Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Construction Litigation Roundup: “You Left Out a Key Ingredient!”

September 12, 2023 — Daniel Lund III - Lexology
“Baking is as much of a science as it is an art. It’s important to take the time to understand what you’re doing and why. Skipping steps can make or break your cupcakes, and there are a lot of things that can go wrong when baking from scratch.” And so it is with construction contract drafting. Defendants on a Miller Act claim filed by a second-tier subcontractor in federal court in Pensacola, Florida, sought to have the case transferred to Virginia, based upon a forum selection clause in the first-tier subcontract. 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

Designing the Process to Deliver Zero-Carbon Construction – Computational Design in Practice

January 04, 2023 — Peter Debney - AEC Business
Computational Design is generating increasing interest in the construction industry as well as a certain amount of confusion. It is not parametric design; instead it takes parametric design to the next level. It is a set of methods that will define how we design structures over the next decades. With Computational Design, you don’t design the building; you design the automated process to find the best building design. Why use Computational Design? Computational Design is enabling us to create buildings that are far more efficient than we can manage using more traditional methods. Some architects are indeed using it to produce novel building forms, but its great advantage is in helping us towards efficient, zero-carbon construction. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Peter Debney, AEC Business

Dust Obscures Eleventh Circuit’s Ruling on “Direct Physical Loss”

October 12, 2020 — Walter J. Andrews, Michael S. Levine & Daniel Hentschel - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
On August 18, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a District Court’s 2018 ruling that Sparta Insurance Company need not cover a south Florida restaurant’s lost income and extra expenses resulting from nearby road construction. But, in doing so, the appeals court appears to deviate from even its own understanding of “direct physical loss” under controlling Florida law. In the underlying coverage action, the insured, Mama Jo’s Inc. operating as Berries in the Grove, sought coverage under its “all risk” commercial property insurance policy for business income loss and incurred extra expenses caused by construction dust and debris that migrated into the restaurant. Reprinted courtesy of Walter J. Andrews, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Daniel Hentschel, Hunton Andrews Kurth Mr. Andrews may be contacted at wandrews@HuntonAK.com Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com Mr. Hentschel may be contacted at dhentschel@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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DC Circuit Approves, with Some Misgivings, FERC’s Approval of the Atlantic Sunrise Natural Gas Pipeline Extension

December 02, 2019 — Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit decided the case of Allegheny Defense Project, et al. v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on August 2, 2019. In a Per Curiam opinion, the court denied petitions challenging the Commission’s orders permitting the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company’s expansion of an existing natural gas pipeline which extends from northern Pennsylvania across the Carolinas into Alabama. The expansion is called the “Atlantic Sunrise Project.” In February 2017, FERC approved the expansion, and denied various petitions, filed by environmental organizations and affected landowners, who then challenged the decision in the DC Circuit. However, the court concluded, on the basis of the administrative record, that these challenges “cannot surmount the deferential standards of agency review and binding DC Circuit precedent.” Under the law, the Commission must consider whether the projected pipeline project meets a market need, and whether the public benefits outweigh the harms. If both criteria are satisfied, FERC will, as in this instance, issue a certificate authorizing the pipeline’s construction, and that certificate also empowers the certificate holder to exercise eminent domain authority under to the Natural Gas Act when necessary. It was the latter consequence of the FERC’s determinations that caused several Pennsylvania landowners to file their objections with the Commission and seek to stay construction. 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

The Benefits of Trash Talking: A Cautionary Tale of Demolition Gone Wrong

September 02, 2024 — Joshua Levy, Anne O'Meara & Kimberly Gutierrez - Construction Executive
That sinking feeling has crossed everyone’s mind at some point: "Did I accidentally throw out...?” It can happen to anyone, from valuable jewelry to uncashed checks or even (in the case of one contractor) to fire-pump control cabinets. Demolishing the wrong equipment is a concern construction and demolition contractors should review before beginning any project. Recently, one general contractor and its demolition subcontractor would have benefitted from a more detailed “trash” talking session, which could have helped them avoid a dumpster-fire of a legal dispute. In this case, the general contractor was contracted to renovate a hangar for a military base. The company subcontracted the demolition work to a local, family-owned contractor to demolish aspects of the hangar’s fire-suppression room. The two companies met many times, from planning to daily field walk-downs. They discussed that any equipment that was tagged with bright orange tags would remain in the fire-suppression room. The contractor also reviewed the demolition plans with the demolition company, detailing what should and should not be removed. Reprinted courtesy of Joshua Levy, Anne O'Meara & Kimberly Gutierrez, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Hong Kong Buyers Queue for New Homes After Prices Plunge

July 09, 2014 — Michelle Yun – Bloomberg
On a Saturday morning in mid-June, thousands wait, crammed into Hong Kong’s Fortune Metropolis mall, across Victoria Harbor from the main business district, their eyes locked on large elevated screens. Cheers erupt when numbers flash, indicating the lucky ticket holders in the crowd. They have paid HK$150,000 ($19,354) to enter a lottery that prioritizes buyers of apartments at City Point, a seven-tower development that billionaire Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. (1) is building. More than 5,000 homebuyer-hopefuls are vying for 442 units, or about 11 for every home that went on sale the weekend of June 14. Housing sales in Hong Kong are rising after government efforts to cool soaring prices led transactions to plunge last year to the lowest since at least 2002. A drop in mortgage rates and discounts from builders are luring back buyers of new homes after their price fell as much as 20 percent since October. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michelle Yun, Bloomberg
Ms. Yun may be contacted at myun11@bloomberg.net

The Moving Finish Line: Statutes of Limitation and Repose Are Not Always What They Seem

June 01, 2020 — Kenneth E. Rubinstein & Nathan Fennessy - Construction Executive
Having an end date for risk is important to construction professionals who need to know when they can close their books and destroy files relating to old projects. While professionals typically look to the statute of limitations and repose, these deadlines can sometimes be harder to determine than one might think. State Laws Prohibiting Alteration of Statutes of Limitation Many contractors seek to control the extent of their risk by negotiating the length of their liability period. In some instances, contractors may seek to shorten the statute of limitations to protect against stale claims. While in other instances, owners periodically negotiate for longer periods to ensure that they will not be time barred from pursuing valid claims. While the majority of states enforce such contractual provision, a number of states hold such clauses unenforceable. In these instances, the state’s original statute of limitations will apply regardless of what the contract says. Reprinted courtesy of Kenneth E. Rubinstein & Nathan Fennessy, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Mr. Rubenstein may be contacted at krubinstein@preti.com Mr. Fennessy may be contacted at nfennessy@Preti.com Read the court decision
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Timely Written Notice to Insurer and Cooperating with Insurer

June 21, 2017 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
I harp on notifying a liability insurer in writing once a claim is asserted against you. As soon as possible. I harp on this because as an insured you want to remove any doubt or argument that the insurer was prejudiced due to a lack of timely notice. In a recent opinion, Zurich American Insurance Co. v. European Tile and Floors, Inc., 2017 WL 2427172 (M.D.Fla. 2017), the insurer moved for summary judgment in a coverage action arguing that its insured failed to provide it timely written notice. Specifically, the insurer argued that the insured violated the clause in the liability policy that states: 2. Duties in the Event of Occurrence, Offense, Claim or Suit

Immediately record the specifics of the claim or “suit” and the date received; and
Notify us as soon as practicable.

You must see to it that we receive written notice of the claim or “suit” as soon as practicable.

Immediately send us copies of any demands, notices, summonses or legal papers received in connection with the claim or “suit”;
Authorize us to obtain records and other information;
Cooperate with us in the investigation, settlement or defense of the claim or “suit”; and
Assist us, upon our request, in the enforcement of any right against any person or organization which may be liable to the insured because of injury or damage to which this insurance may also apply.

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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Florida Construction Legal Updates
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at Dadelstein@gmail.com

SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES