Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

2020s Most Read Construction Law Articles

January 25, 2021 — ConsensusDocs
2020 was . . . well . . . well it was memorable. Among many other things, construction was recognized as essential and ConsensusDocs published industry firsts in addressing prefabricated construction and lean for design-build, as well as 8 comprehensively revised performance and payment bonds. We also saw unprecedented readership of our construction law newsletter. As we celebrate the end of 2020 and wish you a happy new year, we continue a new a tradition of recognizing the below most read construction law articles of the year. The ConsensusDocs Team. 5. Level 10 Construction v. Sea World LLC: Can Force Majeure Save Sea World? By: Jamey B. Collidge Associate, Troutman Pepper. 4. The Designer’s Pre-bid Standard Of Care In A Design-Build Project By: Joshua A. Morehouse Associate, Peckar & Abramson P.C. Read the court decision
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Preparing Your Business For Internal Transition

October 14, 2019 — Stephen P. Katz, Esq. - ConsensusDocs
When is it right to start thinking about succession planning and preparing a construction company for transition? Many would agree – in concept, at least – that serious thought regarding succession and transition planning should begin at a company’s inception and be revisited throughout its lifecycle, but as a practical matter, it is frequently not part of the mindset when growing a business. This article explores issues that construction company owners should consider in order to achieve smooth transition of ownership and control. We will address three critical questions:

What happens to the business when an owner retires;
In the event an owner(s) become disabled; and,
Unplanned exit/owner pre-deceases her/his exit from the company

Owners who do not plan carefully for transition are often faced with the less than appealing option of liquidating their business for much less than its value, or by closing the business with no return upon that event. However, those who plan carefully can realize the value of their life’s work, pass the business to the next generation and see their legacy continue. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Stephen P. Katz, Esq., Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Mr. Katz may be contacted at skatz@pecklaw.com

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (1/10/24) – New Type of Nuclear Reactor, Big Money Surrounding Sports Stadiums, and Positivity from Fannie Mae’s Monthly Consumer Survey

February 05, 2024 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, the commercial real estate market poses a risk to financial stability, New York City moves towards net-zero building emissions, workers at several Los Angeles area hotels tentatively agree to a new contract, and more!

For the first time since Fannie Mae’s monthly consumer survey was launched in 2010, more homeowners overall believe rates will go down rather than up. (Diana Olick, CNBC)
According to U.S. regulators, the commercial real estate market is potentially a leading risk to financial stability in 2024, noting rising vacancy rates, declining values of office properties, high interest rates and the possibility of an economic slowdown. (Jim Tyson, CFO Dive)
New York City will soon begin penalizing owners of buildings that emit too much greenhouse gas — a move toward requiring net-zero building emissions by 2050. (Jennifer Kingson, Axios)

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

New Orleans Drainage System Recognized as Historic Civil Engineering Landmark

May 29, 2023 — The American Society of Civil Engineers
NEW ORLEANS, La. – The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) today recognized the New Orleans Drainage System in New Orleans, Louisiana as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The project was innovative and largely unprecedented for its time, and the first portions came online in the year 1900. The system now consists of 22 drainage pumping stations and 1,200 miles of network drains, as well as green infrastructure elements to manage stormwater runoff. The infrastructure is largely credited for making the existence of New Orleans possible, and the improved drainage and reduction in standing water contributed to better public health and reduced the number of malaria and typhoid deaths in the early 20th century. New Orleans' position near the mouth of the Mississippi River made it a vital city for trade and commerce in the U.S. economy since the early 1800s, despite its problematic natural environment. The city was perched along the banks of the Mississippi River and next to Lake Pontchartrain, surrounded by swamps. Improvements to levee systems prevented the city from being inundated with flooding from the river, but rainfall became a pervasive issue as the city's population grew in the 1870s. The drainage system was first proposed in 1876 to replace primitive "drainage machines," steam-powered paddle wheels that moved water runoff into canals that led to Lake Pontchartrain. The existing system was inefficient and could not handle the frequent, heavy tropical rain New Orleans experiences and could not lift water sufficiently to drain the city. After several proposals, construction on the current drainage system started in 1897, and the first portions of the system came online in 1900. The system drains stormwater through pipes and canals to reach drainage pump stations which expel the water into several bodies of water surrounding the city. Engineers have repeatedly expanded and enlarged the drainage system, including a massive investment in the drainage system authorized by the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project and approved by Congress in 1996. The Sewerage and Water Board's green infrastructure plan is a critical partner and complement to the drainage system today. The New Orleans Drainage System's design has inspired water management system design in communities around America and worldwide. In Southeastern Florida, water management systems using pumps and canals divert excess water away from heavily populated areas during heavy rain, including tropical storms and hurricanes. Engineers in Kolkata, India and Shanghai, China have also used drainage and pumping systems like the ones in New Orleans to assist with water management. ABOUT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation's infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel. Read the court decision
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Architect Sues over Bidding Procedure

