Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

The Godfather of Solar Predicts Its Future

October 02, 2023 — Oscar Boyd, Akshat Rathi, & Christine Driscoll - Bloomberg
Setting world records. Combing through warehouses of old electronics. Seeding the Chinese solar industry from afar. This is the life of Martin Green, a professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and the director of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics. Green’s work on solar panel design made the modern solar industry possible: 90% of solar panels made last year were based on his designs. He’s still going strong, too, regularly breaking new records in the pursuit of the perfect solar panel. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi sits down with the man many call “the godfather of solar” to hear firsthand how it happened, the next record he wants to break and whether solar panels are destined for space. Reprinted courtesy of Oscar Boyd, Bloomberg, Akshat Rathi, Bloomberg and Christine Driscoll, Bloomberg Read the court decision
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First Circuit Rules Excess Insurer Must Provide Coverage for Fuel Spill

January 18, 2021 — Syed S. Ahmad & Adriana A. Perez - Hunton Andrews Kurth
The First Circuit recently held that a “Special Hazard and Fluids Limitation Endorsement” was ambiguous and therefore there was excess coverage for a fuel spill that occurred after a tanker-truck overturned. In Performance Trans. Inc. v. General Star Indem. Co., the First Circuit reversed the District Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of General Star Indemnity Company. The District Court held that the excess policy General Star issued to Performance Trans. Inc. precluded coverage for a spill that resulted in the leaking of thousands of gallons of fuel. The District Court relied on the existence of a total pollution exclusion to bar coverage and held that the policy’s Special Hazards and Fluids Limitation Endorsement could not create an ambiguity that would afford coverage. Reprinted courtesy of Syed S. Ahmad, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Adriana A. Perez, Hunton Andrews Kurth Mr. Ahmad may be contacted at sahmad@HuntonAK.com Ms. Perez may be contacted at pereza@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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Tenth Circuit Reverses District Court's Ruling that Contractor Entitled to a Defense

October 24, 2023 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
After the district court granted the insured contractor's motion for judgment on the pleadings on the duty to defend, the Tenth Circuit found there was no coverage and reversed. Owners Ins. Co. v. Greenhalgh Planning & Development, Inc., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 20137 (10th Cir. Aug. 4, 2023). Greenhalgh remodeled a house and barn for Michelle and Steven Pickens. After completion of the project, the Pickens sold the property to Teague and Michelle Cowley. The Cowleys later sued the Pickenses asserting various fraud and breach of contract claims. The complaint alleged that the Pickenses misled them into reasonably believing that the barn was a habitable structure, even though it did not qualify as such under the applicable building code because it lacked a fire-sprinkler system. 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

Court Addresses HOA Attempt to Restrict Short Term Rentals

December 11, 2018 — Kevin J. Parker - Snell & Wilmer Real Estate Litigation Blog
In a recent case, the Texas Supreme Court addressed an attempt by a homeowners’ association (“HOA”) to restrict short-term rentals based upon recorded Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (“CC&Rs”) applicable to a residential subdivision. The property was a single-family home. The homeowner rented the home through websites such as VRBO. The HOA issued notices of violation; the homeowner kept renting; the HOA assessed fines against the property. The property owner then sought a declaration from the court that the CC&Rs did not impose a minimum duration on occupancy or leasing. The trial court agreed with the HOA. The Texas Court of Appeals also agreed with the HOA. The Texas Supreme Court reversed, holding that the CC&Rs, as properly interpreted, did not prohibit short-term rentals. In arriving at its holding, the Texas Supreme Court analyzed the CC&Rs in detail and came to an interpretation different than the trial court and the Court of Appeals. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Kevin J. Parker, Snell & Wilmer
Mr. Parker may be contacted at kparker@swlaw.com

Overtime! – When the Statute of Limitations Isn’t Game Over For Your Claim

August 07, 2022 — Bradley E. Sands, Jones Walker LLP - ConsensusDocs
Statutes of limitations establish the period of time within which a claimant must bring an action after it accrues. An action can be filing a lawsuit and, in some instances, filing a demand for arbitration. But a multi-year construction project could be longer than the applicable statute of limitations. For example, under Delaware or North Carolina law, the statute of limitations for a breach of contract is only three years.1 So a claim for breach of a construction contract that occurred (i.e. accrued) at the beginning of a four-year project under Delaware or North Carolina law may expire before the project is completed. Generally, a claim accrues at the time of the breach (however, it is important to note that this is not always the case and claim accrual could be the subject of an entirely different article). During the course of a multi-year construction project, proposed change orders or claims for additional compensation can sit, unanswered or unpursued, for months. Or, the parties may informally agree as part of regular project communications to put off dealing with a claim head-on until the end of the project. On certain projects, slow-walking a claim is understandable, as a contractor may be hesitant to sue an owner in the middle of a multi-year project and risk upsetting an otherwise good working relationship. But a delay in formally asserting a put-off claim after it accrues could result in the claim falling subject to a statute of limitations defense. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bradley E. Sands, Jones Walker LLP (ConsensusDocs)
Mr. Sands may be contacted at bsands@joneswalker.com

California Supreme Court Shifts Gears on “Reverse CEQA”

February 23, 2016 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
The California Supreme Court has shifted gears on so-called “reverse CEQA” under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). The Supreme Court, in a much-anticipated decision, in California Building Industry Association v. Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Case No. S213478 (December 17, 2015), held that public agencies subject to CEQA are not required to analyze whether existing environmental conditions may impact a proposed project’s future users or residents – also known as “reverse CEQA” or “CEQA in reverse” – as opposed to the more traditional analysis of a proposed project’s impact on the environment, unless: 1. The proposed project risks exacerbating existing environmental hazards – in which case, it is the proposed project’s impact on the environment not the environment’s impact on the proposed project, which compels the evaluation; or 2. A reverse CEQA analysis is already required under statute, for example, on certain airport, school and housing projects. 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

Shea Homes CEO Receives Hearthstone Builder Humanitarian Award

February 12, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Bert Selva, Shea Homes CEO, received the Hearthstone Builder Humanitarian Award at the 2014 NAHB International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to Big Builder. Selva “has served for 11 years on HomeAid's board of directors,” and “is a big supporter of the nonprofit that works to provide housing for homeless families, victims of natural disasters, and veterans.” Furthermore, “Shea Homes has built eight HomeAid shelter projects valued at more than $5.2 million and has contributed nearly $850,000 to HomeAid and its chapters, making it one of the group's largest benefactors.” Not only does Selva actively support HomeAid, he also “serves as a national vice president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.” "I ask myself, 'How would it feel if that were me or my family?'" Selva told Big Builder. "When you personalize it, it becomes a lot more real and that's the motivation for me." The award “includes recognition at an event during the 2014 International Builders' Show and a cash award to a charity of his choice.” Read the full story, Jennifer Goodman’s Article... Read the full story, John McManus’s Article... Read the court decision
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EPA Threatens Cut in California's Federal Highway Funds

October 14, 2019 — Tom Ichniowski - Engineering News-Record
In a new salvo against the state of California, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has threatened to restrict uses for some federal highway aid to the state unless it moves to withdraw what EPA terms “backlogged and unapprovable" plans that outline steps the state would take to reduce pollution and meet Clean Air Act standards. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tom Ichniowski, ENR
Mr. Ichniowski may be contacted at ichniowskit@enr.com

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