Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Truck Hits Warning Beam That Falls, Kills Motorist at Las Vegas Bridge Project

July 11, 2022 — Doug Puppel - Engineering News-Record
A truck carrying an oversized load in northwest Las Vegas on Friday struck a steel beam near a bridge construction site, sending the beam crashing onto a following vehicle and killing its driver, according to the Nevada Dept. of Transportation. Reprinted courtesy of Doug Puppel, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Colorado’s Federal District Court Finds Carriers Have Joint and Several Defense Duties

July 31, 2013 — Tred Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
An issue that has plagued builders in Colorado construction defect litigation is the difficulty of getting additional insured carriers to fully participate in the builder’s defense, oftentimes leaving the builder to fund its own defense during the course of the litigation. Many additional insurers offer a variety of positions regarding why they will not pay for fees and costs during the course of a lawsuit. Some insurers argue that, until after trial, it is impossible to determine its proper share of the defense, and therefore cannot make any payments until the liability is determined as to all of the potentially contributing policies. (This is often referred to as the “defense follows indemnity” approach.) Others may make an opening contribution to defense fees and costs, but fall silent as fees and costs accumulate. In such an event, the builder may be forced to fund all or part of its own defense, while the uncooperative additional insured carrier waits for the end of the lawsuit or is faced with other legal action before it makes other contributions. Recent orders in two, currently ongoing, U.S. District Court cases provide clarity on the duty to defend in Colorado, holding that multiple insurers’ duty to defend is joint and several. The insured does not have to go without a defense while the various insurers argue amongst themselves as to which insurer pays what share. Read the court decision
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Tred Eyerly can be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

The Anatomy of a Construction Dispute- The Claim

December 02, 2015 — Christopher G. Hill – Construction Law Musings
A new year brings with it promise and challenges. The promise is a relatively clean slate and the thought that 2015 will be a great year for construction professionals and those that assist them. The challenges come from the almost inevitable issues that can arise on a construction site with its many moving parts and enough potential pitfalls to make even the most optimistic construction attorney, contractor, subcontractor or supplier think that Murphy was an optimist. In order to assist with the potential challenges, this post will be the first in a series of “musings” on the best way to handle a payment dispute arising from a construction contract. This week’s post will discuss what the first steps should be once a payment dispute or claim arises. We’ll assume that you, as a construction contractor, have taken early advantage of the services of a construction lawyer and have carefully reviewed your contract for issues before signing that contract. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Christopher G. Hill, Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PC
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

Federal District Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Against Implementation of the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Final Rule

November 03, 2016 — Patrick J. Greene, Jr. & Lori Ann Lange – Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Client Alert
On July 31, 2014, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13673. As subsequently amended, the Executive Order purports to “increase efficiency and cost savings in the work performed by parties who contract with the Federal Government by ensuring that they understand and comply with labor laws.” On August 25, 2016 the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) Council published the final FAR Rule and the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) published its Guidance further implementing the Executive Order. The FAR final rule was scheduled to go into effect in stages, starting with solicitations with an estimated value of $50 million or more on October 25, 2016. The potential effect of these new regulations on government contractors has been the subject of prior alerts from this office and much ongoing discussion. Reprinted courtesy of Patrick J. Greene, Jr., Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Lori Ann Lange, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Mr. Greene may be contacted at pgreene@pecklaw.com Ms. Lange may be contacted at llange@pecklaw.com Read the court decision
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Professional Liability Client Alert: Law Firms Should Consider Hiring Outside Counsel Before Suing Clients For Unpaid Fees

March 31, 2014 — David W. Evans and Blythe Golay - Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
Law firms seeking to recover attorney’s fees as the prevailing party in fee dispute litigation with their former client should hire outside counsel in order to avoid waiving any entitlement to such fees. Evaluating any potential exposure for a professional negligence claim or cross-claim before filing suit should also be considered. In Soni v. Wellmike Enterprise Company, Ltd., et al., No. B242288 (filed March 26, 2014) the California Court of Appeal for the Second District held that a law firm, represented by its own employees and associates, was not entitled to recover attorney fees as the prevailing party, pursuant to the attorney’s fee provision in the retainer agreement. The Soni decision is the latest addition to the general prohibition enunciated by Trope v. Katz (1995) 11 Cal.4th 274 (“Trope”) and its progeny that law firms are precluded from recovering attorney’s fees for self-representation. In Soni, the law firm obtained a $28,384 judgment for delinquent legal fees against a former client. The firm then filed a motion for attorney’s fees, seeking $120,912 as the fees it incurred as the prevailing party under the retainer agreement. The trial court denied the motion based on the general rule set forth in the Trope line of cases that fees are not recoverable where the firm is represented by attorneys employed by the firm, despite the presence in the applicable retainer agreement of a clause notifying the client that fees the law firm would seek if it prevailed would include those for its in-house personnel. Reprinted courtesy of David W. Evans, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP and Blythe Golay, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP Mr. Evans may be contacted at devans@hbblaw.com; Ms. Golay may be contacted at bgolay@hbblaw.com Read the court decision
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Advice to Georgia Homeowners with Construction Defects

October 02, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
NOLO Press has some advice for Georgia homeowners who have found construction defects. Their first advice is to make certain matters don’t get any worse. They note that the “the builder is not responsible for any damage that occurs to the home after you’ve discovered the problem.” You should keep records of those repairs, since you can’t get reimbursed unless you can prove what you spent. Some problems are covered under builder warranties, but usually only in the first year. But if it’s not covered, or the warranty has expired, NOLO notes that “you might not be out of luck.” The three options under Georgia law are to claim breach of contract, negligent construction, or fraud. NOLO gives the example that if the house was not built according to the plans, the builder might be found guilty of breach of contract. If the builder worked in “a shoddy manner that no other builder would use,” then it might be negligent construction. “If the builder outright lied about the quality or type of materials used,” you might have a claim for fraud. However, NOLO notes that first you must notify the builder. Under Georgia law, you have to inform the builder of the problems 90 days before you can file a lawsuit, and the builder has 30 days in which to respond to your claims. The hope of Georgia’s Right to Repair Act is to avoid a lawsuit and get the house fixed. And that’s always the best result. Read the court decision
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A Lot of Cheap Housing Is About to Get Very Expensive

October 21, 2015 — Patrick Clark – Bloomberg
Urban Institute fellow Erika Poethig has a poster in her office showing 22 apartment buildings along Chicago's Lake Shore Drive. They were all built with U.S. government dollars to provide affordable housing to thousands of low-income households—and have since been converted to market-rate apartments and condominiums. For Poethig, a former official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, those apartments are a warning. There are currently about 1.34 million units of affordable housing created by a HUD program known as Section 8 project-based rental assistance, according to a blog post published on Wednesday by Poethig and her Urban Institute colleague Reed Jordan. More than 30 percent of those units are kept affordable by contracts that are set to expire by the end of 2017. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Patrick Clark, Bloomberg

Happenings in and around the 2015 West Coast Casualty Seminar

May 07, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar returns to the Disneyland Hotel next week (May 14th and 15th), and the Construction Defect Journal has compiled a list of concerts, sporting events, and museum exhibitions taking place in and around Anaheim. Whether you like to spend your personal time checking out a new band, or watching your favorite Angel slide into home, or perusing the local art museum, there is something to spark your interest. CONCERT VENUES THE HOUSE OF BLUES IN ANAHEIM Located in Downtown Disney, The House of Blues in Anaheim is a short walk from the convention hall.

Live Band Karaoke Wednesday, May 13th Starting at 10pm No Cover For More Information...

Rockin’ The Blues with Griff Hamlin Thursday, May 14th at 10pm For More Information...

Tyrone Wells Saturday, May 16th at 7pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...

THE GROVE OF ANAHEIM Near Angel Stadium, the Grove of Anaheim is just a few miles away from the seminar location.

Ministry Monday, May 11th Doors Open at 7pm / Show Begins at 8pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...

Kamelot plus Special Guest Dragonforce Friday, May 15th Doors Open at 7pm / Show Begins at 8pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...

CHAIN REACTION Attendees can escape to this all-ages club that’s just a ten minute drive from the Disneyland Hotel.

Ice Nine Kills Wednesday, May 13th at 7pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...

Warped Tour Battle of the Bands Thursday, May 14th at 7pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...

Manifest Presents Saturday, May 16th at 7pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...

SPORTING EVENTS ANGEL’S STADIUM – BASEBALL Take care of your popcorn-and-peanuts-and-cracker-jacks fix while cheering for the Angel’s—conveniently just a few miles from the Disneyland Hotel.

Angels v. Colorado Rockies Tuesday, May 12th at 7:05pm Wednesday, May 13th at 7:05pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...

MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS MUZEO This local museum and cultural center is a short drive from the convention hall.

Cougars and Grizzlies: Sharing their Path April 18, 2015-September 13th, 2015 Museum Days/Hours: Tuesday – Sunday (Closed Mondays) / 10 am to 5 pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...

BOWERS MUSEUM (Santa Ana) Voted “The Best Museum in Orange County” by OC Register Readers for 16 consecutive years, this arts and cultural center is worth the fifteen minute drive.

Qi Baishi: China’s Modern Master April 11th, 2015-July 11th, 2015 Museum Days/Hours: Tuesday – Sunday (Closed Mondays) / 10 am to 4 pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...

Where Ends Meet: A Retrospective of Works by Nancy Ravenhall Johnson March 13th, 2015-August 16th, 2015 Museum Days/Hours: Tuesday – Sunday (Closed Mondays) / 10 am to 4 pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...

Exhibition: Adams, Curtis, and Weston: Photographers of the American West May 16th, 2015-November 29th, 2015 Museum Days/Hours: Tuesday – Sunday (Closed Mondays) / 10 am to 4 pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...

Lecture: Adams, Curtis, and Weston: Photographers of the American West Saturday, May 16th from 1:30pm to 2:30pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...

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