Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

North Carolina Federal Court Holds “Hazardous Materials” Exclusion Does Not Bar Duty to Defend Under CGL Policy for Bodily Injury Claims Arising Out of Direct Exposure to PFAs

December 07, 2020 — Paul A. Briganti - White and Williams LLP
On October 19, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina held that a “hazardous materials” exclusion contained in a CGL policy did not preclude a duty to defend the insured against claims alleging bodily injury resulting from direct exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which are man-made chemicals within the group of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs).[1] In Colony Insurance Company v. Buckeye Fire Equipment Company, the insured was named a defendant in hundreds of underlying suits relating to its manufacture of fire equipment containing aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), a fire suppressant.[2] The underlying plaintiffs alleged that: (a) the AFFF contained PFOS and PFOA; (b) PFOA and PFOS are highly carcinogenic; and (c) exposure to AFFF contained in the defendants’ products caused bodily injury or property damage. Around a third of the underlying complaints alleged harm from both direct exposure to the foam and exposure through the environment. Representative language from those complaints was: “[d]uring [underlying plaintiff’s] employment as a firefighter and firefighter instructor, he was significantly exposed to elevated levels of PFOS and PFOA in their concentrated form as a result of regular contact with [d]efendant’s AFFF products and through PFOS and PFOA having contaminated the FireCollege well system.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Paul A. Briganti, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Briganti may be contacted at brigantip@whiteandwilliams.com

Karen Campbell, Kristen Perkins to Speak at CLM 2020 Annual Conference in Dallas

March 02, 2020 — Karen Campbell & Kristen Perkins - Lewis Brisbois
New York Partner Karen L. Campbell and Fort Lauderdale Partner Kristen D. Perkins will both speak at the upcoming CLM 2020 Annual Conference taking place March 18 to 20 at the Gaylord Texan Resort outside Dallas, Texas. On March 19 at 2:00 p.m., Ms. Perkins will join a panel discussion titled “Predictive Analytics – You Don’t Need a Crystal Ball to Predict the Future,” exploring how predictive analytics affects litigation management programs, including case budgets, case cycle times, and claims outcomes. The panelists will also look at how machine learning picks up on nuances or anomalies that can affect analytics and give attendees a clearer picture on expected case parameters, and how that information can empower claims professionals during firm selection. Then, on March 20 at 10:40 a.m., Ms. Campbell will join a roundtable discussion titled “How to Calculate Damages and Defend in Serious Injury Cases,” covering the calculation of both economic and non-economic damages, as well as trends and recent verdicts involving punitive damages and assessing the various types of third-party liability. Reprinted courtesy of Karen Campbell, Lewis Brisbois and Kristen Perkins, Lewis Brisbois Ms. Campbell may be contacted at Karen.Campbell@lewisbrisbois.com Ms. Perkins may be contacted at Kristen.Perkins@lewisbrisbois.com Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Georgia Appellate Court Supports County Claim Against Surety Company’s Failure to Pay

August 30, 2017 — David R. Cook Jr. - Autry, Hanrahan, Hall & Cook, LLP
In 2015, Hall County (Georgia) brought legal action against Selective Insurance Company of America, Inc., the surety company for contractor Ruby Forrest. Hall County had contracted Ruby Forrest to complete and maintain sidewalk systems within three residential subdivisions that Ruby Forrest owned and was developing. Ruby Forrest did not complete the work as promised, and Hall County brought action against the contractor’s surety to recover under performance / maintenance bonds for uncompleted work and to assert bad faith claim for punitive damages and attorney fees. Selective Insurance did not dispute that it had issued the bonds, that Ruby Forrest did not complete the sidewalk systems within the bond periods or their extensions, or that Hall County provided Selective Insurance with timely notice of Ruby Forrest’s failure to complete the work. Instead, Selective Insurance asserted that the original claim by Hall County was time-barred under a provision in the bonds that stated that “the Issuer will have no more liability after” the expiration date of the bond. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David R. Cook, Autry, Hanrahan, Hall & Cook, LLP
Mr. Cook may be contacted at cook@ahclaw.com

