Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

London’s Best Districts Draw Buyers on Italian Triple Dip

August 27, 2014 — Neil Callanan – Bloomberg
Italians were the biggest group of foreigners to buy homes in London’s best districts in the seven months through July as weak domestic growth prompted investment abroad. Italy, which fell into a triple-dip recession in the second quarter, accounted for 6.7 percent of all homes sold in the 13 neighborhoods that Knight Frank LLP defines as prime central London, the broker said in an e-mail today. France was second as euro-area investors accounted for 14.5 percent of purchases, the most in the period since 2011. Russia led the group a year ago, followed by the United Arab Emirates. The European Central Bank’s monetary-policy easing “is driving more euro-zone residents to search for yield abroad,” Goldman Sachs analysts including New York-based chief currency strategist Robin Brooks wrote in a note last week. Yields for homes in prime central London rose in July for the first time since April 2011 as more people opted to rent on concerns that home taxes may rise if the Conservative Party-led government loses next year’s elections, Knight Frank said on Aug. 11. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Neil Callanan, Bloomberg
Mr. Callanan may be contacted at ncallanan@bloomberg.net

Eighth Circuit Affirms Judgment for Bad Faith after Insured's Home Destroyed by Fire

January 21, 2019 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment that the insurer acted in bad faith when it denied the insured's claim based upon misrepresentations in the application after destruction of his house by fire. Hayes v. Metropolitan Pro. and Cas. Ins. Co., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 31813 (8th Cir. Nov. 9, 2018). Hayes' home was insured by Met under a homeowner's policy. Hayes used the detached garage as part of a home base for his plumbing business. He also rented out the second and third levels of the residence to a tenant and her two children. When Hayes applied for the policy in 2007, Met argues he indicated on the application that the premises were not used to conduct business, and were not used as rental property. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Speeding up Infrastructure Projects with the Cloud

July 28, 2018 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
Infrakit, a cloud service developed by a Finnish startup company, is accelerating infrastructure projects both in Finland and, increasingly, abroad. Automatic transfer of information among parties involved in a project saves time, reduces paperwork, and facilitates the work of land surveyors. In addition to excavators, rock drills can now also be viewed on the map. The CEO and founder of DSC Finland, the supplier of Infrakit, is Teemu Kivimäki. He states that despite the name of the company changing over the years, its principles have stayed the same. Kivimäki describes the functions of the service: “The digital site plans are added to Infrakit, and they can then be viewed on a map and in a 3D view with a browser. When the working machines are also linked to the service, the user can see if the work has been executed according to plan.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

Roni Most, Esq., Reappointed as a City of Houston Associate Judge

November 06, 2023 — Linda Carter - Kahana Feld
Yesterday, Roni M. Most, Esq., was reappointed as an Associate Judge for the City of Houston. Mr. Most is the Managing Partner of Kahana Feld’s Houston office, chairs the firm’s Corporate Compliance & Transaction group, and heads the Texas division of Kahana Feld’s National Appellate Strategy & Advocacy group. Mr. Most was first appointed as an Associate Municipal Court Judge of the City of Houston in 2012 and he continues to serve in this position. The Most name has been a fixture in Harris County courts, with Judge Most being a third-generation attorney, his family has advocated for their client’s causes for over five decades. Mr. Most received his Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin and went on to graduate with his J.D. from the South Texas College of Law in 2000. Upon graduating, Mr. Most started The Most Law firm, and then went on to become one of the founding partners of Gerber & Most, PLLC. Mr. Most joined Kahana Feld as a Partner in January 2021. He brings over 20 years of experience in general civil litigation (property & casualty) and appeals, state and federal corporate litigation, collections, construction law, and real estate, as well as providing general business counsel. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Linda Carter, Kahana Feld
Ms. Carter may be contacted at lcarter@kahanafeld.com

Ex-Detroit Demolition Official Sentenced for Taking Bribes

November 24, 2019 — Jeff Yoders - Engineering News-Record
Aradondo Haskins, a former Detroit demolition projects official, has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for accepting $26,500 in bribes from contractors and rigging bids to tear down homes in a federally funded demolition program. U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts handed down the sentence on Sept. 23 and ordered Haskins to pay a $5,000 fine and forfeit bribes he took while employed by demolition contractor Adamo Group and by the city. The charges against Haskins were unsealed on April 8, shortly before he pled guilty. Reprinted courtesy of Jeff Yoders, Engineering News-Record Mr. Yoders may be contacted at yodersj@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Conspirators Bilked Homeowners in Nevada Construction Defect Claims

March 28, 2012 — CDJ STAFF

Courthouse News has a summary of the current lawsuit over a Nevada conspiracy to defraud homeowners by taking control of homeowner boards and then providing inadequate repairs. Homeowners in eight Las Vegas area communities are involved in the suit, which claims that the conspirators purchased units in the communities and then transferred fractional interests to others to allow them to run for HOA board elections. The suit claims that David Amesbury and his firm helped manipulate the elections.

Once homeowner boards were controlled by the conspirators, Nancy Quon, the construction defect attorney whose recent death appears to be by suicide, handled the litigation against homebuilders. She would settle out of court, engaging Silver Lining Construction to “do very minor and superficial repairs” to the homes. The remainder of the money was split by the conspirators. The suit also notes that the construction defect claims were “frivolous,” and?in addition to the negative publicity?caused the homes to lose at least 5% of their value.

Read the full story…

Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

CISA Guidance 3.1: Not Much Change for Construction

June 22, 2020 — Laura Bourgeois LoBue - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
This week, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued Version 3.1 of its Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce. For the most part, CISA’s Guidance 3.1 did not change from Version 3.0 as it relates to construction. However, CISA added a few construction-related services to “Essential Critical Infrastructure”:

“Workers who support the construction and maintenance of electric vehicle charging stations.”
“Engineers performing or supporting safety inspections.”

Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Laura Bourgeois LoBue, Pillsbury
Ms. LoBue may be contacted at laura.lobue@pillsburylaw.com

Hawaii Federal District Court Compels Appraisal

December 03, 2024 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The Hawaii federal district court denied the insurers' motion to dismiss on forum non convenient grounds and granted the insured's motion to compel arbitration. BRE Hotels and Resorts LCC, et al. v. Ace Am Ins. Co., et al., 2024 U,.S. Dist. LEXIS 163852 (D. Haw. Sept. 11, 2024). BRE Hotels & Resorts LLC (BRE) owned the Grand Wailea Resort on Maui and the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu. Both hotels were damaged by a rainstorm on March 9, 2021. Estimated losses exceeded $55 million. BRE filed a claim with its sixteen insurers. BRE sought $46 million in four categories: business interruption losses at the Grand Wailea ($29.6 million); damaged tiles at the Grand Wailea ($8.3 million); furniture, fixtures, and equipment at Turtel Bay ($6.2 million); and an assortment of ancillary issues at both properties ($1.9 million). The insurers investigated and took issued with BRE's estimates. The insurers contended that most of the tiles suffered from an independent defect and were not damaged by the storm, that the insurance policies did not cover the replacement of undamaged furniture, and that the claimed business interruption losses were too high. The insurers paid $4 million. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES