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    Building Expert Builders Information
    Seattle, Washington

    Washington Builders Right To Repair Current Law Summary:

    Current Law Summary: (SB 5536) The legislature passed a contractor protection bill that reduces contractors' exposure to lawsuits to six years from 12, and gives builders seven "affirmative defenses" to counter defect complaints from homeowners. Claimant must provide notice no later than 45 days before filing action; within 21 days of notice of claim, "construction professional" must serve response; claimant must accept or reject inspection proposal or settlement offer within 30 days; within 14 days following inspection, construction pro must serve written offer to remedy/compromise/settle; claimant can reject all offers; statutes of limitations are tolled until 60 days after period of time during which filing of action is barred under section 3 of the act. This law applies to single-family dwellings and condos.


    Building Expert Contractors Licensing
    Guidelines Seattle Washington

    A license is required for plumbing, and electrical trades. Businesses must register with the Secretary of State.


    Building Expert Contractors Building Industry
    Association Directory
    MBuilders Association of King & Snohomish Counties
    Local # 4955
    335 116th Ave SE
    Bellevue, WA 98004

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Home Builders Association of Kitsap County
    Local # 4944
    5251 Auto Ctr Way
    Bremerton, WA 98312

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Home Builders Association of Spokane
    Local # 4966
    5813 E 4th Ave Ste 201
    Spokane, WA 99212

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Home Builders Association of North Central
    Local # 4957
    PO Box 2065
    Wenatchee, WA 98801

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    MBuilders Association of Pierce County
    Local # 4977
    PO Box 1913 Suite 301
    Tacoma, WA 98401

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    North Peninsula Builders Association
    Local # 4927
    PO Box 748
    Port Angeles, WA 98362
    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Jefferson County Home Builders Association
    Local # 4947
    PO Box 1399
    Port Hadlock, WA 98339

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10


    Building Expert News and Information
    For Seattle Washington


    Construction Litigation Roundup: “A Fastball Right to the Bean!”

    Design Professional Liens: A Blueprint

    Dave McLain included in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America

    Philadelphia Proposed Best Value Procurement Bill

    Is Your Business Insured for the Coronavirus?

    Senate’s Fannie Mae Wind-Down Plan Faces High Hurdles

    New Megablimp to Deliver to Remote Alaskan Construction Sites

    Considering Stormwater Management

    Miller Act and “Public Work of the Federal Government”

    U.K. High Court COVID-19 Victory for Policyholders May Set a Trend in the U.S.

    Harmon Tower Case Settled Prior to Start of Trial

    How Long is Your Construction Warranty?

    Ohio Rejects the Majority Trend and Finds No Liability Coverage for a Subcontractor’s Faulty Work

    UPDATE - McMillin Albany LLC v. Superior Court

    Europe’s Satellites Could Help Catch the Next Climate Disaster

    Yet ANOTHER Reminder to Always Respond

    Ensuring Arbitration in Construction Defect Claims

    New Iowa Law Revises Construction Defects Statute of Repose

    Why 8 Out of 9 Californians Don't Buy Earthquake Insurance

    Trial Court Abuses Discretion in Appointing Unqualified Umpire for Appraisal

    Four Companies Sued in Pool Electrocution Case

    Washington High Court Holds Insurers Bound by Representations in Agent’s Certificates of Insurance

    In Colorado, Repair Vendors Can Bring First-Party Bad Faith Actions For Amounts Owed From an Insurer

    Portions of Policyholder's Expert's Opinions Excluded

    BWB&O Attorneys are Selected to 2024 Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars

    Court Agrees to Stay Coverage Matter While Underlying State Action is Pending

    U.K. Developer Pledges Building Safety in Wake of Grenfell

    Construction Attorneys Tell DBR that Business is on the Rise

    Haight Brown & Bonesteel Attorneys Named Super Lawyers in 2016

    OSHA Joins the EEOC in Analyzing Unsafe Construction Environments

    Mitigating FCRA Risk Through Insurance

    Loss Caused by Subcontractor's Faulty Work Covered in Georgia

    A Court-Side Seat: Clean Air, Clean Water, Endangered Species and Deliberative Process Privilege

    A Court-Side Seat: Guam’s CERCLA Claim Allowed, a “Roundup” Verdict Upheld, and Judicial Process Privilege Lost

    Insurance Company Prevails in “Chinese Drywall” Case

    Haight Brown & Bonesteel Ranked on the 2017 "Best Law Firms" List by U.S. News - Best Lawyers

    OSHA Set to Tag More Firms as Severe Violators Under New Criteria

    First Trump Agenda Nuggets Hit Construction

    Framework, Tallest Mass Timber Project in the U.S., Is On Hold

    Colorado Federal Court Confirms Consequetial Property Damage, But Finds No Coverage for Subcontractor

    How U.S. Design and Architecture Firms Can Profit from the Chinese Market and Avoid Pitfalls

    Is Everybody Single? More Than Half the U.S. Now, Up From 37% in '76

    Business Interruption Insurance Coverage Act of 2020: Yet Another Reason to Promptly Notify Insurers of COVID-19 Losses

    Are Mechanic’s Liens the Be All End All of Construction Collections?

    Federal Court Rejects Insurer's Argument that Wisconsin Has Adopted the Manifestation Trigger for Property Policy

    Palo Alto Considers Fines for Stalled Construction Projects

    Are Untimely Repairs an “Occurrence” Triggering CGL Coverage?

    Denver’s Mayor Addresses Housing and Modifying Construction Defect Law

    Delays in Filing Lead to Dismissal in Moisture Intrusion Lawsuit

    Privileged Communications With a Testifying Client/Expert
    Corporate Profile

    SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
    DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

    Leveraging from more than 7,000 construction defect and claims related expert witness designations, the Seattle, Washington Building Expert Group provides a wide range of trial support and consulting services to Seattle's most acknowledged construction practice groups, CGL carriers, builders, owners, and public agencies. Drawing from a diverse pool of construction and design professionals, BHA is able to simultaneously analyze complex claims from the perspective of design, engineering, cost, or standard of care.

    Building Expert News & Info
    Seattle, Washington

    A Survey of New Texas Environmental and Regulatory Laws Enacted in the 88th Session (Updated)

    August 28, 2023 —
    This is a brief survey of many of the environmental and regulatory laws passed by the Texas Legislature and signed by the Governor in the 88th Regular Session of the Legislature, which ended in May 2023, although a special session has been called to address lingering matters. Altogether, more than 1,000 laws were enacted in this session, including a surprising number of water-related environmental bills. Water HB1565 relates to the functions of the Texas Water Development Board and continuation and functions of the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas Advisory Committee. Effective 9.1.23. HB1699 relates to the authority of the Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District to impose certain fees. Effective 6.9.23. HB1845 amends Section 37 of the Water Code to add Section 37.0045 relating to the licensing requirements for certain operators of wastewater systems and public water systems. Effective 9.1.23. Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury and Alexandra Trahan, Pillsbury Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com Read the court decision
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    Erdogan Vows to Punish Shoddy Builders Ahead of Crucial Election

    April 25, 2023 —
    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to punish breakers of construction-safety regulations in the wake of February’s deadly earthquakes, a move to distance himself from the devastation brought by tens of thousands of building collapses. “We will squeeze them into a corner,” Erdogan said in an interview with with CNN-Turk television late Wednesday. “It will be included in crimes that can’t be pardoned.” The aftermath of the Turkey earthquakes, which killed at least 50,000 people, has become a major talking point ahead of May 14 presidential elections. Erdogan is looking to extend his two-decade rule and is facing his toughest test yet from a united opposition, and critics say he is responsible for allowing builders to skip safety rules to win support in previous votes. Read the court decision
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    Reprinted courtesy of Selcan Hacaoglu, Bloomberg

    No Coverage for Co-Restaurant Owners Who Are Not Named In Policy

    August 24, 2017 —
    The Federal District Court denied two plaintiffs' claims for breach of the policy and for bad faith because they were not insureds under the policy. Tu v. Dongbu Ins. Co., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115200 (N.D. Calif. July 24, 2017). Dongbu, a Hawaii insurance company, issued a two-year policy to Plaintiff Ken Tu for his business. He was the only named insured under the policy. The waste system at Plaintiffs' restaurant failed, causing fumes to impact neighboring tenants and waste to contaminate the underlying soil. Plaintiffs were forced to close the restaurant. A claim was tendered for damage and repair, loss of business income, and other insured losses. Dongbu denied coverage. Read the court decision
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    Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
    Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

    Multiple Construction Errors Contributed to Mexico Subway Collapse

    June 21, 2021 —
    The May 3 collapse of an elevated section of the Line 12 subway in Mexico City that killed 26 passengers appears to have resulted from multiple construction faults, according to a risk management firm's preliminary report. Reprinted courtesy of Jim Parsons, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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    The (Jurisdictional) Rebranding of The CDA’s Sum Certain Requirement

    April 15, 2024 —
    The Contract Disputes Act (the “CDA”), 41 U.S.C.A. §§ 7101 et seq., which has provided the statutory framework for resolution of most contract disputes between the federal government and its contractors since 1978, has recently been the subject of changes in judicial interpretation, despite no corresponding statutory changes. The CDA’s implementing provisions in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), require that contractors submit a claim to the government in the form of written demand to a contracting officer requesting a final decision and seeking the payment of money in a sum certain prior to pursuing resolution via board or court. However, with respect to the sum certain requirement, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an opinion in late 2023 determining that this requirement “should not be given the jurisdictional brand” as it has categorically received in the past. Rather, the court concluded that the sum certain requirement is merely an element of a claim for relief under the CDA that a contractor must satisfy to recover. This rebranding does not debase the sum certain requirement, but it does indicate a renewed focus on what constitutes “jurisdictional” in government contracts litigation. Reprinted courtesy of Jordan A. Hutcheson, Watt Tieder and Stephanie Rolfsness, Watt Tieder Ms. Hutcheson may be contacted at jhutcheson@watttieder.com Ms. Rolfsness may be contacted at srolfsness@watttieder.com Read the court decision
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    Ninth Circuit Finds Policy’s Definition of “Policy Period” Fatal to Insurer’s “Related Claims” Argument

    April 10, 2019 —
    Professional liability policies often include some form of a “related claims” or “related acts” provision stating that if more than one claim results from a single wrongful act, or a series of related wrongful acts, such claims will be treated as a single claim and deemed first made during the policy period in which the earliest claim was made. These provisions can have significant implications on the applicable policy and policy limits, retroactive date issues, and whether such claims were first made and reported during a particular policy period. Recently, the Ninth Circuit issued a stern reminder of how the particular policy language can effect, and in this case thwart, the intended scope of the carrier’s “related claims” provision. In Attorneys Ins. Mut. Risk Retention Grp., Inc. v. Liberty Surplus Ins. Corp., 2019 WL 643442 (9th Cir. Feb. 15, 2019), the Ninth Circuit construed a “related claims” provision included in two consecutive lawyers professional liability policies. During both the 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 insurance policy periods, attorney J. Wayne Allen (“Allen”) was insured through his employer by Liberty Surplus Insurance Corporation’s (“Liberty”) professional liability insurance. Third parties filed suit against Allen during the 2009–2010 policy period in a probate case, and a second, related civil suit during the 2010–2011 policy period. Read the court decision
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    Reprinted courtesy of Jason M. Taylor, Traub Lieberman
    Mr. Taylor may be contacted at jtaylor@tlsslaw.com

    Thank You for 14 Consecutive Years of Legal Elite Elections

    December 29, 2020 —
    Thanks to the Virginia legal community that has continued to elect me to the Virginia Business Legal Elite in the Construction Law Category for 14 years running. The 14 consecutive years of election to the Legal Elite in the Construction Category spans my time as a solo construction attorney. The fact that you all have continued to elect “100%” of the lawyers at The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PC for the last 10 years is most gratifying and only confirms that my decision to “go solo” over 10 years ago was a good one. To be included in this list of top construction attorneys is both humbling and gratifying. For the complete list of the Virginia construction lawyers that were elected along with me, see the 2020 Virginia Business Legal Elite in Construction Law. Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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    Insurance Policy Provides No Coverage For Slab Collapse in Vision One

    August 17, 2011 —

    This post will examine whether Division Two of the Washington Court of Appeals properly reversed and remanded several lower court decisions in the case of Vision One LLC v. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance. In short, and from the perspective of an appellate attorney, the court of appeals got the decision right. Given the rules of contract interpretation and causation in tort claims, there was really no other way the court could have ruled. I understand that from a contractor’s perspective and insurance perspective, the decision seems odd. But from a purely legal standpoint, the decision is well-reasoned and well-supported. Let me explain.

    Background

    First, here are the facts in a nutshell. Vision One is a construction company that undertook to construct a condo complex in Tacoma. Vision then contracted with D&D Concrete to pour a concrete slab for a section of the foundation. To shore the concrete slab, D&D further contracted Berg Equipment to provide necessary equipment to stabilize the structure. Well, something down the line went wrong. The shoring failed and the slab collapsed, causing a great deal of damage.

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    Reprinted courtesy of Douglas Reiser of Reiser Legal LLC. Mr. Reiser can be contacted at info@reiserlegal.com

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