Suffer Cybersecurity Incident, and Insurance Costs Hitting Commercial Real Estate

October 30, 2023 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, the FDIC handles the portfolio from Signature Bank, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funds a new center at Illinois, the Athletics take their next steps in their move to Las Vegas, and more!

For those looking to rent an Airbnb for future travel to New York City, it just became much harder with new rules taking effect on September 5th. (Natalie Lung, The Washington Post)
This past weekend MGM Resorts suffered a cybersecurity incident that affected some of the company’s systems with the extent of the incident still unknown. (ABC)
Among issues such as rent increases and general inflation, commercial real estate is also having to contend with rising insurance costs due to climate change. (Justin Worland, Time)

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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

Hail Drives Construction Spending in Amarillo

October 25, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Amarillo had a hailstorm in May and it’s still having an effect on the construction industry there. Prior to the May 28 hailstorm, the city issued 223 permits for roofing projects, worth a total of $1.9 million. But in the four months after the hailstorm, the city issued 13,696 roofing permits worth about $151.4. During the same nine months of 2012, the total was only $6.9 million. The Amarillo Globe-News reports that there has been a slowing of residential roof work, but the commercial roofing is still going strong. Scott McDonald, an Amarillo building official told the paper that a commercial roof can exceed a million dollars. “The commercial aspect is much more complicated, and we’re just now getting started,” said Mr. McDonald. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of

The Burden of Betterment

February 23, 2017 — Ryan M. Charlson, Esq. - Florida Construction Law News
The concept of betterment has long been used by defendants in cases involving defective design or construction to limit the damages awarded to a plaintiff.[1] The theory behind betterment is that: “if in [the] course of making repairs [an] owner adopts a more expensive design, recovery should be limited to what would have been the reasonable cost of repair according to original design.”[2] Betterment is often raised as an affirmative defense, requiring a defendant to prove that the plaintiff has received a good or service that is superior to that for which the plaintiff originally contracted. A recent South Florida case seems, at first blush, to suggest the burden of establishing the value of betterments may fall to the plaintiff, although a closer reading indicates the decision is likely to have limited applicability. In Magnum Construction Management Corp. v. The City of Miami Beach, the Third District Court of Appeal was asked to review the damages award to the City for construction defects associated with the redesign and improvement of a park.[3] The completed project contained landscaping deficiencies, along with other “minor defects” in the playground’s construction.[4] After a unilateral audit, and without providing the contractor its contractually required opportunity to cure the defects, the City “removed, redesigned, and replaced the playground in its entirety.”[5] It did so despite no recommendation by the City’s own expert to perform such work.[6] During the bench trial, the “only measure of damages provided by the City was the costs associated with the planning, permitting, and construction of a park that is fundamentally different from the one it contracted with [the contractor] to build.”[7] Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Ryan M. Charlson, Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A.
Mr. Charlson may be contacted at ryan.charlson@csklegal.com

Court of Federal Claims: Upstream Hurricane Harvey Case Will Proceed to Trial

July 02, 2018 — Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
On May 24, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims decided one of what may be many cases involving the terrible flooding wrought by Hurricane Harvey in the Houston, TX region. The Court of Federal Claims has divided thousands of pending claims into “upstream” and “downstream” categories, depending on whether the flooded properties were located upstream or downstream of two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) flood control reservoirs that were constructed in the 1940s and 1950s. The case is In re Upstream Addicks and Barker (Texas) Flood-Control Reservoirs; however, the Court of Federal Claims’ order in this case applies to “all upstream cases.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com

Floors Collapse at Russian University in St. Petersburg

February 27, 2019 — The Associated Press - Bloomberg
St. Petersburg, Russia (AP) -- Part of the roof and several floors of university building in Russia's second-largest city collapsed Saturday, but officials say there were no casualties. The Emergencies Ministry said the collapse at the Saint Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics took place as construction work was underway. An investigation into criminal violation of construction safety has been opened. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of The Associated Press, Bloomberg

Surety's Settlement Without Principal's Consent Is Not Bad Faith

January 05, 2017 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The Sixth Circuit found that the surety did not act in bad faith when it settled the general contractor's claims against the State of Michigan over delays on a construction project. Great Am. Ins. Co. v. E.L. Bailey & Co., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 20018 (6th Cir. Nov. 7, 2016). Bailey, the general contractor, entered into a surety agreement under which Great American would issue surety bonds on behalf of Bailey in the construction of a kitchen at a State prison. Bailey, the principal, paid Great American (GAIC), the surety, to provide bonds guaranteeing contract performance to the State, the obligee or owner. GAIC provided a performance bond, guaranteeing performance of the contract work, and a payment bond, guaranteeing payments to subcontractors and suppliers. Under the agreement, Bailey would indemnify GAIC for all payments or other expenses GAIC incurred due on either bond, and would pay upon demand collateral in an amount to be determined by GAIC. In the event of an alleged breach by Bailey, the agreement assigned to GAIC all Bailey's rights under its contract with the State and well as all its claims against any party. Bailey never finalized completion, and GAIC reached agreement with the State for another contractor to complete the project. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES