SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

School for Building Trades Helps Fill Need for Skilled Workers

November 06, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The homebuilding crunch is ending, but many of the people who worked at building homes when times were good have found work in other industries, leaving homebuilders looking for skilled labor. The Enzweiler Apprentice Training Program in Kentucky is trying to fill that need. “We’re set to graduate over 100 students this year, which is our largest graduating class on record,” said Brian Miller, the executive director of the Northern Kentucky HBA. Although the class isn’t graduating until next May, many of them already have jobs. “Ninety-five percent of our folks are employed when they leave us,” said Thomas Napier, director of the training program. Part of the curriculum involves gaining real-world experience, so the students work full time during the day and take classes at night. Read the court decision
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Corporate Transparency Act’s Impact on Real Estate: Reporting Companies, Exemptions and Beneficial Ownership Reporting (webinar)

December 04, 2023 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
On October 23, 2023, colleague Andrew Weiner and Kevin Gaunt, counsel at Hunton Andrews Kurth, examined the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), effective Jan. 1, 2024, and its impact on real estate entities and transactions, including who is considered a reporting company subject to new beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements and whether an exemption applies. The panel also discussed certain state laws that impose similar reporting requirements as the CTA and described best practices for real estate counsel to assist their clients with preparing for the CTA’s implementation and ongoing compliance. The panel also reviewed other important considerations, including:

1. Which real estate entities will likely be most affected by the CTA’s implementation and why?
2. What exemptions may apply?
3. How will the CTA’s reporting requirements affect real estate transactions for lenders and investors/buyers?
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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team


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Team Temporarily Stabilizes Delaware River Bridge Crack

February 02, 2017 — Justin Rice - Engineering News-Record
The team temporarily stabilizing the Delaware River Bridge and planning its permanent repair also are trying to find a precedent for the bridge’s uncommon fracture. Connecting the Pennsylvania and New Jersey turnpikes, the 61-year-old symmetrical truss bridge was shut down indefinitely on Jan. 20, when a complete fracture in a steel truss was discovered below the bridge deck. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Justin Rice, ENR
Mr. Rice may be contacted at ricej@enr.com

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U.K. Construction Resumes Growth Amid Resurgent Housing Activity

October 07, 2016 — Scott Hamilton – Bloomberg
The U.K. construction industry returned to growth in September as a measure of housing activity jumped the most since 2013. IHS Markit said on Tuesday that its Purchasing Managers Index jumped to 52.3 from 49.2 in August. It was the highest level in six months and ended a three-month run of readings below 50, the threshold that divides expansion from contraction. The figures add to evidence that the economy is performing better than many predicted following the June decision to leave the European Union. Traders increasingly expect the Bank of England to refrain from adding to its August stimulus package this year. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Scott Hamilton, Bloomberg


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Start-up to Streamline Large-Scale Energy Renovation

August 07, 2018 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
An app from software provider GenieBelt will facilitate communications and strengthen cooperation when DGI-Byen, a 30,000 m2 business and leisure center in central Copenhagen, undergoes a large-scale energy renovation. SustainSolutions CEO Christian Niepoort expects that the tool will contribute to quality, safety, and time and cost savings. Electricians, carpenters, painters, masons, consultants, and architects; the more parties are involved, the more difficult it becomes to stick to the schedule when coordinating a whole host of supplier and contractor activities. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

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Sales of New Homes in U.S. Increased 5.4% in July to 507,000

August 26, 2015 — Shobhana Chandra – Bloomberg
Purchases of new homes in the U.S. rebounded in July, bolstering signs the real-estate market is picking up. Sales climbed 5.4 percent, the biggest gain this year, to a 507,000 annualized pace from a 481,000 rate in the prior month, a Commerce Department report showed Tuesday in Washington. The median forecast of 75 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 510,000. Demand had declined 7.7 percent in June. Demand for new properties is likely to keep expanding amid strong employment, low borrowing costs and a lack of available existing homes from which to choose. The improving outlook may spur more residential construction, contributing to the economic expansion in the second half of the year. Read the court decision
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Small Airport to Grow with Tower

October 25, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The city Hammond, Louisiana is finding that their airport just keeps getting busier. Mayson Foster, the mayor of Hammond noted that the city now has “various types of aircraft ranging from blimps, regional jets, smaller private planes, helicopters and other aircraft using the airport.” Spartan Construction Company has made a successful $1.6 million bid to build the tower. Funding will come from the sale of 17 acres of land near the airport. Air traffic at the Northshore Regional Airport is expected to increase after the tower becomes operational. Read the court decision
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Amazon Can be Held Strictly Liable as a Product Seller in New Jersey

August 07, 2022 — Michael L. DeBona - The Subrogation Strategist
On June 29, 2022, in N.J. Mfrs. Ins. Grp. a/s/o Angela Sigismondi v. Amazon.com, Inc., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115826 (Sigismondi), the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey held that Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) is a “seller” under New Jersey’s product liability statute and can thus face strict liability for damages caused by products sold on its platform. Although the analysis is state-specific, Sigismondi may serve as an important decision for allowing product defect claims to proceed against Amazon when so often the third-party vendor that lists the product is unlocatable, insolvent, or not subject to the jurisdiction of United States courts. In recent years, Amazon has been fighting product liability claims across the country. Amazon argues it is not a “seller” under states’ product liability laws but is merely an online marketplace that facilitates the sale of products by third-party vendors. What constitutes a “seller” in a particular state must be evaluated state-by-state, but various courts have accepted Amazon’s argument that it is not a “seller.” These decisions are based on Amazon’s level of control in the product sale and often focus on a finding that Amazon did not convey possession of the product or transfer its title. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michael L. DeBona, White and Williams
Mr. DeBona may be contacted at debonam@whiteandwilliams.com

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