Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Pennsylvania Finds Policy Triggered When Property Damage Reasonably Apparent

January 28, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court addressed when a liability policy was triggered for ongoing property damage. The Court also declined to apply the multiple trigger theory. Pennsylvania Nat'l Mut. Cas. Ins. Co. v. John, 2014 Pa. LEXIS 3313 (Pa. Dec. 15, 2014). In 2002, Appellants, co-owners of a dairy farm, expanded the size of their dairy herd and milking facility. Appellants hired LPH Plumbing to install a new plumbing system, which would include a wastewater drainage system and a separate freshwater drinking system. LPH Plumbing subcontracted with Stoltzfus Welding to weld metal pipes leading to a holding tank for the new freshwater drinking system. Construction was completed in July 2003. Unknown to Appellants, the plumbing system was defective when dairy operations began. PVC piping for the wastewater was cracked, allowing "gray water" to escape. Further Stoltzfus failed to properly weld an intake pipe leading to a holding tank that formed a part of the freshwater drinking system for the dairy herd. Consequently, Appellants' herd was exposed to contaminated drinking water shortly after dairy operations began in July 2003. 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

Best Lawyers® Recognizes 43 White and Williams Lawyers

September 07, 2020 — White and Williams LLP
Thirty-three White and Williams lawyers were recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© 2021. Inclusion in Best Lawyers® is based entirely on peer-review. The methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area. Best Lawyers® employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of quality legal services. In addition, ten associates were recognized as "Ones to Watch” by Best Lawyers®. This recognition is given to attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States. We are also pleased to announce two White and Williams partners have been named Best Lawyers® 2021 "Lawyer of the Year" in Philadelphia – Edward F. Beitz, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants and William J. Taylor - Construction Law. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of White and Williams LLP

Wildfires Threaten to Make Home Insurance Unaffordable

January 10, 2018 — Christopher Flavelle – Bloomberg
More frequent and intense wildfires are making it harder for homeowners to find and keep insurance in California, a state regulator warned Thursday. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Christopher Flavelle, Bloomberg

Massachusetts Court Holds Statute of Repose Bars Certain Asbestos-Related Construction Claims

April 17, 2019 — Timothy J. Keough & Rochelle Gumapac - White and Williams LLP
In Stearns v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) addressed whether the six-year statute of repose for improvements to real property applies to long-tail tort claims, such as those caused by exposure to asbestos. Reasoning that the language of § 2B is clear, unambiguous and unequivocal, the SJC held that Mass. Gen. Laws. c. 260 § 2B does in fact bar all tort claims arising out of a deficiency or neglect in the design, planning, construction or general administration of an improvement to real property filed after the expiration of the six-year repose period. Additionally, the court affirmed that the time limitations imposed by the statute of repose may not be tolled for any reason six years after either the opening of the improvement for use or the owner taking possession of the improvement for occupation upon substantial completion, whichever may occur first. Reprinted courtesy of Timothy J. Keough, White and Williams LLP and Rochelle Gumapac, White and Williams LLP Mr. Keough may be contacted at keought@whiteandwilliams.com Ms. Gumapac may be contacted at gumapacr@whiteandwilliams.com Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

General Partner Is Not Additional Insured For Construction Defect Claim

August 26, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The court determined that the project owner's general partner was not an additional insured entitled to a defense and indemnity against claims for construction defects. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v,. Cypress Fairway Condo. Ass'n, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94012 (M.D. Fla. July 20, 2015). Construction of the Cypress Fairway Condominium project took place in 1999 and 2000. Cypress Fairway Ltd. ("Cypress") was the owner and Vineland Partners , LLC ("Vineland") was its general partner. The general contractor was Winter Park Construction Company ("WPC"). Water intrusion and property damage occurred, but it was unclear when or whether the damage was known. Cypress' expert indicated that the damage began shortly after the end of construction. In 2004, the complex was sold to Cypress Madison Ownership Company. In 2010, the Cypress Fairway Condominium Association sued Cypress and Vineland. Count V of the underlying complaint asserted there were construction defects that Cypress and Vineland were responsible for when they owned and managed the project. Count VI alleged that Cypress and Vineland negligently supplied information which the Association relied on for the purchase of the condominiums. 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

New York Court of Appeals Addresses Choice of Law Challenges

August 20, 2018 — Grace V. Hebbel - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
In June, the New York Court of Appeals examined the application of a New York Choice of Law provision in a contract – a determinative issue for the case. In Ontario, Inc. v. Samsung C&T Corp., the issue was whether the plaintiff’s claims were subject to Ontario, Canada’s 2-year statute of limitations or New York’s 6-year statute of limitations for breach of contract where the contract contained a broad New York Choice of Law provision. The court found that pursuant to New York’s borrowing statute, Ontario’s more restrictive statute of limitations applied. The action was dismissed as time-barred, serving as a harsh reminder of the potential effects of choice of law and limitations periods. The suit arose out of the following facts. In 2008, an Ontario renewable energy developer, SkyPower Corp. (“SkyPower”), entered into a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with the defendants which allowed the defendants to review SkyPower’s confidential and proprietary information. The review was conditioned on restricted disclosure and the requirement that the information would be destroyed after review. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Grace V. Hebbel, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Ms. Hebbel may be contacted at gvh@sdvlaw.com

Henderson Engineers Tests AI for Building Systems Design with Torch.AI

September 26, 2022 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
Torch.AI is testing a new artificial intelligence application with Henderson Engineers, a national building systems design firm, to unlock the creative and problem solving potential of the firm’s more than 1,000 employees. Henderson Engineers is a building systems design and engineering firm that works on projects across the business, community, health, retail, and venue sectors. Their projects include many high-profile projects, such as SoFi Stadium, host site for the 2022 Super Bowl. They know how the industry relies on highly complex information contained in equally complex unstructured data: drawings, images, PDFs, handwriting, raw text. Earlier this year, Henderson began testing new artificial intelligence from Torch.AI that could learn to read complex construction and engineering documents and diagrams. “When Kevin Lewis, Henderson’s CEO, and I got together to first discuss the partnership, I could tell they were already thinking way ahead of everyone else,” says Brian Weaver, Chairman and CEO of Torch.AI. “As an engineering firm they are meticulous, thoughtful, strategic. We quickly saw the potential impact these new AI systems could have for their amazingly talented teams and are excited to continue growing our relationship.” 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

Arizona Supreme Court Leaves Limits on Construction Defects Unclear

August 27, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The Arizona Supreme Court has determined that “non-contracting parties may bring negligence claims for construction defects because such claims are not barred by the economic loss doctrine,” as Richard Erikson writes in a Snell & Wilmer Legal Alert. In the case of Sullivan v. Pulte Home, Pulte had built the home in 2000. The original buyer sold it to the Sullivans in 2003. The Sullivans discovered construction defects in a retaining wall in 2009. The lost their original lawsuit, but the appeals court found that if the Sullivans filed within two years of finding the damage, they could sue. The case then progressed to the Arizona Supreme Court. Erikson points out that in an amicus brief, a number of parties in the Arizona homebuilding industry argued that “the appellate court’s ruling was commercially irreconcilable with expectations of builders, homeowners, homebuyers, engineers and architects in the construction industry.” Nevertheless, the Sullivans prevailed at court. Erikson asks what the actual limit on construction defects must be, given that the court found for plaintiffs who discovered construction defects nine years after the home was built. “How many years after the builder finishes a home does it have to plan on defending defect claims—10, 20, 30 years?” He proposes that the Arizona legislature needs to clarify the specific limits. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES