Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Insurer's Withheld Discovery Must be Produced in Bad Faith Case

November 03, 2016 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington granted the insureds' motion to compel and ordered that the insurer produce withheld discovery. Bagley v. Travelers Home & Marine Ins. Co., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115028 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 25, 2016). The insureds' dock and boat ramp were damaged in a storm. Travelers refused to pay for the damage, arguing it was not covered. After Plaintiffs filed suit, Travelers admitted coverage and agreed to pay. The insureds' suit included a claim that Travelers wrongfully denied coverage, thereby costing the insureds money. The insureds moved the court to compel Travelers to respond to certain discovery requests. First, the insureds requested the claims file Travelers maintained on their claim. The court did not order the production of privileged documents, but documents related to claims handling were not privileged. Travelers was ordered to produce all documents in the insureds' claim file that related to claim handling, even if the documents were created after the commencement of litigation. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Protect Projects From Higher Repair Costs and Property Damage

March 04, 2024 — Michael Teng - Construction Executive
Every aspect of a jobsite costs more today, from materials and labor to tools and equipment. Take construction input costs for example. While relatively flat in 2023, they remain almost 40% higher than they were pre-pandemic. With borrowing costs still high in the face of a stubbornly strong economy, project financing will remain a challenge. Still, contractors are expected to break more ground in 2024, fueled in part by the CHIPS Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Despite wages growing and the labor market remaining tight, many businesses are expected to dive deeper into their backlogs. Meanwhile, the economy is expected to grow with a chance for a short and mild recession. As industry leaders gauge economic pressures, it’s clear businesses must manage their costs—and financial risks in 2024. It’s a year where insurance and safety should take priority. Below are economic trends to monitor, and insurance strategies to help protect this year’s bottom line. Reprinted courtesy of Michael Teng, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

The 2023 Term of the Supreme Court: Administrative and Regulatory Law Rulings

December 03, 2024 — Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
It is instructive to review the Supreme Court’s record in its most recent term, concentrating on regulatory and administrative law cases, which are usually back-burner issues. But not this term. The Supreme Court began the current term on October 7, 2024. The Court has already chosen many cases to review in the new term, and it promises to be as interesting as the 2023 term, which produced several significant rulings affecting regulatory and administrative law, chiefly the Loper Bright Enterprises ruling. Loper Bright overturned the Court’s landmark administrative law ruling of Chevron, USA v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984). The Background to Loper Bright In 1984, the Supreme Court decided Chevron USA, Inc. v. National Resource Defense Council. (See 467 U.S. 839 (1984).) The unanimous decision, written by Justice Stevens, reversed then-D.C. Circuit Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s ruling that set aside EPA’s Clean Air Act “bubble policy,” which was intended to provide regulatory relief from certain EPA permitting requirements. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury
Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com

Louisiana 13th in List of Defective Bridges

November 27, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
About 1,800 bridges in the state of Louisiana have been rendered structurally deficient. According to a report by WAFB, that means “at least one of the three key parts of a bridge has a major defect.” Although the bridges need repair, they are not yet classified as unsafe, which would lead to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development closing the bridges. Over the last five years, the state has spent a billion dollars on repairing, maintaining, and replacing bridges, but the number keeps growing. The DOTD would not release a list of compromised bridges in the state, citing legal concerns. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Hunton Insurance Practice, Partners Recognized by The Legal 500

July 16, 2023 — Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP’s insurance practice was recognized among the top policyholder insurance practices nationally, receiving a Band 2 national ranking in the 2023 United States Edition of The Legal 500 for Advice to Policyholders. The Legal 500 ranks the nation’s top law firms, practices, and lawyers, highlighting those that consistently provide “the most cutting edge and innovative advice to corporate counsel … based on feedback from 300,000 clients worldwide, submissions from law firms and interviews with leading private practice lawyers, and a team of researchers who have unrivalled experience in the legal market.” Bolstering the team’s national recognition, two of its partners received individual accolades. Lorie Masters was named in The Legal 500 Hall of Fame and Andi DeField was named a Next Generation Partner, while team head Syed Ahmad and partners Walter Andrews, Michael Levine and Geoffrey Fehling also were recognized. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Mediation Scheduled for Singer's Construction Defect Claims

February 11, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
A judge has scheduled mediation and trial over the claims of Rihanna that her Beverley Hills home suffers from construction defects. The singer claims that the previous owners, Adriana and Heather Rudomin, did not disclose construction defects which lead to flooding from water leaks in January 2010. The Rudomins did not appear at the February 7th hearing, and the judge fined them $500. They will be required to explain their absence on March 12. The mediation will begin on May 7. The trial has been scheduled for February 24, 2014, and is expected to last three weeks. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Wildfire Threats Make Utilities Uninsurable in US West

August 12, 2024 — Mark Chediak - Bloomberg
Trinity Public Utilities District’s power lines snake through the lower reaches of the Cascade Range, a rugged, remote and densely forested terrain in Northern California that has some of the highest wildfire risk in the country. But for several years, the company has been without insurance to protect it from such a threat. Trinity’s equipment was blamed for causing a 2017 wildfire that destroyed 72 homes and three years later its insurer, a California public agency called the Special District Risk Management Authority, told the utility that it would no longer cover it for fires started by its electrical lines. Trinity could find no other takers. The utility’s exposure comes as wildfires are already flaring up across the US West in what could be a dangerous and prolonged fire season. “If a fire were to start now that involved one of our power lines, it would likely bankrupt the utility,” said Paul Hauser, general manager of the local government-owned utility that serves about 13,000 rural customers in Trinity County, 200 miles (322 kilometers) north of Sacramento. That’s because without insurance, a lawsuit could put the utility on the hook to pay for damages to private homes and businesses, which could easily top the utility’s annual revenue of about $16 million. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Mark Chediak, Bloomberg

US Attorney Alleges ADA Violations in Chicago Cubs Stadium Renovation

August 07, 2022 — Annemarie Mannion - Engineering News-Record
The friendly confines of Wrigley Field are not so friendly to wheelchair users, according to federal prosecutors who filed a civil lawsuit July 14 alleging that the Chicago Cubs’ multi-year renovation of the baseball stadium eliminated prime wheelchair seating and did not include other accessible features required under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reprinted courtesy of Annemarie Mannion, Engineering News-Record Ms. Mannion may be contacted at manniona@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES