Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Nevada Senate Minority Leader Gets Construction Defect Bill to Committee

April 03, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The Las Vegas Sun reports that Michael Roberson, the lead Republican in the Nevada Senate, managed to get his construction defect reform bill scheduled for a hearing. Previously, the Senate Democrats had determined that all bills pertaining to construction defect legislation would be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, Roberson managed to convince Kelvin Atkinson, the chair of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, to add his bill to the text a mortgage lending measure under consideration by that committee. Roberson had previously submitted his bill to the Judiciary Committee. Senator Tick Segerblom has not scheduled the bill for a hearing and is reported to be an opponent of the bill. While Roberson characterizes the bill as making things better for homebuilders, Segerblom sees it as making things worse for homeowners. “That’s not going to happen,” Seberblom told the Las Vegas Sun. Although the senate voted to send the bill to the Commerce and Labor committee, it still may not get a hearing. Segerblom said he did not know if the bill would be heard in his committee. “We’ve got 60 or more bills to hear and if there’s nothing new in there to change the world, I don’t know why we would hear it.” Atkinson said he has “no appetite to hear the bill.” Read the court decision
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‘I’m a Scapegoat,’ Says Former CEO of Dubai Construction Firm

September 30, 2019 — Layan Odeh & Zainab Fattah - Bloomberg
The former chief executive officer of Drake & Scull International PJSC said the company’s accusations of financial violations against him are an attempt to find a “scapegoat” for rising losses. Khaldoun Tabari said the Dubai-based contractor has filed 15 complaints against him to the public prosecutor last year. He said the allegations prompted authorities in the United Arab Emirates to order banks to freeze his bank accounts in June 2018. He denies any wrongdoing. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Layan Odeh & Zainab Fattah, Bloomberg

Speculative Luxury Homebuilding on the Rise

April 08, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Forbes reported that there is a “comeback in speculative building of luxury homes in centers of wealth across the country.” “The appearance of spec homes in the upper price range is an indication of the maturation of the housing cycle,” Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA, told Forbes. “It’s an indication of increasing levels of confidence on the part of home builders.” Dana Kuhn, of the Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate at San Diego State University, stated that she “would expect luxury buyers to want more design control than can be afforded them if the house is mostly complete when they make their purchase.” But the article showed the flip side: Some luxury buyers are “too busy to bother with such involvement” and even prefer to buy the house fully furnished. Read the court decision
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Taylor Morrison Home Corp’ New San Jose Development

October 15, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The Silicon Valley Business Journal reported that Taylor Morrison Home Corp has made the “biggest land acquisition so far in San Jose” after acquiring “an 8-acre chunk of dirt in the developing Montecito Vista area where it has plans to build out 184 townhomes.” The developer “paid about $32.5 million, or roughly $176,600 per buildable unit, for the land, according to public tax records,” according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Construction is scheduled to begin November of 2015 and models should be ready by April of 2016. Read the court decision
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Groundbreaking on New Boulder Neighborhood

November 20, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
A new ten-acre neighborhood is springing up in northeast Boulder, Kalmia38. The development is being built by Markel Homes Construction Co. and Coast to Coast Residential Development. The first homes should be ready for residents by the second quarter of 2014, with building continuing on the project for about three years. Read the court decision
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Miller Act Claim for Unsigned Change Orders

June 30, 2016 — David Adelstein – Florida Construction Legal Updates
Contracts and subcontracts often contain language that requires change orders to be in writing and that no change order work shall be performed unless agreed to in advance in a signed change order. Oftentimes change order work is performed but the parties have not complied with the strict requirements of the contract by having this work signed off by the parties in a change order prior to the commencement of the work. Well, can such requirements be waived? If so, can such change orders form the basis of a Miller Act claim? The answer is generally yes provided the party arguing waiver can support the waiver with evidence (that the other party voluntarily relinquished the requirements through its course of conduct / actions). Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David M. Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Contractor Sues Construction Defect Claimants for Defamation

June 28, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Andrew Smith and Armando Delgado both own condos in the Willowbrook condominium complex in East Manatee, Florida, and they’ve both been dealing with structural problems with their homes. Now they’re together in another matter as the contractor who has been hired to do the repairs has sued them for defamation. The homeowners claim that the construction company is trying to intimidate them. KB Homes, which built the Willowbrook complex, hired Dueall Construction to repair the buildings. Anthony Robbins, one of the owners of Dueall, is currently on probation for cocaine trafficking. Smith put this information on a website associated with complaints about KB Homes, while Delgado put a banner on the back of his pickup truck. The lawsuit claims that Smith and Delgado “have initiated a campaign to smear and defame Dueall and its owners.” Read the court decision
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Injury to Employees Endorsement Eliminates Coverage for Insured Employer

February 01, 2021 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court granted summary judgment to the insurer based upon an endorsement which barred coverage for injuries to employees. Northfield Ins. Co. v. Z&J Mgt. LLC, 2020 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 10801 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Dec. 18, 2020). Ravi Sooklal sued his employer, Z&J Management LLC (Z&J), for injuries at the job site. Northfield, who had issued a CGL policy to Z&L, denied coverage based upon two endorsements. The first was titled "Injury to Employees of Insureds" and the second was "Employers' Liability." Northfield sued for a declaratory judgment and now moved for summary judgment. 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

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