November 13, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The city of Louisville, Ohio is being sued by an architect who claims that city officials split projects into parts in order to circumvent state laws on public bidding. Rodney Meadows, the architect who filed the suit, also claims he is not motivated by any interest in working for the city. “I wouldn’t want to work with them,” he said. Nor is he seeking damages in the suit. The project at contention is Louisville’s renovations of an existing building for the Police Department. The city has spent $328,692 on the renovations, but state law says that projects costing more than $25,000 or $50,000 (depending on other matters) must be put out for public bidding. But city officials contend they haven’t broken the law. “A significant amount of work was done by our own people,” said E. Thomas Ault, the Louisville city manager. Read the court decision
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Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Rose at Faster Pace in January

April 01, 2015 — Nina Glinski – Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Home prices in 20 U.S. cities appreciated at a faster pace in the year ended in January, indicating the residential real-estate market continues to firm. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values increased 4.6 percent from January 2014, the biggest gain since September, after rising 4.4 percent the prior month, a report from the group showed Tuesday in New York. That matched the median projection of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. On a national scale, prices rose 4.5 percent from January 2014. A dearth of supply will continue to drive up home prices heading into the busy spring selling season as demand is spurred by rising rents. Builders like KB Home expect to post strong revenue in the warmer months ahead, based on early signs of strength, particularly among first-time buyers. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Nina Glinski, Bloomberg
Ms. Glinski may be contacted at nglinski@bloomberg.net

Possible Real Estate and Use and Occupancy Tax Relief for Philadelphia Commercial and Industrial Property Owners

September 07, 2017 — James Vandermark & Kevin Koscil - White and Williams LLP
A recent decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court puts in jeopardy all of the recent real estate tax reassessments completed by the City of Philadelphia for tax year 2018 as well as appeals initiated by the School District of Philadelphia in 2016 for tax year 2017. The City’s current practice is to certify the market values of any reassessed properties to the Board of Revision of Taxes on March 31st prior to the year that the assessment would be implemented. The City then relies on those certified values to determine the applicable tax rate when it creates its budget each summer. Accordingly, the Office of Property Assessment (OPA) submitted the values applicable for the 2018 tax year to the BRT on March 31, 2017. The City set the applicable tax rates during its summer budget sessions. However, unlike prior years, this year the City only reassessed commercial and industrial properties and excluded residential properties. The result was reported to be an increase of over $118 million in new real estate taxes. Shortly after the City finished its budget, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided the case of Valley Forge Towers Apartments N, LP, et al. v. Upper Merion Area School District. The case involved a challenge by property owners to the Upper Merion School District’s practice of only appealing assessments on commercial properties. As with the recent reassessments by the City, Upper Merion was only seeking to increase the real estate tax assessments for high value commercial properties. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that the school district’s practice violated the Uniformity Clause in the Pennsylvania Constitution. The court reaffirmed the principle that real estate within a jurisdiction should be treated as a single class and that tax authorities are not permitted to discriminate against commercial and industrial properties in favor of residential properties for purposes of real estate taxation. Reprinted courtesy of James Vandermark, White and Williams LLP and Kevin Koscil, White and Williams LLP Mr. Vandermark may be contacted at vandermarkj@whiteandwilliams.com Mr. Koscil may be contacted at koscilk@whiteandwilliams.com Read the court decision
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Just Because You Caused it, Doesn’t Mean You Own It: The Hooker Exception to the Privette Doctrine

March 06, 2023 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
We’ve written before about the Privette doctrine, which establishes a presumption that a hirer of an independent contractor delegates to the contractor all responsibility for workplace safety. In other words, if a general contractor hires a subcontractor, the subcontractor is solely responsible for the safety of its workers. There are two major exceptions to the Privette doctrine. The first, the Hooker exception, holds that a hirer may be liable when it retains control over any part of the independent contractor’s work and negligently exercises that retained control in a manner that affirmatively contributes to the worker’s injury. The second, the Kinsman exception, holds that a hirer may be liable for injuries sustained by a worker of an independent contractor if the hirer knew, or should have known, of a concealed hazard on the property that the contractor did not know of and could not have reasonably discovered and the hirer failed to warn the contractor of the hazard. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

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