SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Hurricane Warning: Florida and Southeastern US Companies – It is Time to Activate Your Hurricane Preparedness Plan and Review Key Insurance Deadlines

November 01, 2022 — Andrea DeField, Walter J. Andrews, Michael S. Levine, Lawrence J. Bracken II & Cary D. Steklof - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
Hurricane Ian is rapidly approaching the west coast of Florida and is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane near the Tampa area within the coming days. While the exact track is still being determined, there is a chance the storm may also impact insureds in Georgia and South Carolina. Now is the time to activate your disaster plan and ensure that you have your relevant insurance policies in your possession and that you review them for critical deadlines. We put together an alert here with tips to help you and your business mitigate potential storm loss and maximize coverage. Reprinted courtesy of Andrea DeField, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Walter J. Andrews, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Lawrence J. Bracken II, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Cary D. Steklof, Hunton Andrews Kurth Ms. DeField may be contacted at adefield@HuntonAK.com Mr. Andrews may be contacted at wandrews@HuntonAK.com Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com Mr. Bracken may be contacted at lbracken@HuntonAK.com Mr. Steklof may be contacted at csteklof@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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Federal Lawsuit Accuses MOX Contractors of Fraud

March 04, 2019 — Scott Judy - Engineering News-Record
A subcontractor employee working on the now-canceled MOX project in South Carolina used football tickets, automobile tires, barbecue grills and other gifts to persuade employees of CB&I AREVA MOX Services and other vendors to help approve thousands of fraudulent invoices cumulatively valued at more than $6.4 million, according to a Dept. of Justice lawsuit filed Feb. 14 that names both companies as defendants. The controversial project at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., originally scheduled for completion in 2016, was canceled in January after cost and schedule estimates increased significantly. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Scott Judy, ENR
Mr. Judy may be contacted at judys@enr.com

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Eleventh Circuit Set to Hear Challenge to Florida Law Barring Foreign Citizens From Buying Real Property

April 22, 2024 — Michael Gnesin - Lewis Brisbois
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (April 2, 2024) - This month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit will hear a challenge to a recently-enacted Florida law, Senate Bill 264, which restricts foreign ownership or investment in Florida real property from specific countries and imposes a near ban on property purchases by Chinese, Russian and other foreign nationals. On July 1, 2023, Senate Bill 264 [codified under Fla. Stat. Ann. §§ 692.201 to 692.205] took effect. The bill, titled “Interests of Foreign Countries,” prohibits Chinese nationals and nationals from other countries, including Russia, from buying real property unless they are American citizens or permanent residents. Prior to the new law's effective date, on May 22, 2023, four Chinese citizens who hold nonimmigrant visas and reside in Florida, along with a Florida-based real estate firm, sued the state of Florida in federal district court, alleging that the new law is unconstitutional and discriminatory, and that it violates the Fair Housing Act [Shen v. Simpson, Case No. 4:23-cv-208]. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michael Gnesin, Lewis Brisbois
Mr. Gnesin may be contacted at Michael.Gnesin@lewisbrisbois.com

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The Golden State Commits to Going Green – Why Contractors Will be in High Demand to Build the State’s Infrastructure

November 28, 2018 — Karla Pascarella & Alexa Magrath - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
On September 10, 2018 California’s Governor took an ambitious stance on environmental policy and signed Senate Bill 100 (“SB100”). The bill accelerates several Renewables Portfolio Standards (“RPS”) deadlines previously established by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill’s most notable effect—it requires that 100 percent of California’s electricity come from renewable and zero-carbon sources by 2045. California is the second state in the nation to pass such legislation; Hawaii passed a similar bill in 2015. The passage of this bill could not be timelier as wildfires, drought, and record high temperatures continue to make national headlines. California, as it often does, has taken a contrarian position as the federal government attempts to reinvigorate the coal mining industry in America. Coal and other fossil fuels used to produce energy increase air pollution and deplete necessary ozone. California has been experimenting and utilizing renewable energy technology since as early as 1997. According to the California Energy Commission, by the end of 2017 California generated approximately 32 percent of its energy from renewable sources. Reprinted courtesy of Karla Pascarella, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Alexa Magrath, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Ms. Pascarella may be contacted at kpascarella@pecklaw.com Ms. Magrath may be contacted at amagrath@pecklaw.com Read the court decision
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Plaintiffs In Construction Defect Cases to Recover For Emotional Damages?

March 16, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

A recent post to the Markusson, Green, Jarvis Blog reports on an important appeals decision which promises to impact construction defect litigation in Colorado.



The post provides analysis on the recovery of inconvenience damages. The focus of the piece is centered on Hildebrand v. New Vista Homes II, LLC, 08CA2645, 2010 WL 4492356 (Colo. Ct. App. Nov. 10, 2010), wherein it was held that " the plain language of Construction Defect Action Reform Act permits recovery of damages for inconvenience, and that the trial court did not err by allowing inconvenience damages to go to the jury".



According to the MGJ Blog "The Hildebrand decision is important because it provides Construction Defect Plaintiffs with a foothold for collecting emotional damages. While several questions of law remain as to who or under exactly what circumstances a Plaintiff may recover these types of damages, the Hildebrand case has clearly set forth that emotional damages may be considered as part of actual damages pursuant to CDARA."



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Congratulations to BWB&O’s Los Angeles Office on Another Successful MSJ!

July 11, 2022 — Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP is proud to announce Partner Daniel Crespo and Associate Stefon Jackson successfully argued and won a Motion for Summary Judgment (“MSJ”) for our client, a property owner of an apartment complex. Plaintiff was involved in a physical altercation with one of the tenants at an apartment complex owned by our client. Plaintiff alleged that our client had notice of a propensity for violence claiming that there were prior instances of contentious interactions between this particular tenant and Plaintiff. As a result, Plaintiff alleged that our client had a duty to prevent further interactions between Plaintiff and the tenant presuming that an act of physical violence was reasonably foreseeable. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Dolores Montoya, Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

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A Call to Washington: Online Permitting Saves Money and the Environment

October 28, 2011 — Douglas Reiser, Builders Council Blog

Here’s some good news for Oregon contractors:  Electronic Permitting is here. That’s right, no more standing in line with folders full of printed submittals and waiting all day for your permit. The click of a few buttons and you are in business. Great news, right? Unfortunately, Oregon isn’t sharing that celebration with Washington. So I say - why not?

Last week, the State of Oregon released its new ePermitting online interface. The website allows contractors, owners and even local building departments to create an account, submit building plans and procure permits. With your account, you can track the progress of submissions, print documents and get posting information.

The state ran a limited test version in the City of Florence since 2009, working out the kinks. Perhaps the most impressive result of the new system is that Oregon tackled the task of coagulating a local process into one central location.

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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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Inspired by Filipino Design, an Apartment Building Looks Homeward

May 22, 2023 — Sarah Holder - Bloomberg
Austerity and efficiency aren’t the first words that come to mind when you see the angled sawtooth bays of Tahanan Supportive Housing, or catch a glimpse of a rainbow through its lobby. But the dramatic exterior and joyful interior of this San Francisco building are both products of their constraints. When David Baker Architects was approached to design the six-story development, the goal was aggressive: Produce 145 units of permanent supportive housing at under $400,000 a unit, and have the operation up and running in less than three years. The firm accepted the challenge, and by 2022, Tanahan was fully leased to residents, all of whom are San Franciscans who have struggled with chronic homelessness. In a city where affordable units typically cost $600,000 to $700,000 each to construct, keeping in budget and meeting the deadline meant turning to the modular building company Factory OS. It also meant keeping variation at a minimum. The studios are identical, like Lego blocks; instead of being mirrored across a hallway, they’re just rotated 180 degrees. But nothing else about the building feels utilitarian. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Sarah Holder, Bloomberg

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