Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

HHMR Lawyers Recognized by Best Lawyers

December 27, 2021 — David M. McLain – Colorado Construction Litigation
For over twenty years, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell has embodied and exemplified the principles of service and stewardship. In everything we do, we focus on serving our clients selflessly and to the best of our ability. In doing so, we always have in the forefront of our minds our obligation to act as the stewards of our clients’ trust, confidences, and resources. The firm itself, along with Carin Ramirez (in the area of Litigation - Insurance), and Dave McLain (in the area of Construction) were all recognized in this year's edition of the U.S. News Best Lawyers Journal. We could not be more proud of the firm we have created, or the service we are able to provide to Colorado's construction industry and its insurers. Reprinted courtesy of David McLain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell Mr. McLain may be contacted at mclain@hhmrlaw.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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A Court-Side Seat: As SCOTUS Decides Another Regulatory “Takings” Case, a Flurry of Action at EPA

July 19, 2021 — Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel
This is a brief account of some of the important environmental and administrative law cases recently decided. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT Pakdel v. City and County of San Francisco On June 28, 2021, the Supreme Court decided this regulatory “takings” case, and, in a Per Curium opinion, reversed the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that that petitioners had to exhaust their state administrative remedies before they could file this lawsuit under 42 USC Section 1983. The City government had already come to a sufficient regulatory conclusion, and the Constitution does not require additional processing. In so ruling, the Ninth Circuit ignored last term’s decision in Knick v. Township of Scott. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury
Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com

Wildfire Risk Scores and Insurance Placement: What You Should Know

July 15, 2024 — Louis "Dutch" Schotemeyer & Molly L. Okamura - Newmeyer Dillion
What Are Wildfire Risk Scores and How Are They Calculated? Wildfire risk scores are scores assigned to properties by third-party vendors based on the likelihood of direct or indirect exposure to a wildfire. Wildfire risk scores can be a factor used by insurance companies when making coverage decisions. Additionally, wildfire risk scores can be a helpful metric for real estate developers to consider when determining whether to buy a piece of property. There are a variety of vendors that use unique methods to calculate wildfire risk scores. For example, CoreLogic, FireLine, and RedZone are vendors used by insurance companies in California. Some vendors' scoring scales are from 1-10, and some are from 1-100, but generally the higher the score, the higher the likelihood of a wildfire impacting the property. There is no national, standardized scoring scale. Reprinted courtesy of Louis "Dutch" Schotemeyer, Newmeyer Dillion and Molly L. Okamura, Newmeyer Dillion Mr. Schotemeyer may be contacted at dutch.schotemeyer@ndlf.com Ms. Okamura may be contacted at molly.okamura@ndlf.com Read the court decision
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New York Court Narrowly Interprets “Expected or Intended Injury” Exclusion in Win for Policyholder

May 16, 2022 — Michael S. Levine, Kevin V. Small & Joseph T. Niczky - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
NL Industries recently prevailed against its commercial general liability insurers in the New York Appellate Division in a noteworthy case regarding the meaning of “expected or intended” injury and the meaning of “damages” in a liability insurance policy. In Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London v. NL Industries, Inc., No. 2021-00241, 2022 WL 867910 (N.Y. App. Div. Mar. 24, 2022) (“NL Indus. II”), the Appellate Division held that exclusions for expected or intended injury required a finding that NL actually expected or intended the resulting harm; not merely have knowledge of an increased risk of harm. In addition, the court held that the funding of an abatement fund designed to prevent future harm amounted to “damages” in the context of a liability policy because the fund has a compensatory effect. NL Industries II is a reminder to insurers and policyholders alike that coverage is construed liberally and exclusions are construed narrowly towards maximizing coverage. Reprinted courtesy of Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Kevin V. Small, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Joseph T. Niczky, Hunton Andrews Kurth Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com Mr. Small may be contacted at ksmall@HuntonAK.com Mr. Niczky may be contacted at jniczky@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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Surety Bond Producers Keep Eye Out For Illegal Waivers

July 01, 2019 — Richard Korman - Engineering News-Record
The surety bond industry regularly reminds state and local governments, politely, that public works in all states must involve surety bonds. That’s the law. And the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, the bond brokers and agents trade group, has been letting state and local officials know, in writing. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Richard Korman, ENR
Mr. Korman may be contacted at kormanr@enr.com

Hotel Owner Makes Construction Defect Claim

January 28, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
A lawsuit has been filed over the construction of the GrandStay Hotel & Conference Center in Apple Valley Minnesota. Apple Valley GSRS, LLC, who invested in the hotel, has sued Cole Group Architects and Cornerstone Construction, alleging that the architects design was not to industry standards and that the builder used inferior materials and techniques. The lawsuit makes claim of "significant damage." The hotel hired an engineer who subsequently recommended that all the stucco and the roof should be be replaced. The stucco has shown signs of cracking and crumbling. The hotel states that the roof has problems with leaking. Cornerstone has denied the hotel's claims. They have also counter-sued their subcontractors. Read the court decision
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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (07/05/23) – A Hospitality Strike in Southern California, Agencies Step in With Lenders and the Social in ESG

August 14, 2023 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, we see promising developments for climate change action in commercial real estate, how homeowners are reacting to new energy concerns, the fallout of the U.S. debt ceiling fight on global M&A deals, and more!

There are new ways the commercial real estate sector can grow its commitment to climate goals and contributions to reducing its carbon footprint. (Mahesh Ramanujam, Forbes)
Thousands of hospitality workers in Southern California went on strike to demand higher wages, access to affordable family health care benefits and stronger workplace protections. (Julianne McShane, NBC)

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

Bad Faith in the First Party Insurance Context

December 15, 2016 — David Adelstein – Florida Construction Legal Updates
In a previous article I discussed bad faith when it comes to an insurance claim. Recently, in Barton v. Capitol Preferred Insurance Co., Inc., 41 Fla. L. Weekly D2736b (Fla. 5th DCA 2016), the court discussed bad faith in the first-party insurance context (i.e., a property / homeowners insurance policy). In this case, homeowners, as the insured, sued their homeowners insurance carrier for sinkhole coverage. The homeowner filed a Civil Remedy Notice of Insurer Violation (also known as a Civil Remedy Notice) against their insurer with the Florida Department of Insurance in accordance with Florida Statute s. 624.155. This Civil Remedy Notice is a prerequisite to initiating such a bad faith claim; the notice specifies the statutory violations committed by the insurer and gives the insurer 60 days to cure the violation. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Florida Construction Legal Updates
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@katzbarron.com

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