Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Assessments Underway After Hurricane Milton Rips Off Stadium Roof, Snaps Crane Boom in Florida

November 05, 2024 — James Leggate - Engineering News-Record
Hurricane Milton and tornados it spurred killed at least five people and knocked out power to 4 million homes and businesses in Florida after making landfall Oct. 9 near Siesta Key in Sarasota County. With assessments and rescues still underway, state officials say the damage was not as bad as it could have been. Reprinted courtesy of James Leggate, Engineering News-Record Mr. Leggate may be contacted at leggatej@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Congratulations to Haight Attorneys Selected to the 2020 Southern California Super Lawyers List

April 27, 2020 — Haight Brown & Bonesteel
Seven Haight attorneys have been selected to the 2020 Southern California Super Lawyers list. Congratulations to:

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Reprinted courtesy of Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP

Four Key Steps for a Successful Construction Audit Process

May 03, 2021 — Ronald L. Williams, Fox Rothschild LLP - ConsensusDocs
The implications of the audit provisions contained in construction agreements between owners and contractors owners extend far beyond post-completion bean counting, and can affect multiple aspects of a project, from project administration to relationships with key subcontractors. It is critically important that contractors give audits the attention they deserve by taking the following four steps. First, invest the time to negotiate the audit provisions that ultimately appear in contracts with the owner. Second, ensure that the project team and the owner’s project auditors engage in timely communication during construction. Third, make certain that post-completion audit administration is prompt and complete. And finally, carefully draft adequate “flow-down” provisions with subcontractors and vendors so that they understand and comply with their contractual obligations, as well as the expectations of the contractor and owner. All four aspects are critical, and if not addressed effectively can undermine the profitability of the contract, and contractors’ business relationships with both upstream and downstream parties. Negotiations At the outset of contract negotiations, a contractor must completely understand the owner’s audit process expectations. An owner’s understanding of the audit process and its potential pitfalls depends on their own experience, as well as the knowledge of their personnel, including internal audit members and external auditors. Negotiations, which like the audit itself need not be adversarial, can be educational for both the owner and any representatives involved. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Ronald L. Williams, Fox Rothschild LLP
Mr. Williams may be contacted at rwilliams@foxrothschild.com

Denver Condo Development Increasing, with Caution

January 21, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to Aldo Svaldi of The Denver Post, condo development has increased in the Denver metro area, though builders stated they are carefully documenting each step of construction as well as vetting contractors and materials. "We are being ultra-careful about everything," Roy Kline, a managing director at Western Development Group, told the Denver Post. Western Development is behind the 250 Columbine development. Svaldi reported that Western Development Group has been “photographing or filming every step of construction.” Brian Levitt and Trevor Hines of NAVA Real Estate Development “have spent the past year crafting a detailed three-page, 18-point action plan to deal with any contingency they could think of arising from the state's constructions-defects law.” Levitt told Svaldi that he “estimates all the safeguards being put in place will add 5 percent to 10 percent to the costs of the units at NAVA Sloan Lake, whose final price points are being determined.” Read the court decision
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Baltimore Bridge Collapse Occurred After Ship Lost Power Multiple Times

May 28, 2024 — Allyson Versprille - Bloomberg
The container ship that rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March lost power multiple times on both the day of the fatal accident and the day before, according to a preliminary report. The Dali, which sails under the flag of Singapore, lost power twice on March 26 before hitting the bridge and causing it to collapse, killing six construction workers who were on the structure at the time. The first blackout was caused when electrical breakers powering most of the vessel’s equipment and lighting unexpectedly tripped, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report Tuesday. The crew eventually was able to restore electrical power, but then a second blackout occurred only 0.2 miles from the bridge. They regained power, but the ship lacked the propulsion needed to avoid striking the bridge, safety inspectors found. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Allyson Versprille, Bloomberg

Construction Defect Coverage Barred Under Business Risk Exclusion in Colorado

February 14, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
A federal court in Colorado recently applied the business risk exclusion to a construction defect case. Aaron Mandel and Stevi Raab of Sedgwick Law discuss this in Construction Defect Coverage Quarterly. The court found that the business risk exclusion barred coverage for an underlying construction defect. In the construction defect case, the Creek Side at Parker homeowners association sued the developer and builder. One such alleged defect was that “the plumbing contractor’s faulty installation of sewer and water lines damaged the lines themselves, caused surrounding asphalt and concrete to crack and deteriorate, and resulted in water intrusion.” The court concluded that this damage to non-defective work was an occurrence, but the exclusion in the contract covered only property damage that occurred “while the work is ongoing.” The court concluded that the business risk exclusion barred coverage. Read the court decision
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Chinese Billionaire Developer Convicted in UN Bribery Case

August 02, 2017 — Bob Van Voris - Bloomberg
A Chinese developer was convicted of charges he paid bribes to win backing for a United Nations conference center that he hoped to build in Macau. A jury in Manhattan on Thursday found the developer, billionaire Ng Lap Seng, guilty of all six charges he faced, including conspiracy, bribery and money laundering, in the biggest UN corruption scandal since the oil-for-food program in the early 2000s. Prosecutors claimed Ng funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to former UN General Assembly President John Ashe and other officials. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bob Van Voris, Bloomberg

Pennsylvania Federal Court Confirms: Construction Defect Claims Not Covered by CGL Policies

March 06, 2022 — Nathan A. Cazier & Scott S. Thomas - Payne & Fears
The construction industry operates under the constant spectre of claims seeking damages for defective or faulty workmanship. Fortunately, the law in most states treats these claims as covered under commercial general liability (“CGL”) policies. A small minority of states take a much stingier view. In a newly decided case, a Pennsylvania federal court confirmed that Pennsylvania belongs to this small group of states that regard construction claims as not worthy of liability insurance coverage. Main St. Am. Assurance Co. v. Howard Lynch Plastering, Inc., No. CV 21-3977, 2022 WL 445768, (E.D. Pa. Feb. 14, 2022). Main St. involves a typical construction defect case: W.B. Homes (“W.B.”) developed a residential community, contracting with various trades to build the homes. W.B. required these subcontractors to obtain liability insurance covering their work and, when homeowners sued W.B. for damages due to allegedly faulty work, W.B. tendered the claim to these insurers. One of them, Main Street Assurance Co. (“Main Street”) then sued W.B. for declaratory relief, arguing that under Pennsylvania law, it had no duty to defend W.B. Reprinted courtesy of Nathan A. Cazier, Payne & Fears and Scott S. Thomas, Payne & Fears Mr. Cazier may be contacted at nac@paynefears.com Mr. Thomas may be contacted at sst@paynefears.com Read the court decision
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