SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

The Legal Landscape

June 17, 2024 — David McMillin - Construction Executive
The construction industry continues to change as new technologies reshape jobsites and new generations of leaders rethink the way companies should operate. But one piece of the puzzle remains very much the same: Everyone needs a good lawyer. According to the most recent edition of the Arcadis Construction Disputes Report, the average value of a dispute in the industry has soared to $42.8 million—a 42% year-over-year increase between 2021 and 2022. And based on how busy the attorneys at Construction Executive’s 2024 Top 50 Construction Law Firmshave been this year, there is no sign of legal issues becoming less important to builders and contractors. Every construction leader wants to spend more time and energy doing what they do best—building projects safely, efficiently and profitably—and less time thinking about the things that might land them in court. How can you best avoid big disputes bound for mediation, arbitration or litigation? What emerging rules and regulations should be on your radar as you develop strategies for success? While legal issues will never disappear, listening to what some of the best construction lawyers in the country—all members of 2024 Top 50 Construction Law Firms—are thinking about offers a helpful perspective on future-proofing your business against risk, liability and worse. Reprinted courtesy of David McMillin, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Construction Defect Disputes: Know Your Measure of Damages!!!!!

January 21, 2025 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Remember this: know your measure of damages in a construction defect dispute. If you don’t, as shown below, the outcome can be unforgiving. The measure of damages is one of your most important elements of proof. You are filing suit for damages; thus, knowing what you can reasonably recovery is paramount. In a recent dispute, Bandklayder Development, LLC v. Sabga, 50 Fla.L.Weekly D91e (Fla. 3d DCA 2025), a residential developer sold a single-family house while it was under construction in an as-is purchase agreement. Post-closing, the purchasers claimed defects and served a Florida Statutes Chapter 558 notice of construction defects letter. The purchaser subsequently initiated a construction defect lawsuit. During the nonjury trial, the purchaser’s expert testified that the purchasers suffered damages approximating $323,000 calculated as of January 19, 2022 (which was the date of the expert’s report). The expert further testified that the cost to finish the incomplete/defective work increased by 35% at the date of the May 2023 trial. However, the expert never testified as to the amount of damages as of the date of the contractual breach, which at the latest, would have been in April 2018 when the notice of construction defects letter was sent (or, at its earliest, June 2017 when closing occurred). At trial, the judge entered judgment for the purchasers in the amount of about $425,0000. This was reversed on appeal with judgment to be entered in favor of the developer. Why? Because the purchasers employed the wrong measure of damages and the only thing that prevented them from introducing the right measure of damages was within their control. Harsh outcome for not applying the correct measure of damages! Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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DA’s Office Checking Workers Comp Compliance

February 10, 2012 — CDJ STAFF

The San Bernardino office of the California District Attorney is partnering with the California Contractor’s State License Board to check if subcontractors are holding the required workers compensation insurance. The High Desert Daily Press reports that the process of checking at sites has been going on for several months.



Investigators visit sites and ask supervisors to provide a list of subcontractors which the state then checks for compliance. One worker was quoted that insurance inspections were so rare that he had never seen one before, despite 20 years in construction.



On one day, investigators in two teams visited fourteen construction sites and reviewed the insurance status of twenty-two firms. Three were found out of compliance and stop work orders were issued.

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Do Hurricane-Prone Coastal States Need to Update their Building Codes?

April 15, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Property Casualty 360 reported that “a number of coastal states took no action to improve their building code systems since 2012, and a few have weaker systems in place, according to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).” The IBHS released their “Rating the States” report that published the results of their study of “the 18 most hurricane-prone states located along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast on their building regulations.” States can receive up to 100 points, with a higher score reflecting better state building requirements. Delaware scored lowest with a mere 17 points—the same score it received in 2012. Virginia, the highest scored state, earned 95 points. Read the court decision
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Oregon Supreme Court Confirms Broad Duty to Defend

November 21, 2017 — Theresa A. Guertin - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. Blog
Originally published by CDJ on January 13, 2017 The Supreme Court of Oregon issued a decision at the end of last year which perfectly illustrates the lengths to which a court may go to grant a contractor’s claim for defense from its insurer in a construction defect suit. In West Hills Development Co. v. Chartis Claims, Inc.,1 the Court held that a subcontractor’s insurer had a duty to defend a general contractor as an additional insured because the allegations of a homeowner’s association’s complaint could be interpreted to fall within the ambit of coverage provided under the policy—despite the fact that the policy only provided ongoing operations coverage, and despite the fact that the subcontractor was never mentioned in the complaint. The decision is favorable to policyholders but also provides an important lesson: that contractors may avoid additional insured disputes if those contractors have solid contractual insurance requirements for both ongoing and completed operations risks. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Theresa A. Guertin, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Ms. Guertin may be contacted at tag@sdvlaw.com

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Building Inspector Refuses to State Why Apartments Condemned

August 06, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
In Lockport, New York, “more than two dozen tenants have been locked out of their apartment building…but they have yet to find out why,” according to WIVB news. Brian Belson, Lockport’s building inspector, condemned the building and ordered the tenants to leave, providing only 15 minutes advanced warning. Once all of the tenants were out, the first floor windows and doors were boarded up. At first, tenants were told that they would be able to return in a few days, but now they are being told it could be weeks. However, WIVB News reported that Brian Belson has not returned any of their phone calls, so they have “filed a Freedom of Information request at Town Hall, seeking that information.” Belson has five days to respond to the request. Read the court decision
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Empire State Building Owners Sue Photographer for Topless Photo Shoot

January 22, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
USA Today reports that the owners of New York’s Empire State Building are suing photographer Allen Henson for taking pictures of a topless woman on the sky scraper’s observation deck. “The owners claim Henson damaged the building's reputation as a safe, family-friendly attraction when he took photos of the model in August,” according to USA Today. Henson allegedly did not ask the owners for permission prior to the shoot. Henson retorted that he took the photos when children were not present, and the pictures do not have any “commercial value; he just posted them on social media.” Read the court decision
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Construction Jobs Keep Rising, with April Gain of 33,000

June 10, 2019 — Tom Ichniowski - Engineering News-Record
The construction employment picture continues to brighten, as the industry gained 33,000 jobs in April and its jobless rate improved, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported. 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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