Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Expect the Unexpected (Your Design Contracts in a Post-COVID World)

April 18, 2023 — Melissa Dewey Brumback - Construction Law in North Carolina
Have you adapted your post-COVID practice to better plan for the “unexpected” ? In particular, have you looked at–and revised– your professional services contracts to give yourself a little more breathing room for unaccounted issues that may arise? If not, no time like the present. Don’t like that saying? How about ” a stitch in time saves nine?” No? Still nothing? What about a picture of something so completely unexpected it shocks you– say, a fireman commuting home, in fire-fighting regalia, on a tricycle? Okay, here you go… Now that I have your attention– you should make it a practice to regularly review and update your professional services agreements, and you should consider issues such as:

Does your agreement provide for extra compensation if you have to spend more time or a longer period providing construction administration services for material delays or labor shortages? If not, it should.
Does your agreement have a well-written “act of God” provision– one that includes pandemic/epidemics as part of the “act of God” conditions in which a term may become void? If not, add it now!

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Reprinted courtesy of Melissa Dewey Brumback, Ragsdale Liggett
Ms. Brumback may be contacted at mbrumback@rl-law.com

Eight Things You Need to Know About the AAA’s New Construction Arbitration Rules

August 19, 2015 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
I just finished a construction arbitration this past week, which also explains my sporadic posts as of late, sorry. Coincidentally, on July 1, 2015, the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) implemented their newly revised Construction Industry Arbitration and Mediation Procedures. For those of you who follow our blog, you know I’m not a big fan of arbitration, which, from my experience, doesn’t deliver on its promise of better, faster, or cheaper, and ends up being pretty much the same thing as trial without the benefit of discovery, the rules of evidence, or appealability. The AAA is trying to change all of that though and in a news release announced that its new “Rules” “directly address preferences of users for a more streamlined, cost-effective, and tightly managed arbitration process that avoids the high costs of litigation.” Which makes you wonder whether they had to survey their “users” to come to this realization. But I digress. With the AAA’s new Rules come eight new changes, as follows: 1.Fast Track Procedures: Newly revised Rule F-1 now applies to two-party cases where no party’s claim or counterclaim exceeds $100,000. Under old Rule F-1 the monetary cap was $75,000. 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

How to Survive the Insurance Claim Process Before It Starts –Five Tips to Keep Your Insurance Healthy

December 15, 2016 — Robert K. Scott – Newmeyer & Dillion LLP
Every day we read about fires, floods and other tragedies that occur. They seem to be so prevalent, now than ever before. The old notion that “it can’t happen to my family” is not the best approach to being ready if you are faced with a claim. Preparation is the key to readiness in the world of insurance. These five tips can easily be implemented just in case:

Check your coverage now – not after a catastrophic event for your family. Know and ask in writing if all your insurance needs are covered and your financial limits are sufficient. A phone call to your agent or broker can start the process, but at the conclusion of the process confirm any advice or adjustments in writing, and save it in your insurance file. Policies and important correspondence can be imaged and saved in the cloud so it’s retrievable if a big loss occurs. Ask your child or grandchild how to do this if you do not understand the cloud storage and retrieval system.
Video your belongings and save in the cloud. – Use your smart phone to video your home, contents, boats, etc. Talk about the items in the viewfinder as you go. If there are expensive personal items, note their worth and ask your agent or broker if such items need to be “scheduled”---detailed with agreed upon amounts. You pay a little extra on these items but you can then recover their actual value if lost. Most “personal property” items fall under a general category under most homeowner policies and may not be sufficient.

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Reprinted courtesy of Robert K. Scott, Newmeyer & Dillion LLP
Mr. Scott may be contacted at Robert.scott@ndlf.com

Melissa Pang Elected Vice President of APABA-PA Board of Directors

December 21, 2016 — White and Williams LLP
Melissa Pang has been elected Vice President of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania's (APABA-PA) Board of Directors. She will serve a one-year term in the position, beginning January 1, 2017. As part of her responsibilities, Melissa will co-chair the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Northeast Regional Conference, which will be hosted by the APABA-PA in Philadelphia. Melissa has been a member of the APABA-PA since 2010 and has served on the board since 2015. Her involvement includes participation on the Law Student Outreach Committee as well as the Annual Banquet Committee. In 2016, she chaired the organization's Lunar Banquet. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Melissa Pang, White and Williams LLP
Ms. Pang may be contacted at pangm@whiteandwilliams.com

Structural Health Check-Ups Needed but Are Too Infrequent

August 16, 2021 — Jeff Rubenstone - Engineering News-Record
Knowing when a building is structurally deteriorating, and actually doing something about it can be very different things, as the collapse in Surfside, Fla., has shown this month. And while onsite visual inspections are still the common kind of structural assessment, other methods can assess the health of a building or piece of infrastructure and determine its soundness (see p. 69). Reprinted courtesy of Jeff Rubenstone, Engineering News-Record Mr. Rubenstone may be contacted at rubenstonej@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Waive Not, Want Not: Waivers and Releases on California Construction Projects

February 18, 2015 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
California is one of a handful of states (12 to be exact) which have statutory mandated waiver and release forms for construction projects. So here’s what you need to know before you sign one (or two, or three). What are California’s statutory waiver and release forms? California has four statutory waiver and release forms for construction projects. Which form applies depends on two things: (1) whether it is for progress payments or final payment; and (2) whether it is provided before or after you have been paid. 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

New Proposed Regulations Expand CFIUS Jurisdiction Regarding Real Estate

January 20, 2020 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
On September 17, 2019, the U.S. Department of Treasury issued two new proposed rules for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA). Of particular interest to readers of this blog was the second of the proposed rules, which addressed FIRRMA’s real estate-related expansion of CFIUS jurisdiction. Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team Read the full story... Read the court decision
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The Privette Doctrine, the Hooker Exception, and an Attack at a Construction Site

July 05, 2023 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
You don’t often hear about workers being attacked by ne’er-do-wells on a construction project. But, as they say, shite happens . . . Construction contracts often address health and safety issues, as well as site security to protect the improvement, materials, equipment and tools, as well as to protect the public from getting hit by say a large crane with a demolition ball, but site security to protect the workers from thugs, not so much. This is exactly what happened to a construction worker in Degala v. John Stewart Company (2023) 88 Cal.App.5th 158 who was jumped and injured by three hoodlums who attacked him while he was working at a job site. The injured worker, an employee of a subcontractor, was covered by workers’ compensation insurance, but also brought claims against the general contractor and project owner for negligence and premises liability and they, in turn, argued they were immune from liability under the Privette doctrine. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES