CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

South Carolina Supreme Court Requires Transparency by Rejecting an Insurer’s “Cut-and-Paste” Reservation of Rights

February 16, 2017 — Theresa A. Guertin & H. Scott Williams - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
In a decision rendered on January 11, 2017, the Supreme Court of South Carolina reminded policyholders that they are entitled to an explanation of any and all grounds upon which their insurer may be contesting coverage in a reservation of rights letter. Specifically, in Harleysville Group Insurance v. Heritage Communities, Inc. et al., 1 the court found that an insurer’s reservation of rights, which included a verbatim recitation of numerous policy provisions that the court identified as the “cut-and-paste” method, was insufficient to reserve its rights to contest coverage. In 2003, Heritage Communities, Inc. (“Heritage”), a parent company of several corporate entities engaged in developing and constructing condominium complexes from 1997 to 2000, was sued by multiple property owners’ associations. The lawsuits sought actual and punitive damages against Heritage as a result of alleged construction defects, including building code violations, structural deficiencies, and significant water intrusion. During the period of construction, Heritage was insured by Harleysville Group Insurance (“Harleysville”) under several primary and excess general liability insurance policies. Reprinted courtesy of Theresa A. Guertin, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. and H. Scott Williams, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. Ms. Guertin may be contacted at tag@sdvlaw.com Mr. Williams may be contacted at hsw@sdvlaw.com Read the court decision
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Blackstone to Buy Apartments From Greystar in $2 Billion Deal

December 10, 2015 — Sarah Mulholland – Bloomberg
Blackstone Group LP agreed to buy 32 multifamily properties for about $2 billion from Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC as the private equity giant expands its push into the U.S. apartment market. The buildings, with a total of 10,399 units, are spread throughout the country in states such as California, Florida, Washington and New York, Greystar said in a statement Tuesday. The Charleston, South Carolina-based company, the largest U.S. apartment manager, will continue to oversee the properties. Peter Rose, a Blackstone spokesman, declined to comment on the transaction. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Sarah Mulholland, Bloomberg

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Hundreds Celebrated the Grand Opening of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Southern California Riverside Construction Training Center

February 14, 2023 — Associated Builders and Contractors
RIVERSIDE, Calif., Feb. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today the Associated Builders and Contractors Southern California Chapter (ABC), hosted hundreds of community members as they cut the "ribbon" of their third training center in Southern California. "Today is a celebration, but it also represents a continued commitment by ABC and our membership to supply a skilled, trained, and safe construction workforce for Southern California," stated Nick McFayden, ABC SoCal's Board Chair. Jon Krystafik, Vice Chairman of the Training Trust commented, "Our training facility is unique. You may have toured other facilities but with ours you will see we don't just train one craft. Here Apprentices and Craft trainees are receiving cutting edge training in Electrical, Plumbing, Low Voltage and HVAC/Sheet Metal." Krystafik added, "Our trustees had a dream 10 years ago to train residents in the inland empire. Today it is a reality!" ABC Southern California Chapter is an association of contractors that believe in the Merit Shop Philosophy. Merit shop encourages open competition and a free enterprise approach that awards contracts and employment based solely on merit, safety, quality, and cost, regardless of labor affiliation. The chapter is one of 68 throughout the country and represents nearly 400 member companies. Read the court decision
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Rescission of Policy for Misrepresentation in Application Reversed

August 17, 2017 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The California Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's issuance of summary judgment to the insurer, finding that the insured did not make misrepresentations when applying for a policy to cover rental property. Duarte v. Pacific Spec. Ins. Co., 13 Cal. App. 5th 45 (2017). Duarte rented his house to Jennifer Pleasants. Duarte gave her a 45-day notice to quit in February 2012, but she did not leave. Two months later, Duarte applied for landlord-tenant coverage with Pacific. The application was submitted electronically and Pacific issued a policy to Durate the same day. In June 2012, Pleasants filed a lawsuit against Duarte, alleging ten causes of action arising from habitability defects which began in 2009. The suit claimed Pleasants had notified Duarte about the defects, she had suffered emotional distress and physical injury, and over paid rent, and had out-of-pocket expenses. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

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Broker Not Liable for Failure to Reveal Insurer's Insolvency After Policy Issued

March 28, 2012 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii

Faced with an issue of first impression in California, the Court of Appeals held that a broker was not liable for failing to reveal the insurer's insolvency occurring after issuance of the policy. Pacific Rim Mechanical Contractors, Inc. v. Aon Risk Ins. Serv. West, Inc., 2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 232 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 28, 2012).



The developer for a construction project in downtown San Diego retained Aon as its broker to secure coverage. Aon procured a general liability policy for the project with Legion Indemnity Company. Legion was solvent when it issued the policy.



The developer hired Pacific Rim (“PacRim”) as one of several subcontractors on the project. The parties entered into a contract in which the developer agreed to provide PacRim with liability insurance through an Owner Controlled Insurance Program (“OCIP”). Aon was not a party to the contract and PacRim was never its client. PacRim, however, enrolled in the OCIP by contacting Aon and providing all necessary paperwork.

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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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Delaware State Court Holds that Defective Workmanship Claims do not Trigger Coverage by a Builder’s Commercial General Liability Policy

April 15, 2015 — Marc S. Casarino – White and Williams LLP
Guided by federal case law, on March 31, 2015 a Delaware state court held for the first time in Westfield Ins. Co. v. Miranda & Hardt Contracting and Building Services LLC that a builder’s poor workmanship is not an occurrence for which the builder’s insurance policy affords coverage. In the underlying case giving rise to the coverage dispute, a homeowner alleged that a builder deviated from approved building plans, used inadequate materials, improperly installed materials, violated building codes, and fraudulently represented that a home was properly constructed. The homeowner sued the builder under theories of negligence, negligence per se, and fraud. The insurer denied the builder’s request for defense and indemnification for the homeowner’s claims, citing in part that the allegations of defective workmanship did not qualify as an “occurrence” as defined by the builder’s insurance policy. The builder did not dispute that the underlying complaint alleged defective workmanship. However, the builder asserted that because it had not yet been proven that its work was defective, the insurer had prematurely denied coverage. The court properly rejected the builder’s argument, and reiterated that under Delaware law the court must compare the allegations of the complaint to the insurance policy terms to make a coverage determination. Whether the complaint’s allegations are ultimately meritorious is irrelevant to the initial coverage determination according to the court. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Marc S. Casarino, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Casarino may be contacted at casarinom@whiteandwilliams.com

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Proposed Florida Construction Defect Act

January 09, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Michael J. Furbush and Thomas P. Wert of Roetzel & Andress discussed Florida’s House Bill 87, which proposes to “substantially overhaul Florida’s Construction Defect Act, Chapter 558, requiring property owners to provide more detailed notice of the alleged defect and imposing sanctions on property owners who make frivolous claims.” Representative Kathleen Passidomo sponsored the bill, which “requires claimants to provide additional details about the alleged defect in the notice of claim, including the specific location of each alleged defect, and the specific provisions of the building code, plans, or specifications that serve as the basis of the defect claim. The failure to include this information in the notice of claim would be considered prima facie evidence of a defective notice.” Read the court decision
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Want a Fair Chance at a Government Contract? Think Again

July 13, 2017 — Duane Craig - Construction Informer
If you’ve ever missed out on a government contract, part of the reason might have been because entrenched government contractors gained competitive advantages by under-paying their workers. The Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces executive order was nullified by Congress this year and much of the reporting by the business press presented just one side of the story. Here’s another perspective. When awarding federal contracts the government is supposed to consider each contractor’s compliance with labor laws related to pay, health and safety. But, there is a huge problem with enforcement on a government contract, according to Senator Elizabeth Warren and other observers.

• Some federal contractors frequently underpay their workers violating wage and hour laws. More than 300,000 workers were cheated out of pay while working under federal contracts in the last decade. There were 12,000 companies working on federal contracts that were doing the cheating.
• 692 federal contractors significantly violated federal labor laws, and then repeated the behavior, over and over. The repeat offenders receive millions in taxpayer dollars as they violated safety and health standards. Those violations caused a wide range of physical harm to workers. Dozens of workers died, and countless numbers were exposed to chemicals that cause long term health problems.

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Reprinted courtesy of Duane Craig, Construction Informer
Mr. Craig may be contacted at dtcraig@constructioninformer.com

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