Strict Liability or Negligence? The Proper Legal Standard for Inverse Condemnation caused by Water Damage to Property

March 30, 2016 — Charles S. Krolikowski – Newmeyer & Dillion, LLP
Filing a lawsuit against a government entity can be a daunting task given the complexities of tort claims requirements and governmental immunities. A recent decision by the Court of Appeal in Pacific Shores Property Owners Association v. Department of Fish & Wildlife, Case No. C07020 (Jan. 20, 2016), provided welcome clarification as to the proper legal standard for an inverse condemnation action based upon activities of a government entity which cause water damage to private property. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Charles S. Krolikowski, Newmeyer & Dillion, LLP
Mr. Krolikowski may be contacted at charles.krolikowski@ndlf.com

Engineer at Flint Negligence Trial Details Government Water Errors

April 04, 2022 — Richard Korman & Jeff Yoders - Engineering News-Record
Warren Green, vice president and chief engineer of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, an engineering consultant to Flint, Mich. during its disastrous water crisis of 2014 and 2015, testified in federal court last week that city officials forged ahead to switch its source of drinking water without adequate water softening or testing after one municipal manager assured him that the more extensive testing would be done. Reprinted courtesy of Richard Korman, Engineering News-Record and Jeff Yoders, Engineering News-Record Mr. Korman may be contacted at kormanr@enr.com Mr. Yoders may be contacted at yodersj@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Florida Accuses Pool Contractor of Violating Laws

June 28, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
One customer said that after his pool was finished, he started having problems with the concrete and tiles. He’s still waiting for the $7,300 he was awarded at arbitration. Others have complained that Nationwide Pools dug up their back yards and didn’t finish the work. Construction defects were not repaired, despite promises. And even after the company stopped doing any work anywhere, they continued to charge their customers “progress payments.” The State of Florida has stepped into this, seeking restitution for homeowners who were charged for partially built or defective pools, and preventing the company officials from ever working in the pool construction industry. According to the suit, customers who complained about delays were told “a series of lies and misrepresentations about ‘supply shortages’ and ‘damaged items’ in order to string them along.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

California Supreme Court Rejects Insurers' Bid for Horizontal Exhaustion Rule in New Montrose Decision

April 20, 2020 — J. Kelby Van Patten - Payne & Fears
In Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Superior Court, 2020 WL 1671560 (April 6, 2020), the California Supreme Court held that, when one primary policy exhausts in a continuing injury claim, the excess insurer sitting above that policy must drop down and provide coverage for the entire claim (up to its policy limits), even if primary policies in other years remain unexhausted. Montrose was sued for environmental contamination between 1947 and 1982. In many years, Montrose had primary insurance as well as multiple layers of excess coverage. Montrose’s excess insurers argued for a “horizontal exhaustion” rule, which would have required that all implicated primary policies exhaust before any excess insurers provide coverage. The California Supreme Court rejected the insurers’ arguments and found that Montrose was entitled to coverage from an excess insurer once the specific primary policy sitting below that insurer was exhausted. The Supreme Court also confirmed that, under California’s “all sums” rule, each excess insurer must provide coverage for the entire amount of the loss (up to its policy limits). Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of J. Kelby Van Patten, Payne & Fears
Mr. Van Patten may be contacted at kvp@paynefears.com

TRI Pointe Merges with Weyerhaeuser’s Real Estate Company

July 09, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to Big Builder, “TRI Pointe settled--expectedly--on its mammoth $2.8 billion deal to acquire Weyerhaeuser's five home building operations in the Northwest, California/Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and the Mid-Atlantic regions, a talent-rich operator group, 27,000 building lots, and power brand names via a complex Reverse Morris Trust financial transaction.” This now makes TRI Pointe “one of the top 10 largest public homebuilders in the United States by equity market capitalization based on the closing price of TRI Pointe common stock on July 8, 2014,” according to their press statement, as quoted in Big Builder. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES