Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

11th Circuit Affirms Bad Faith Judgement Against Primary Insurer

July 24, 2023 — Ashley Kellgren - Traub Lieberman Insurance Law Blog
In American Builders Insurance Co. v. Southern-Owners Ins. Co., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15386, No. 21-13496 (11th Cir. June 20, 2023), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a bad faith judgment against a primary insurer. On April 1, 2019, Ernest Guthrie fell from a roof, causing him to became paralyzed from the waist down. At the time of the accident, Guthrie was employed by his own subcontracting company and was performing work for Beck Construction. Beck Construction was insured under a general liability policy issued by American Builders and an excess policy issued by Evanston. Each of those policies provided $1 million in liability limits. Guthrie’s company was insured under a policy issued by Southern-Owners, which provided a per occurrence limit of $1 million. Under the Southern-Owners policy, Beck Construction was an additional insured and coverage was provided to Beck Construction on a primary basis. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Ashley Kellgren, Traub Lieberman
Ms. Kellgren may be contacted at akellgren@tlsslaw.com

The Future Has Arrived: New Technologies in Construction

October 17, 2022 — Sarah Biser - ConsensusDocs
The construction industry has traditionally been slow to adapt to new technologies, but things are changing. Construction companies are keen to control costs (including increased costs due to supply chain issues), improve efficiency, maintain productivity while dealing with labor shortages, and enhance safety, and protect data bases from cyberattacks. New technologies, including robotics, 3D printing, cloud and mobile computing, augmented reality, blockchain, and cybersecurity, are helping construction companies achieve those goals. Here are some key takeaways. Augmented Reality (AR) vs. Virtual Reality Augmented Reality is a technology that superimposes a computer generated image upon a user’s view of the real work. Virtual Reality, on the other hand, creates a virtual environment to replace the real one. AR has uses in many industries. For example, shoppers using AR can see what furniture or appliances will look like in their own homes and offices. Medical professionals can also use the technology to visualize organs and simulate procedures prior to operations. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Sarah B. Biser, Fox Rothschild LLP (ConsensusDocs)
Ms. Biser may be contacted at sbiser@foxrothschild.com

Identifying and Accessing Coverage in Complex Construction Claims

September 29, 2021 — Jeffrey J. Vita & Michael V. Pepe - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
I. Introduction First-party, third-party, builder’s risk, professional liability, commercial general liability, wrap-ups, and additional insured status are all potential sources of insurance coverage for a large construction loss. Therefore, it is critical for construction industry participants, from owners and developers to general contractors and their subcontractors, to have a functional knowledge of the different types of insurance coverage available to them and how those coverages intersect to respond to a loss. This paper presents a brief overview of the various types of coverage available to contractors, construction managers, and owners in a large construction loss and the risks each coverage is designed to insure. In general, there are two forms of coverage: (1) First-party liability coverage, which protects an insured’s own losses on a project during construction; and (2) Third-party liability coverage, which insures the project participants for losses that become the subject of claims or suits brought against the project participants by third parties. When a loss occurs, such as property damage, both types of coverage can be implicated. For example, if a fire burns down a building under construction, the contractor likely would incur first-party losses such as cleanup costs. The contractor may also have third-party exposure if the owner alleges that the contractor was responsible for the fire. On the other hand, when a bodily injury occurs, all losses to the contractor will be third-party losses. A broad overview of each of these policies is provided below. Reprinted courtesy of Jeffrey J. Vita, Saxe Doernberger & Vita and Michael V. Pepe, Saxe Doernberger & Vita Mr. Vita may be contacted at JVita@sdvlaw.com Mr. Pepe may be contacted at MPepe@sdvlaw.com Read the court decision
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Useful Life: A Valuable Theory for Reducing Damages

March 29, 2017 — Brooke E. Beebe, Esq. - Florida Construction Law News
The situation is one all too familiar to construction defect litigants. A homeowner contracts with a roofing contractor to install a new roof with a life expectancy of ten years.[1] After only five years, the homeowner brings a claim for construction defects in the roof alleging that the roof requires complete replacement due to water intrusion. The homeowner seeks damages for the full replacement cost of the roof. However, under a “useful life” theory, the homeowner would not be entitled to damages for the full amount of the replacement cost. Instead, the homeowner would be entitled to one-half of the cost of the replacement roof, taking into account the fact that he or she had been deprived of only five, rather than ten, years of use. “Useful life” is best understood as the expected length of time that a newly built construction element can be reasonably anticipated to last, subject to routine maintenance and ordinary wear and tear. The “useful life” theory holds that granting the homeowner damages for the full replacement cost of the roof would result in unjust enrichment to the homeowner, who had contracted for a roof with a ten-year, rather than a fifteen-year, useful life. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Brooke E. Beebe, Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A.
Ms. Beebe may be contacted at brooke.beebe@csklegal.com

A Court-Side Seat: Guam’s CERCLA Claim Allowed, a “Roundup” Verdict Upheld, and Judicial Process Privilege Lost

June 14, 2021 — Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel
This is a brief account of some of the important environmental and administrative law cases recently decided. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT BP PLC, et al. v Mayor and City of Baltimore The issue the court confronted was a procedural matter: Can the defendant energy companies use the federal removal statutes (see 28 USC Section 1442) to remove a state law climate change lawsuit to federal court? Here, a group of energy companies were sued by the mayor and city council of Baltimore in state court, where they alleged that the defendants had concealed the adverse environmental effects of the fossil fuel products they promoted and sold in Baltimore City. Several similar lawsuits have been filed in many state courts, where typically it is alleged that the defendants can be sued on various common law theories. Rather than defend these cases in state court, the defendants have sought to remove these cases to federal court because climate change liability appears to be an issue that should be settled at the federal level. These efforts have been unsuccessful, with most federal trial and appellate courts holding that the reasons cited for removal (oftentimes the federal officer removal statute) have not been persuasive. In this case, both the Maryland federal district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals held they had no jurisdiction to authorize removal, and thus returned the case to the state court. Noting that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that a removal action could be countenanced under Section 1442, thus creating a circuit split, the Supreme Court held that a straightforward reading of the removal statute empowers the reviewing court to examine all theories for removal that a district court has rejected. Consequently, the Court remanded the case to the Fourth Circuit where it can decide, “in the first instance,” whether there actually exist grounds to remove this case to federal court. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury
Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com

68 Lewis Brisbois Attorneys Recognized in 5th Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America

September 23, 2024 — Lewis Brisbois Newsroom
(August 15, 2024) – 68 Lewis Brisbois attorneys across 26 offices have been named to the 5th edition of “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America.” Congratulations to the following attorneys on this recognition! You can see the list of Lewis Brisbois attorneys named to Best Lawyers' 30th edition of The Best Lawyers in America here. Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois Read the full story... Read the court decision
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EPA Looks to Reduce Embodied Carbon in Materials With $160M in Grants

August 19, 2024 — James Leggate - Engineering News-Record
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that construction materials used for buildings and built infrastructure account for more than 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The agency now hopes to boost adoption of materials with lower embodied emissions by offering $160 million in grants to better track and ultimately reduce climate pollution associated with those materials. Reprinted courtesy of James Leggate, Engineering News-Record Mr. Leggate may be contacted at leggatej@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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It’s Not What You Were Thinking!

December 10, 2024 — Daniel Lund III - Lexology
At least it is not what the lower court was thinking… but the same result for a general contractor seeking to have its comprehensive general liability insurer pay the GC’s defense related to claims for physical damage on a construction project. In reviewing the Massachusetts federal district court’s ruling in favor of the insurer, the United States First Circuit Court of Appeals posited: “The principal question is whether a general contractor’s CGL insurance policy covers damage to a non-defective part of the contractor’s project resulting from a subcontractor’s defective work on a different part of that project.” The district court had held under Massachusetts law that the insurer had no duty to defend because the lawsuit “did not allege ‘property damage’ caused by an ‘ occurrence,’ as required for coverage” under the policy (a defense that was urged by the insurer). The Court of Appeals affirmed, “albeit for different reasons.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Daniel Lund III, Phelps
Mr. Lund may be contacted at daniel.lund@phelps.com

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