Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Civility Is Key in Construction Defect Mediation

February 12, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Eugene Heady of Smith Currie & Hancock reminds those involved in construction disputes to “lay down the swords.” Yes, it’s an adversarial situation, but “mediating parties must understand that courtesy, candor, and cooperation on the part of their respective lawyers will help contain the conflict and help resolve the dispute more quickly and efficiently.” Instead of doing battle with the opposition, Mr. Heady says that one should “approach mediation as an opportunity to solve a complex problem, rather than an opportunity for conquest over one’s enemy.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Los Angeles Tower Halted Over Earthquake and other Concerns

December 04, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Plans to build the Millennium Hollywood project have been halted over lawsuits alleging that the Hollywood fault line runs under the site and would render it unsafe. Additional claims are that the buildings would block views of the Hollywood sign. But Robert Silverstein alleges in his suit that the buildings would endanger lives. The Millennium claims that the project would create about 3,000 construction jobs, and that after the building were complete, they would create 1,000 jobs. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

The Evolution of Construction Defect Trends at West Coast Casualty Seminar

May 24, 2018 — Don MacGregor – Bert L. Howe & Associates, Inc.
Twenty-five years ago. 1993. On January 23rd, Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd President of the United States. The average cost of a gallon of gasoline was $1.16, a movie ticket cost $4.00, and the average cost of a new home was $113,200.00. 1993 also marked the first of what would be a quarter century of annual seminars hosted by West Coast Casualty Service, and provided to the combined professionals within the Construction Defect Community. As the seminar has grown both in attendance and prominence within this community under the watchful stewardship of David and Coral Stern, much has changed both with regard to the content of the seminar and the climate within which it was presented. A quick look at the topics addressed over the past 25 years of the Construction Defect Seminar provides one with a veritable history of construction defect litigation and insurance coverage trends across the United States and beyond. While the first seminar was hosted in 1993, my first attendance didn’t occur until 1999, and the first time I was honored to be a panelist would have to wait until 2007. In the subsequent years, I’ve had the opportunity to sit on panels an additional three times, and each one I gained rare and valuable insights into the Construction Defect Community, its willingness to challenge itself, and the amazing professionals we all have the distinct pleasure of working with every day (and whom we sometimes take too much for granted). In the mid to late 90’s, topics at the seminar included such subjects as the Montrose Chemical Corp v. Superior Court decision (Montrose) regarding a carrier’s duty to defend and the subsequent Stonewall Insurance case that examined the duty to indemnify in the context of construction defect claims. The California Calderon Act of 1997, laying out the roadmap for HOA’s filing construction defect lawsuits was also a topic of discussion and debate within the West Coast “arena.” The new millennium saw the landmark Aas v. William Lyon decision, which disallowed negligence claims for construction defects in the absence of actual resultant damage. This was followed by Presley Homes v. American States Insurance wherein the court ruled that a duty to defend applies where there is mere potential for coverage and the duty to defend applies to the entire action. Each of these bellwether decisions was addressed contemporaneously by panels at the West Coast seminar, contemporaneously bringing additional dialog to the CD community, from within the community. 2002 brought what has become the defining legislation in California regarding construction defect litigation and a builder’s right to repair. Senate Bill 800 (SB800), and its subsequent codification as Title 7, Part 2 of Division 2 of the California Civil Code, Sections 895 through 945.5 would become the defining framework for similar legislation across the United States. During the course of its drafting, movement through the legislature, and final adoption in January of 1993, many of the questions raised and debated in committees in Sacramento, had already been and were continuing to be addressed by panelists at the West Coast Seminar. How does SB800 work with Calderon? How does it affect the prior Aas decision? What now constitutes a defect, and what are timeframes established within the complex pre-litigation process? Open the pages of the 2002 – 2004 Seminar invitations and you’ll see panels comprised of the finest members of the insurance law and coverage communities addressing those very questions (and more)! As the first decade of the new century drew to a close, a brief review of the WCC invitations from that period suggests a trend towards programmatic analyses of key themes selected for the seminar. In 2008, my second opportunity as a guest speaker, topics included a review of the state of construction defect litigation in a post-SB 800 environment. Panelists offered retrospective insight into the state of right to repair statutes in multiple states, while others offered a glimpse at where the industry might be headed, as similar legislation was enacted across the country. As always, pertinent court decisions bearing on construction defect, both in California, and elsewhere were given unique perspective and additional clarity by multiple panels of gifted speakers. In 2009, claims and coverage were examined from multiple unique perspectives, including that of plaintiff, the policyholder, and the insurer. Wrap policies and the gaps in due to self-insured retention obligations were examined. As we rapidly approach the end of the second decade of the 21st Century, West Coast Casualty’s Construction Defect Seminar continues to lead the Construction Defect Community as the premier source for information and peer dialog on all matters relating to construction law, coverage, and emerging trends. In 2017, the Seminar tackled such broad subjects as the role of women in the construction industry, claims management, and risk management, challenges raised by wrap versus non-wrap litigation, and the emergent trend of apartment to condo conversions (and the attendant coverage challenges). On May 16th at the Disneyland Resort, in Anaheim California, America’s largest Construction Defect event kicked off its 25th Anniversary celebration. As has been every year since 1993, the Seminar provided insurance, legal, and industry professionals an exciting and informative array of salient and timely panel topics, as well as a stellar faculty of gifted panelists. This year’s West Coast Casualty’s Construction Defect Seminar, like the past 25 years, was not only informative and educational, but also a promise for another 25 years of peerless service to the Construction Defect Community. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Congratulations to BWB&O Partner John Toohey and His Fellow Panel Members on Their Inclusion in West Coast Casualty’s 2022 Program!

March 14, 2022 — Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara is pleased to announce that Newport Beach Partner John Toohey was selected to speak during the West Coast Casualty Conference on Friday, May 13th at 12 PM PST., alongside panel members Al Clarke of Clarke Mediation, Inc., Brett Reuter of Arch Insurance Group, Inc., Kevin Stineman of Hannover Re Services, Inc. and Scott Rembold of Rembold Hirschman To register for the West Coast Casualty Conference, please click here! Mr. Toohey and his fellow speakers will be discussing The Alternative-to-Alternative Dispute Resolution-Arbitration in Construction Matters and Beyond! Unfortunately, many construction projects end in dispute and the parties frequently find themselves in the middle of uncharted territory – arbitration! Join us as we explore the pitfalls, debunk the myths, and discuss the benefits of arbitration in construction disputes. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Dolores Montoya, Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

Consultant Says It's Time to Overhaul Construction Defect Laws in Nevada

February 07, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Randi Thompson, a Republican political and media consultant, told the Reno Gazette-Journal what she wished Governor Brian Sandoval had said during his recent State of the State address in Nevada. Construction defect litigation was one of the issues that Ms. Thompson said that Governor Sandoval should have addressed. Thompson said that the governor "should have said it's time to get rid of Nevada's horrid construction defect laws." Ms. Thompson said that "these laws extort money from small business subcontractors who likely had nothing whatsoever do to with any real or perceived defect." She attributed the ongoing construction defect scandal in Las Vegas to "bad law." Ms. Thompson said that these issues are unlikely to be addressed, because "the Democrats control both houses in the Legislature" and the issues are "sacred cows to the Democrats' constituents." Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Luxury Home Sales are on the Rise

February 04, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The New York Times reports that the sale of luxury homes is on the rise: “Yet despite the bursting of the housing bubble, the ensuing recession and the slow recovery, buyers have not abandoned luxury homes. It turns out that they just took a break. In July 2013, sales of homes costing more than $1 million were up 46.6 percent from the previous July.” “The housing market is being driven by the move-up buyer, the luxury buyer,” Brad Hunter, chief economist and director of consulting at Metrostudy told the New York Times. “And those who have strong incomes, secure jobs, their stock portfolio is doing well — they are able to buy whatever they want. And what they are buying is larger houses.” Toll Brothers design director, Tim Gehman, said that “the homes that sell best today are those with the biggest kitchens and most expansive master suites — much as they were before the recession,” according to the New York Times. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Haight Celebrates 2024 New Partner Promotions!

January 22, 2024 — Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
Haight is celebrating new partner promotions in 2024. Congratulations to Gary LaHendro, Melvin Marcia and Philip McDermott! Gary LaHendro became a member of the California State Bar in December 1993. He is a member of the Risk Management & Insurance Law Practice Group. He focuses his practice on insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. Gary’s clients include carriers within the United States and London Markets for whom he has provided coverage advice on various lines of coverage, including commercial general liability, excess, errors and omissions, auto, and representations and warranties. Gary also monitors the defense of insureds with respect to third-party lawsuits. In addition to coverage work, Gary has over 20 years of litigation experience as lead defense counsel on cases involving soil and groundwater contamination, professional liability, construction defect and personal injury cases. He is also a skilled appellate attorney and Certified Mediator. Melvin Marcia became a member of the California State Bar on June 1, 2016. Melvin is a member of the firm’s Transportation Law, General Liability, Product Liability and Fire Litigation Practice Groups. His practice focuses on litigation of high value cases, ranging from catastrophic injury, wrongful death, premises liability, business disputes, product liability, uninsured/underinsured arbitrations and subrogation matters. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP

Zinc in London Climbs for Second Day Before U.S. Housing Data

January 21, 2015 — Alex Davis – Bloomberg
Zinc rose for a second day and copper held gains before data showing increased housing construction in the U.S. and a stimulus decision by the European Central Bank. Zinc advanced as much as 0.8 percent. Housing starts in the U.S., the second-largest metals consumer, climbed 1.2 percent in December from the previous month, according to a Bloomberg survey, after falling 1.6 percent in November. The ECB will announce a 550 billion-euro ($636 billion) government-bond purchase program this week, according to 93 percent of respondents in a separate survey. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Alex Davis, Bloomberg
Mr. Davis may be contacted at adavis150@bloomberg.net

SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES