Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

The One New Year’s Resolution You’ll Want to Keep if You’re Involved in Public Works Projects

January 07, 2015 — Garret Murai- California Construction Law Blog
New Year’s resolutions are hard to keep. In fact, studies (which I have a sneaking suspicion may have been paid for by the tobacco, donut and vacation timeshare lobbies) have found that only 8% of New Year’s resolutions are kept. But, here’s one you’ll want to make sure you keep. Mandatory Registration and Notice Requirements If you’re a public works contractor or subcontractor you only have until March 1, 2015 to register through the California Department of Industrial Relations (“DIR”) to bid and enter into public works contracts on state and local public works projects. And if you’re a state or local public agency you must provide notice of the DIR’s new registration requirements in all call for bids and contract documents beginning January 1, 2015. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@wendel.com

Sixth Circuit Finds No Coverage for Property Damage Caused by Faulty Workmanship

October 21, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The Sixth Circuit affirmed the lower court's order granting summary judgment to the insurer who denied a defense for a construction defect claim. Steel Supply & Eng'g Co. v. Illinois Nat'. Ins. Co., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 14363 (6th Cir. Aug. 13, 2015). Steel Supply contracted with the Carmel Redevelopment Corporation to fabricate and erect steel for a construction project in Carmel, Indiana. After the steel was erected, an iron worker at the site discovered defects in the steel. Subsequent investigations revealed additional defects. Carmel filed suit against Steel Supply for breach of contract. The complaint alleged that a critical connection that Steel Supply designed was inadequate to handle the forces coming onto it. Carmel claimed that the immediate need to remediate the steel damaged Carmel directly, and that other contractors sought damages from Carmel for harm caused by the delays. 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

Search in Florida Collapse to Take Weeks; Deaths Reach 90

July 25, 2021 — The Associated Press (Freida Frisaro & Bobby Caina Calvan) - Bloomberg
Authorities searching for victims of a deadly collapse in Florida said Sunday they hope to conclude their painstaking work in the coming weeks as a team of first responders from Israel departed the site. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 90 deaths have now been confirmed in last month's collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, up from 86 a day before. Among them are 71 bodies that have been identified, and their families have been notified, she said. Some 31 people remain listed as missing. The Miami-Dade Police Department said three young children were among those recently identified. Crews continued to search the remaining pile of rubble, peeling layer after layer of debris in search of bodies. The unrelenting search has resulted in the recovery of over 14 million pounds (about 6.4 million kilograms) of concrete and debris, Levine Cava said. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bloomberg

The Hidden Dangers of Construction Defect Litigation: A Redux

January 17, 2013 — David McLain, Higgings, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC

I previously wrote an article entitled “The Hidden Dangers of Construction Defect Litigation” for the Common Interests magazine, the monthly periodical of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Community Associations Institute. In that article, I discussed the potential negative effects of homeowners associations bringing construction defect suits as anything other than a last resort. The purpose of this post is to bring to light, by way of a real life example, the problems discussed in my previous article.

I have recently seen a lawsuit filed by an individual homeowner within a common interest community against the homeowners association, its management company, and the attorneys retained by the association to represent it in a construction defect lawsuit against the original developer, general contractor, and one of the design professionals. In his suit, the homeowner complains that the association’s construction defect attorneys “neglected to amend [their] complaint to include only and specifically the claims for damages for those properties, those buildings or condominium units, either by owner or specific locations, which had sustained damages or had faulty construction for which damages were being sought.” As a result of claiming damages throughout the entire community, the homeowner alleged that the entire community was tarred “with the black brush of litigation.”

As the homeowner explained in his complaint, he purchased a condominium for his daughter-in-law when she moved to Colorado to care for him after the death of his wife.

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Reprinted courtesy of David McLain
Mr. McLain can be contacted at mclain@hhmrlaw.com

It's a Wrap! Enforcing Online Agreements in Light of the CPRA

March 08, 2021 — Kyle Janecek – Newmeyer Dillion
We're all familiar with it at this point. A popup comes up on your device informing you of a change to terms and conditions, or otherwise asking for permission. For those operating websites, they know that this inconvenience is required to comply with various legal requirements. What they may not be aware of yet, is that these requirements, and popups, are about to become much, much, more prevalent. Recently, the California Privacy Rights Act ("CPRA"), passed by the voters of the State of California, includes new language specifying how consent is supposed to be obtained for the collection of personal information, amending the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"). This new manner of consent rules out browsewrap agreements, and would require that popups increase as website operators shift focus to clickwrap agreements, if they have not already. Browsewrap and Clickwrap Typically, online agreements comprising Terms of Service or a Privacy Policy can be broken into either (a) browsewrap agreements - agreements that imply assent or agreement to online terms by the mere act of using a website or an online service after a clear and conspicuous notice that terms exist or (b) clickwrap agreements - agreements that show assent or agreement to online terms by having an individual click or otherwise agree to. While the best option to ensure enforceability is always the one that leaves the most documented signs of assenting to terms (i.e. a clickwrap agreement), both are typically recognized and enforced under California law. The practical effect of this is that to get consent, all that is technically needed is either to (a) show actual consent by having the person click on an "I agree" button, or (b) provide that the website visitor had ample notice that terms existed. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Kyle Janecek, Newmeyer Dillion
Mr. Janecek may be contacted at kyle.janecek@ndlf.com

Construction Executives Expect Improvements in the Year Ahead

November 12, 2019 — Joe Galvin - Construction Executive
Vistage’s recent survey captured responses from 1,463 CEOs of small and mid-sized businesses in a variety of industries across the United States. Included in this national data is 224 responses from CEOs in the construction industry, a reliable base for comparing the sentiment of CEOs in construction to the national base. Each quarter, the survey captures:

CEO sentiment on the current and future state of the national economy;
Expectations for revenue and profitability; and
Expansion plans, specifically hiring and investments.

CONSTRUCTION CEOS ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE When asked about revenue expectations, 65% of CEOs in construction reported projections for increased revenues in the coming year, which is on par with the national results. Additionally, 61% expect their profitability to improve over the next 12 months, notably higher than the national figure of 54%. Reprinted courtesy of Joe Galvin, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Meet BWBO’s 2024 San Diego Super Lawyers Rising Stars!

April 29, 2024 — Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
BWB&O is proud to announce San Diego Partner Johnpaul Salem, and Associates Christina Matian and Angelo Perillo have been selected in the 2024 San Diego Super Lawyers list as Rising Stars for their work in Civil and Personal Injury Litigation. To read Super Lawyers’ digital publication, please click here. SELECTED AS RISING STARS Johnpaul Salem: 2023-2024 Christina Matian: 2024 Angelo Perillo: 2024 Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The objective of Super Lawyers’ patented multiphase selection process is to create a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

Consulting Firm Indicted and Charged with Falsifying Concrete Reports

August 17, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

The New York Times reports that a company paid to inspect concrete at major public works projects in New York has been charged with falsifying results. They had been hired by the city three years ago after their predecessor was found to have falsified results.

According to the Times, investigators found nothing legitimate in nearly three thousand reports. The owner and five employees of American Standard Testing and Consulting Laboratories have been indicted on twenty-nine counts, including charges under New York’s racketeering law. Prison terms could be up to twenty-five years.

Prior to the city’s contract with American Standard, the city employed a firm called Testwell. Testwell was found in 2008 to have falsified its test results.

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FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES