Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Judge Tells DOL to Cork its Pistol as New Overtime Rule is Blocked

November 23, 2016 — Evelin Y. Bailey – California Construction Law Blog
Earlier this year we informed you that the federal Department of Labor intended to raise the minimum salary for individuals classified as executive, administrative, and professional (“white collar”) exempt employees. The result? About 4.2 million workers classified as exempt would become eligible for overtime pay on December 1, 2016, the effective date of the new rule. Businesses would need to pay $47,476 starting on December 1, 2016 to maintain the exempt status of workers. However, a combination of business groups and states sued to invalidate the regulation, requesting expedited and emergency injunctive relief. On November 22, 2016, a federal district court in Texas granted the emergency motion for a preliminary injunction barring the DOL from enforcing its new overtime rule. The injunction will remain until the resolution of this legal challenge to the rule. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Evelin Y. Bailey, California Construction Law Blog
Ms. Bailey may be contacted at ebailey@wendel.com

40 Year Anniversary – Congratulations Ed Doernberger

November 23, 2016 — Tracy Alan Saxe - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Forty years ago, on the Big Island of Hawaii, Edwin L. Doernberger was sworn in as an attorney. Fifteen years ago, Ed rejoined two former partners to help build an exciting new boutique insurance policyholder practice. Today, Saxe Doernberger & Vita is pleased to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its most distinguished partner. “Ed’s energy and enthusiasm are undiminished,” said co-founder and Managing Partner, Tracy Alan Saxe. “He’s still one of the firm’s most active litigators.” Ed has extensive appellate experience, having argued before the Connecticut and Hawaii Supreme and Appellate Courts, New York Appellate Courts, and the Second and Ninth Circuits. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tracy Alan Saxe, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Mr. Saxe may be contacted at tas@sdvlaw.com

MetLife Takes Majority Stake in New San Francisco Office Tower

October 21, 2015 — Hui-Yong Yu – Bloomberg
MetLife Inc. is taking a majority stake in a 43-story office tower being built next to San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center, expanding the biggest U.S. life insurer’s holdings in one of the country’s most expensive office markets. MetLife formed a joint venture with Chicago-based John Buck Co. and Golub & Co. for the property, called Park Tower at Transbay, the companies said in a statement before the building’s groundbreaking Tuesday. The tower, which doesn’t yet have a tenant, is scheduled for completion in 2018. Financial terms of the venture weren’t disclosed. Fred Pieretti, a spokesman for MetLife, said the company will own a majority interest in the building. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Hui-Yong Yu, Bloomberg

Increasing Use of Construction Job Cameras

January 27, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Job site cameras are increasingly used on construction sites, for various reasons, reports Tom Sawyer of Engineering News-Record. Mark Penny, senior vice president of the Dallas Region Manhattan Construction Inc., told Sawyer that he uses the camera primarily for marketing purposes: “We have a lot of high-profile jobs that people want to see. They are a great opportunity for us and the client to showcase the construction, which makes the job of selling what we do a lot easier.” Warren Andres, senior vice president at Andres Construction uses cameras for safety monitoring. Andres told Sawyer that “he has three monitors on his desk. One shows live feeds from all his cameras. If he sees unsafe work, he sends a photo to the superintendent and demands action. Similarly, he says he can spot slow work crews and do enough quality control to send the message that management is watching.” Vendors commented to Sawyer that “the growing use [of cameras] include the rise of building information modeling and its increased need for accountability; as well as companies chasing work beyond usual areas of operations and needing to extend supervision while holding down travel of staffs trimmed by the recession.” Read the court decision
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Granting Stay, Federal Court Reviews Construction Defect Coverage in Hawaii

January 06, 2012 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii

The federal district court ultimately stayed a construction defect case, but offered comments on the current status of coverage disputes for such defects in Hawaii. See National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. v. Simpson Mfg. Co., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128481(D. Haw. Nov. 7, 2011).

National Union filed a complaint for declaratory relief to establish it had no duty to defend or to indemnify Simpson Manufacturing Company in four actions pending in the Hawaii state courts. The state court actions concerned allegedly defective hurricane strap tie hold downs that were manufactured and sold by Simpson. The hurricane ties allegedly began to prematurely corrode and rust, causing cracking, spalling and other damage to homes.

National Union contended the underlying allegations did not constitute "property damage" caused by an "occurrence," as defined in the policies.

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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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Chicago’s Bungalows Are Where the City Comes Together

March 06, 2022 — Zach Mortice - Bloomberg
In Chicago, there are plenty of reasons for South Side residents to keep Northsiders at arm’s length. This includes the North Side’s nonsensical lack of numbered streets, opposed baseball fandoms, and the outsized power of the city’s wealthier half — an imbalance that has created one of the most striking geographic divides between rich and poor, white and Black, in American urban life. But for Chicago historian and native Southsider Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, there’s a quick way for a Northsider to break through this legacy and offer at least one piece of common ground: Say that you live in a bungalow. “We have bungalows on the South Side too,” Thomas says. “If you’re good enough for a bungalow, then you’re cool with me.” All over the city, these humble houses are a remarkably consistent presence. It’s estimated that Chicago boasts 80,000 original bungalows — a third of the city’s single-family housing stock — located across a U-shaped band four to seven miles from the city center called the Bungalow Belt. In a city riven by inequality and resentment, bungalows are one of the few things that white, Black and Latino Chicagoans all love together. “The Chicago Bungalow is a unifying thing,” says Thomas. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Zach Mortice, Bloomberg

California Supreme Court Finds that When it Comes to Intentional Interference Claims, Public Works Projects are Just Different, Special Even

April 20, 2017 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
Earlier, we reported on a California Court of Appeals decision – Roy Allan Slurry Seal, Inc. v. American Asphalt South, Inc. – which held for the first time that a second-place bidder on a public works contract could sue a winning bidder who failed to pay its workers prevailing wages, under the business tort of intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. Fast forward nearly two years, several amicus briefs, and “one doghouse”* later and the California Supreme Court has . . . reversed. The Roy Allan Slurry Seal Case To catch you up, or rather, refresh your recollection . . . Between 2009 and 2012, American Asphalt South, Inc. was awarded 23 public works contracts totaling more than $14.6 million throughout Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and San Diego counties. Two of the losing bidders on those projects – Roy Allan Slurry Seal, Inc. and Doug Martin Contracting, Inc. – sued American in each of these counties for intentional interference with prospective economic advantage as well as under the Unfair Practices Act (“UPA”) (Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17000 et seq.) and the Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”) (Bus. & Prof. Code §17200). Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@wendel.com

Newmeyer Dillion Partner Louis "Dutch" Schotemeyer Named One of Orange County's 500 Most Influential by Orange County Business Journal

January 25, 2021 — Newmeyer Dillion
Prominent business and real estate law firm Newmeyer Dillion is pleased to announce that partner Louis "Dutch" Schotemeyer has been selected to the Orange County Business Journal's fifth annual "OC 500 Directory of Influence" list. The 2020 list recognizes the 500 most influential leaders who have made a positive mark on Orange County's business community over the last year. Located in the Newport Beach office, Schotemeyer's practice areas include, Real Estate Litigation, Construction Operations and Litigation, Business Litigation and Labor & Employment. Additionally he provides risk management and legal advice to companies without dedicated in-house legal counsel. A seasoned litigator, he leverages his litigation experience to advise clients, including C-Level executives, regarding potentially litigious situations that touch their business operations and his practice areas. "Dutch's deep knowledge and experience as in-house counsel has informed his business-first approach to complex legal disputes and made him an invaluable resource to the Orange County business community," said Firm Managing Partner Paul Tetzloff. "We are pleased that Dutch's contributions to the community have been recognized by Orange County Business Journal." Schotemeyer rejoined the firm in September after serving as Vice President and Associate General Counsel for William Lyon Homes, Inc., and Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Taylor Morrison. While at William Lyon Homes, he was named 2019 "General Counsel Rising Star" by the Orange County Business Journal. The full "OC 500 Directory of Influence" list was distributed in a special December supplement. About Newmeyer Dillion For over 35 years, Newmeyer Dillion has delivered creative and outstanding legal solutions and trial results that achieve client objectives in diverse industries. With over 60 attorneys working as a cohesive team to represent clients in all aspects of business, employment, real estate, environmental/land use, privacy & data security and insurance law, Newmeyer Dillion delivers holistic and integrated legal services tailored to propel each client's operations, growth, and profits. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with offices in Walnut Creek, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, Newmeyer Dillion attorneys are recognized by The Best Lawyers in America©, and Super Lawyers as top tier and some of the best lawyers in California and Nevada, and have been given Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review's AV Preeminent® highest rating. For additional information, call 949.854.7000 or visit www.newmeyerdillion.com. Read the court decision
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FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES