Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

No Coverage for Negligent Misrepresentation without Allegations of “Bodily Injury” or “Property Damage”

February 10, 2012 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii

Jeff City Industries was the general contractor for a sewer system improvement project in Branson, Missouri. Bituminous Cas. Corp. v. United HRB Gen. Contractors, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145666 (W.D. Mo. Dec. 19, 2011). Branson sued Jeff City, alleging breach of the construction contract for the project. The claims included improperly bedded sewer piping, improper aligning portions of trenching for the sewer piping, improper service line connections to the sewer piping, etc.

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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii. Mr. Eyerly can be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

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No Repeal Process for Rejected Superstorm Sandy Grant Applications

February 12, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Even though it’s been revealed that “faulty data” was used to reject many New Jersey recovery grants for victims of Superstorm Sandy, the state has announced that it’s too late to appeal, according to The Wall Street Journal. “The applicants were informed by letter that they weren't eligible,” state officials told The Wall Street Journal, “and it should have been clear that they needed to appeal last year, so the application process won't be reopened.” The majority of the rejected applicants that did appeal within the open period were found to be eligible for the grant: “Nearly 80% of people who appealed their rejections ended up winning their cases, according to data released by the Fair Share Housing Center, a public-interest law firm critical of the Christie administration. And of the 8,007 applicants rejected from both programs, 5,583 didn't appeal, or 70%, according to Fair Share Housing Center's analysis.” U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell called for “an independent monitor” to be “appointed to oversee the state’s storm spending ‘to ensure there isn’t further mismanagement.’” Read the court decision
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Recent Developments in Legislative Efforts To Combat Climate Change

October 30, 2023 — Dominick Weinkam & Robert B. Cimmino - ConsensusDocs
Governments across the United States have been increasingly integrating climate considerations into legislation affecting various sectors of the economy. The construction industry is no exception. Recent legislative developments at various levels of government are reshaping construction practices to mitigate the industries’ greenhouse gas emissions and vulnerability to climate-related risks. These developments include incentivizing eco-friendly construction projects, mandating stricter regulations to reduce carbon emissions, and enhancing building resilience to more severe weather events. Contractors must stay abreast of these developments to ensure compliance with new substantive and administrative requirements to remain competitive in a changing environment. Funding Greener Construction Projects: The Inflation Reduction Act The federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) enacted in August 2022 marked a significant milestone in the pursuit of greener construction. The IRA is widely considered to be the single largest investment into climate change in history, with potential ripple effects throughout the construction industry. The IRA allocates substantial funds for projects utilizing “low-carbon” materials, with an explicit focus on climate-conscious construction. This initiative aligns with the broader goal of curbing emissions from sectors like steel, concrete, and glass, which have been major contributors to the nation’s carbon footprint. Reprinted courtesy of Dominick Weinkam, Watt Tieder and Robert B. Cimmino, Watt Tieder Mr. Weinkam may be contacted at dweinkam@watttieder.com Mr. Cimmino may be contacted at rcimmino@watttieder.com Read the court decision
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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (8/21/24) – REITs Show Their Strength, Energy Prices Increase Construction Costs and CRE Struggles to Keep Pace

October 01, 2024 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, UBS to liquidate $2 billion real estate fund, hotel workers in San Francisco vote to strike, housing market to change after blockbuster settlement, and more!

When it comes to buying and selling homes, new rules are about to be put in play, five months after the National Association of Realtors agreed to a settlement over how its 1.5 million agents across the U.S. are paid commissions. (Kate Gibson, CBS)
Project abandonments tumbled in July in one of the largest monthly declines ever due to the anticipated interest rate cut. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive)
Increases in energy prices drove most of the total rise in construction input costs over the past month. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive)

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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

French Laundry Spices Up COVID-19 Business Interruption Debate

April 20, 2020 — Jeffrey J. Vita & Melanie A. McDonald - Saxe Doernberger & Vita
On March 26, 2020, Michelin-rated Napa Valley restaurants, French Laundry and Bouchon Bistro, and their celebrity chef, Thomas Keller, filed the second known coronavirus-related declaratory judgment (DJ) lawsuit by a restaurant. The restaurants filed their DJ against Hartford Fire Insurance Company just seven days after Napa County issued a Shelter at Home Order.1 Chef Keller’s suit comes on the heels of the first such suit by a restaurant seeking to recover business income losses, filed by iconic New Orleans French Quarter restaurant Oceana Grill2 on March 17, just four days after the Louisiana governor issued an order prohibiting gatherings of more than 250 people. As local governments seek to protect their citizens and prevent an onslaught of cases in area hospitals, they are issuing various “stay home,” “shelter at home,” and similar orders to force social distancing and to help flatten the curve of the growth in COVID-19 cases. Restaurants nationwide are especially hard hit by these orders, as many of these orders contain size limitations on gatherings, which have required that restaurants and bars limit capacity (as in the March 13th Louisiana order). Other such orders require non-essential businesses to “cease all activities in the County” (as in the Napa County Shelter at Home order). The Napa County order does not exempt restaurants as “essential businesses,” except when providing food for take-out or delivery. Other orders, still, directly address restaurants and require them to cease allowing public consumption of food and beverages (as in the subsequent, March 17th Louisiana order). Reprinted courtesy of Jeffrey J. Vita, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. and Melanie A. McDonald, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. Mr. Vita may be contacted at jjv@sdvlaw.com Ms. McDonald may be contacted at mam@sdvlaw.com Read the court decision
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The Prompt Payment Rollercoaster

February 23, 2016 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
This past year we wrote about a case involving California’s prompt payment laws and the current state of confusion with the prompt payment statutes which are scattered throughout the state Code and which are inconsistent in the use of their terminology and, thus importantly, application. In United Riggers & Erectors, Inc. v. Coast Iron & Steel Co., California Court of Appeals for the Second District, Case No. B258860 (December 18, 2015), the Court of Appeals for the Second District addressed whether under one of the prompt payment statutes, Civil Code section 8814, a general contractor may withhold retention without being subject to prompt payment penalties if there is a dispute of any kind between the general contractor and the subcontractor, or only when the dispute relates to the retention itself. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@wendel.com

Tesla Powerwalls for Home Energy Storage Hit U.S. Market

May 12, 2016 — Dana Hull – Bloomberg
To Steve Yates, the best thing about his new Tesla Powerwall is that he doesn’t have to worry anymore about the lights going out during a storm. Or maybe it’s how cool an addition it is to the entryway of his house in Monkton, Vermont. “I’ve always wanted to have a backup power source,” said Yates, who was without electricity for 36 hours during Hurricane Irene in 2011. He also admires the Powerwall’s sleek white contours. “It’s kind of art-deco looking.” A year after Elon Musk unveiled the Powerwall at Tesla Motors Inc.’s design studio near Los Angeles, the first wave of residential installations has started in the U.S. The 6.4-kilowatt-hour unit stores electricity from home solar systems and provides backup in the case of a conventional outage. Weighing 214 pounds and standing about 4-feet tall, it retails for around $3,000. But hookup by a trained electrician is required, as is something called a bi-directional inverter that converts direct-current electricity into the kind used by dishwashers and refrigerators. The costs add up quickly -- which has fueled skepticism about Musk’s dream of changing the way the world uses energy. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Dana Hull, Bloomberg

More Details Emerge in Fatal Charlotte, NC, Scaffold Collapse

January 17, 2023 — Derek Lacey & Jim Parsons - Engineering News-Record
Details have emerged in the Jan. 2 scaffold collapse at an under-construction apartment high-rise in Charlotte, N.C. that killed three workers and injured two. A work suspension continues during an investigation led by the North Carolina Dept. of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Division. Reprinted courtesy of Derek Lacey, Engineering News-Record and Jim Parsons, Engineering News-Record Mr. Lacey may be contacted at laceyd@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES