Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

In Texas, a General Contractor May be Liable in Tort to a Third-Party Lessee for Property Damage Caused by a Subcontractor’s Work

February 16, 2016 — Michael L. DeBona – White and Williams LLP
In Zbranek Custom Homes, Ltd. v. Joe Allbaugh, et al., No. 03-14-00131-CV, 2015 WL 9436630 (Tex.App.-Austin Dec. 23, 2015), the Court of Appeals of Texas, Austin, considered the circumstances under which a general contractor can be held liable for injuries to a non-contracting party’s property. The court held that, because the general contractor, Zbranek Custom Homes, Ltd. (Zbranek), exercised control over the construction of the fireplace at issue, Zbranek owed a duty of care to the first lessees of the home that Zbranek built. In Zbranek, Bella Cima Developments, L.P. (Bella Cima) hired Zbranek to act as the general contractor for the construction of a home. As the general contractor, Zbranek engaged various subcontractors to perform different aspects of the construction, including the framing, stucco and masonry work for an outdoor fireplace. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michael L. DeBona, White and Williams LLP
Mr. DeBona may be contacted at debonam@whiteandwilliams.com

Alabama “occurrence” and subcontractor work exception to the “your completed work” exclusion

November 18, 2011 — CDCoverage.com

In Town & Country Property, LLC v. Amerisure Ins. Co., No. 1100009 (Ala. Oct. 21, 2010), property owner Town & Country contracted with insured general contractor Jones-Williams for the construction of a car dealership. All of the construction work was performed by Jones-Williams subcontractors. After completion, Town & Country sued Jones-Williams for defective construction. Jones-Williams’ CGL insurer Amerisure defended. The case was tried and a judgment was entered against Jones-Williams in favor of Town & Country. After Amerisure denied any obligation to pay the judgment, Town & Country sued Amerisure in a statutory direct action.

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Reprinted courtesy of CDCoverage.com.

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Blackstone to Buy Chicago’s Willis Tower for $1.3 Billion

March 19, 2015 — Hui-yong Yu – Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Blackstone Group LP agreed to buy Chicago’s Willis Tower, the second-tallest building in the U.S., and plans to upgrade the retail and observatory space in a bet on growth in the city. The price was $1.3 billion, a record for a Chicago office building, according to Blackstone executives. The sellers of the 110-story skyscraper, formerly known as Sears Tower, are a group including New York-based investors Joseph Chetrit and Joseph Moinian, and American Landmark Properties Ltd. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Hui-yong Yu, Bloomberg
Ms. Yu may be contacted at hyu@bloomberg.net

The Unwavering Un-waivable Implied Warranty of Workmanship and Habitability in Arizona

January 23, 2023 — Robert A. Henry & Emily R. Parker - Snell & Wilmer Real Estate Litigation Blog
The Arizona Supreme Court recently issued an opinion on the scope of the implied warranty of workmanship and habitability (the “implied warranty”) in contracts between homebuyers and builder/vendors that provides clear guidance of the law in this area, specifically on the issue of whether the implied warranty can be waived or disclaimed. It is also an interesting and helpful read for those who engage in new home residential sales and real estate transactions generally. The case: Zambrano v. M & RC, II LLC, 254 Ariz. 53 (2022). The takeaway holding: the implied warranty of workmanship and habitability cannot, under any circumstances, be disclaimed or waived. From a practice perspective, the foregoing is likely all one needs to ultimately know. However, the majority opinion (authored by Justice Timmer) and the dissent (authored by Justice King, and joined by Justice Bolick) are in these authors’ opinions worth a read for those who want a better understanding of the contours of how “public policy” plays into the analysis of the enforceability of contract terms, especially in the real estate context and even more particularly in connection with contracts for the sale of new homes. The careful analysis of both the majority opinion and the dissent provides an excellent history of the implied warranty, the public policy behind it, and its scope and application in the context of competing public policies, most notably the freedom to contract. Reprinted courtesy of Robert A. Henry, Snell & Wilmer and Emily R. Parker, Snell & Wilmer Mr. Henry may be contacted at bhenry@swlaw.com Ms. Parker may be contacted at eparker@swlaw.com Read the court decision
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Candis Jones Named “On the Rise” by Daily Report's Georgia Law Awards

September 29, 2021 — Candis Jones - Lewis Brisbois Newsroom
Atlanta Partner Candis Jones was named a lawyer “On the Rise” by the Daily Report (part of Law.com). Ms. Jones is one of 20 attorneys from Georgia to receive this distinction as part of the publication's 2021 Georgia Law Awards. The Daily Report’s “On the Rise” category recognizes outstanding attorneys under the age of 40 who have made an impression on their colleagues, their clients, and the larger legal community of Georgia. Winners are selected by the publication’s editorial staff. Ms. Jones is a member of Lewis Brisbois' General Liability Practice and has extensive experience with insurance defense, premises liability, personal injury, and medical malpractice cases. Her clients include Fortune 500 companies, numerous insurance carriers, and a major metropolitan transit authority. Outside her legal practice, Ms. Jones is an active member of her legal community and was recently installed as President of the Gate City Bar Association, the oldest African-American bar association in the State of Georgia. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Candis Jones, Lewis Brisbois
Ms. Jones may be contacted at Candis.Jones@lewisbrisbois.com

Recent Opinions Clarify Enforceability of Pay-if-Paid Provisions in Construction Contracts

May 29, 2023 — Patrick McKnight - The Dispute Resolver
Several recent opinions and legislative actions have brought the controversial nature of pay-if-paid provisions into focus in early 2023. Pay-if-paid provisions are contractual mechanisms designed to shift the risk of non-payment from General Contractors to lower-tier subcontractors. In other words, pay-if-paid provisions generally do not require payment to downstream subs until after the GC or Prime are themselves paid in-full by the owner. Recent developments reflect the differing approaches taken by courts when addressing pay-if-paid provisions, ranging broadly from prohibition to full enforceability. Other jurisdictions fall somewhere in the middle, viewing such provisions with varying amounts of skepticism on the grounds heir impact on smaller downstream subs is disproportionate and unfair. Pay-if-paid provisions are often contrasted against “pay-when-paid” provisions. Pay-when-paid provisions may require payment within a specified duration but remove the upstream contractor’s payment in-full as a condition precedent. The brief discussion below will not explore pay-when-paid, no damage for delay provisions, or statutory prompt payment acts. Instead, this article serves as a primer on recent legal developments related to pay-if-paid provisions exclusively. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Patrick McKnight, Fox Rothschild LLP
Mr. McKnight may be contacted at pmcknight@foxrothschild.com

AI and the Optimization of Construction Projects

February 19, 2024 — Rahul Shah - Construction Executive
Seeking answers on how to construct smarter and greener buildings or improve water efficiency in homes and offices, those who create our buildings and construction projects are entering a new era of learning as they turn their attention to the benefits of artificial intelligence. While human involvement will continue to be paramount, AI has the potential to assist in creating informed decisions, for example by suggesting sustainable, durable materials or cost-effective, but still safe, practices. The possible applications of AI for the construction industry could be transformative across design, procurement, construction, operation and decommissioning. In fact, research suggests designers and contractors are already applying AI and machine learning to manage the volumes of data involved in the design of buildings, the planning of construction projects and the day-to-day operations of sites. Reprinted courtesy of Rahul Shah, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Primer Debuts on Life-Cycle Assessments of Embodied Carbon in Buildings

August 20, 2018 — Engineering News-Record
A recently released primer for the use of a life-cycle assessment approach to analyze the environmental impacts of buildings is considered a small but necessary step toward the ambitious goal of getting to net-zero embodied carbon and operational greenhouse gas emissions in the construction, operation and decommissioning of buildings. The LCA guide comes after the release of the first-of-its-kind benchmarking database of embodied carbon in existing buildings. And another first—a tool to calculate embodied carbon in construction—is on the horizon. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Engineering News-Record
ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com

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