Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

New York Court Grants Insured's Motion to Dismiss Construction Defect Case and Awards Fees to Insured

February 05, 2024 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The New York Supreme Court granted the insured's motion to dismiss the insurer's complaint seeking relief on its duty to indemnity and awarded fees to the insured. Utica Mut. Ins. Co. v. Crystal Curtain Wall Sys. Corp., 2023 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 22368 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Nov. 27, 2023). The case arose from a construction-related property damage action. Crystal entered a subcontract with the general contractor to design and install window and curtain systems in mixed residential and commercial buildings. When unit owners took possession, water infiltration during a rainstorm caused property damage and moldy conditions. The unit owners sued asserting claims against Crystal for the cost of repair or replacement of the allegedly defective curtain wall, damage to unit owners' personal property, diminution in value of the units, and delay damages consisting of increasing interest and carrying costs. 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

Trade Contract Revisions to Address COVID-19

August 23, 2021 — David R. Cook Jr. - Autry, Hall & Cook, LLP
Many trade contracts contain a clause that may protect trade contractors from catastrophic events like pandemics. These clauses are known as force-majeure clauses (covering acts of God). They basically say if these unavoidable events happen, the contractor is relieved of its obligations to the extent of the impact. However, many common industry forms have not been updated to specifically address COVID-19. (They may be waiting to see how the courts treat their existing language first.) So to ensure impacts from COVID-19 are covered, a trade contractor should consider expressly adding it to the force-majeure clause. See the example below. Notably, typical force-majeure clauses do not say the trade contractor gets more money. So an escalation clause could be added to the force-majeure clause. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David R. Cook, Autry, Hall & Cook, LLP
Mr. Cook may be contacted at cook@ahclaw.com

Actual Cost Value Includes Depreciation of Repair Labor Costs

November 07, 2022 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court granted the insurer's motion to dismiss after determining that benefits paid for actual cost value (ACV) did not include repair or replacement labor costs. Shahan v. Allstate Vehicle & Prop. Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135488 (W.D. La. July 29, 2022). Hurricane Laura damaged the insured's home. She filed a claim with Allstate under her homeowners policy. Allstate issued payment. The insured filed suit alleging Allstate wrongfully withheld amounts by depreciating labor when calculating the ACV of the damaged property. Allstate moved to dismiss. The policy was a replacement cost policy where the insured would receive the actual cash value of her insured property when it was damaged or destroyed by a covered peril. ACV was calculated by taking the repair/replacment which included both material and labor, and then deducting for depreciation. If no repairs or replacements were made, the insured was paid the ACV. If repairs or replacement was done, Allstate reimbursed the insured for the depreciation deduction. The insured challenged Allstate's refusal to pay 100% of the future labor costs, without any depreciation, even if the insured did not replace or repair the damaged property. 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

Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams. Unlicensed Contractor Takes the Cake

August 31, 2020 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
Before the Kardashians, before Empire, before Crazy Rich Asians there was Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach. The next case, Moore v. Teed, Case No. A153523 (April 24, 2020), 1st District Court of Appeals, is about the unfulfilled wishes and dashed dreams of the $13 million dollar “fixer upper.” Moore v. Teed The $13 Million Dollar “Fixer Upper” Justin Moore just wanted to buy a house in San Francisco. But he couldn’t afford one in the neighborhoods he preferred. But in 2011, luck struck, when Moore met Richard Teed, a real estate agent with “over 25 years of experience as a building contractor,” “an extensive background in historic restorations” and a “deep understanding of quality construction.” Teed told Moore that he could locate a “lower-priced fixer-upper in a choice neighborhood and then renovate it.” Moore was sold. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Subcontractor’s Claim against City Barred by City’s Compliance with Georgia Payment Bond Statute

March 29, 2017 — Chadd Reynolds – Autry, Hanrahan, Hall & Cook, LLP
In a recent Georgia Court of Appeals case, the Court was tasked with determining whether the City of Atlanta’s compliance with the Georgia Payment Bond Statutes barred a subcontractor from recovery against it after the general contractor failed to pay and the surety became insolvent. Squared Plumbing Co., LLC (J. Squared), was a subcontractor on a project to clean up sewage spills in approximately 100 dwellings for the City of Atlanta. As required by the contract executed with the City, the general contractor, Scott and Sons Holdings, LLC (Scott and Sons), obtained a $200,000 payment bond from its surety, First Seaford Surety, Inc. (First Seaford). J. Squared sought to collect on the payment bond when Scott and Sons failed to pay J. Squared for the work it performed on the project. However, First Seaford became insolvent. J. Squared subsequently filed a claim against Scott and Sons and the City to recover $140,000 for its work on the project. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Chadd Reynolds, Autry, Hanrahan, Hall & Cook, LLP
Mr. Reynolds may be contacted at reynolds@ahclaw.com

Appeals Court Overruled Insured as Additional Insured on Subcontractor’s Commercial General Liability Policy

April 02, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Scott R. Murphy and Clifford J. Shapiro of Barnes & Thornburg LLP in the publication National Law Review analyzed the findings of the Mississippi case Carl E. Woodward, LLC v. Acceptance Indemnity Insurance: “the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overruled the district court’s determination that a general contractor was insured as an additional insured on its subcontractor’s commercial general liability (CGL) policy for claims arising out of the allegedly defective work performed by the subcontractor.” “This case underscores the fact that many standard policy forms do not include completed operations coverage for additional insureds,” Murphy and Shapiro declared. “Owners and contractors that desire to have such coverage therefore need to check their contracts to be make sure the contract language requires completed operations coverage for additional insureds, and they also need to obtain and review the actual additional insured endorsement contained in their subcontractors’ insurance policies before work commences to make sure that the required completed operations insurance coverage is provided.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of

Crowdfunding Comes to Manhattan’s World Trade Center

January 28, 2015 — David M. Levitt – Bloomberg
Got $5,000? You can invest in the 3 World Trade Center skyscraper under construction in lower Manhattan. Fundrise, a real estate crowdfunding business, is inviting individual investors to put as little as $5,000 into bonds backing the 80-story tower, according to a statement e-mailed by Joshua Greenwald, a spokesman for the Washington-based company. The total cost for the Richard Rogers-designed building is projected to be $2 billion. “We think the 3 World Trade Center investment offering is proof of the power of crowdfunding at work,” Dan Miller, co-founder of Fundrise, said in the statement. “We are proud to be able to give more people a chance to invest in this important iconic asset.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David M. Levitt, Bloomberg
Mr. Levitt may be contacted at dlevitt@bloomberg.net

Building Amid the COVID Challenge

November 29, 2021 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
At longtime client Clark Construction, Dave Beck took charge of risk management just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. David Beck made a big career move last year—just how big, he soon learned. In January 2020, Beck became division president for risk management at Clark Construction Group, a major national builder based in Bethesda, Md., with more than 4,000 employees across the U.S. In business since 1906, Clark has grown from a small, local excavator into one of the country’s best-known providers of construction services. Beck took up his position at Clark shortly before COVID-19 changed life for everyone. We recently reached out to him to learn how his role has evolved since then. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

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