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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


    Five Years of Great Legal Blogging at Insurance Law Hawaii

    The G2G Mid-Year Roundup (2022)

    Spain Risks €10.6 Billion Flood Damage Bill, Sanchez Says

    Social Engineering Scams Are On the Rise – Do I Have Insurance Coverage for That?

    The Future of High-Rise is Localized and Responsive

    Beyond the Disneyland Resort: Museums

    Negligent Construction an Occurrence Says Ninth Circuit

    San Francisco Sues Over Sinking Millennium Tower

    Miller Act and “Public Work of the Federal Government”

    West Virginia Wild: Crews Carve Out Corridor H Through the Appalachian Mountains

    Nevada Supreme Court Holds That Insureds Can Use Extrinsic Evidence to Prove Duty to Defend

    Attorneys Fees Under California’s Prompt Payment Statutes. Contractor’s “Win” Fails the Sniff Test

    Leveraging the 50-State Initiative, Connecticut and Maine Team Secure Full Dismissal of Coverage Claim for Catastrophic Property Loss

    IoT: Take Guessing Out of the Concrete Drying Process

    Are Millennials Finally Moving Out On Their Own?

    Newmeyer & Dillion Welcomes Three Associates to Newport Beach Office

    California Court of Appeal Finds Coverage for Injured Worker Despite Contractor's Exclusion

    Design Professional Needs a License to be Sued for Professional Negligence

    Fannie-Freddie Propose Liquidity Rules for Mortgage Insurers

    Housing Buoyed by 20-Year High for Vet’s Loans: Mortgages

    The Court-Side Seat: FERC Reviews, Panda Power Plaints and Sovereign Immunity

    Arctic Fires Are Melting Permafrost That Keeps Carbon Underground

    Settling with Some, But Not All, of the Defendants in a Construction Defect Case

    Good News on Prices for Some Construction Materials

    GRSM Team Wins Summary Judgment in Million-Dollar HOA Dispute

    Addressing Safety on the Construction Site

    Carillion Fallout Affects Major Hospital Project in Liverpool

    Injured Subcontractor Employee Asserts Premise Liability Claim Against General Contractor

    No Coverage for Breach of Contract Claims Against Contractor

    Oregon Supreme Court Confirms Broad Duty to Defend

    A Survey of Trends and Perspectives in Construction Defect Decisions

    ASHRAE Seeks Comments by May 26 on Draft of Pathogen Mitigation Standard

    Crime Policy Insurance Quotes Falsely Represented the Scope of its Coverage

    Specific Source of Water Not Relevant in Construction Defect Claim

    Georgia Court Reaffirms Construction Defect Decision

    Pinnacle Controls in Verano

    Disputed Facts on Cause of Collapse Results in Denied Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment

    Policy's Limitation Period for Seeking Replacement Costs Not Enforced Where Unreasonable

    E-Commerce Logistics Test Limits of Tilt-Up Construction

    Illinois Legislature Passes Bill Allowing Punitive Damages In Most Wrongful Death Actions

    Are Modern Buildings Silently Killing Us?

    South Carolina Homeowners May Finally Get Class Action for Stucco Defects

    Things You Didn't Know About Your Homeowners Policy

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    Daily Construction Reports: Don’t Leave the Job Without Them

    In Pennsylvania, Contractors Can Be Liable to Third Parties for Obvious Defects in Completed Work

    Boston Construction Bands With Health Care to Fight COVID-19

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    Want to Build Affordable Housing in the Heart of Paris? Make It Chic.

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    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

    Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (05/18/22)

    June 13, 2022 —
    Businesses renovate office spaces at a historic pace, China plans to build a 3D-printed hydropower dam without human workers, the U.S. infrastructure package has thousands of projects underway, and more.
    • Miami’s crypto-real estate boom has been challenging all conventional wisdoms as the price of crypto currencies like Bitcoin have surged, which could spill over into other popular real estate markets. (Peter Lane Taylor, Forbes)
    • China is planning to build the world’s first 3D-printed hydropower dam in Tibet, with an AI-powered design and no human workers. (Matthew Loh, Business Insider)
    • With the hybrid work model here to stay, businesses are having their offices renovated at a historic pace. (Joe Dyton, Connected Real Estate Magazine)
    Read the court decision
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    Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

    Bailout for an Improperly Drafted Indemnification Provision

    February 11, 2019 —
    A recent opinion came out that held that even though an indemnification provision in a subcontract was unenforceable per Florida Statute s. 725.06, the unenforceable portion is merely severed out of the indemnification clause leaving the rest of the clause intact. In essence, an otherwise invalid indemnification clause is bailed out by this ruling (which does not even discuss whether this subcontract had a severability provision that states that if any portion of any provision in the subcontract is invalid, such invalid portion shall be severed and the remaining portion of the provision shall remain in full force and effect). This opinion arose from a construction defect case, CB Contractxors, LLC v. Allens Steel Products, Inc.,43 Fla.L.Weekly D2773a (Fla. 5thDCA 2018), where the general contractor, sued by an association, flowed down damages to subcontractors based on the contractual indemnification provision in the subcontracts. Subcontractors moved to dismiss the contractual indemnification claim because it was not compliant with Florida Statute s. 725.06. The indemnification provision required the subcontractors to indemnify the general contractor even for the general contractors own partial negligence, but failed to specify a monetary limitation on the extent of the indemnification as required by Florida Statute s. 725.06. (The indemnification clause in the subcontract was the standard intermediate form of indemnification that required the subcontractor to indemnify the general contractor for claims regardless of whether the claims were caused in part by the general contractor.) Read the court decision
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    Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
    Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

    The Unwavering Un-waivable Implied Warranty of Workmanship and Habitability in Arizona

    January 23, 2023 —
    The Arizona Supreme Court recently issued an opinion on the scope of the implied warranty of workmanship and habitability (the “implied warranty”) in contracts between homebuyers and builder/vendors that provides clear guidance of the law in this area, specifically on the issue of whether the implied warranty can be waived or disclaimed. It is also an interesting and helpful read for those who engage in new home residential sales and real estate transactions generally. The case: Zambrano v. M & RC, II LLC, 254 Ariz. 53 (2022). The takeaway holding: the implied warranty of workmanship and habitability cannot, under any circumstances, be disclaimed or waived. From a practice perspective, the foregoing is likely all one needs to ultimately know. However, the majority opinion (authored by Justice Timmer) and the dissent (authored by Justice King, and joined by Justice Bolick) are in these authors’ opinions worth a read for those who want a better understanding of the contours of how “public policy” plays into the analysis of the enforceability of contract terms, especially in the real estate context and even more particularly in connection with contracts for the sale of new homes. The careful analysis of both the majority opinion and the dissent provides an excellent history of the implied warranty, the public policy behind it, and its scope and application in the context of competing public policies, most notably the freedom to contract. Reprinted courtesy of Robert A. Henry, Snell & Wilmer and Emily R. Parker, Snell & Wilmer Mr. Henry may be contacted at bhenry@swlaw.com Ms. Parker may be contacted at eparker@swlaw.com Read the court decision
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    Reprinted courtesy of

    What Does It Mean When a House Sells for $50 Million?

    September 10, 2014 —
    One of the byproducts of the global financial crisis has been the creation of a new class of housing and buyers. Some of the strongest evidence is the rise in the number of residences sold for more than $50 million. A buyer recently paid a record $71.3 million for a Manhattan co-op, breaking the $70 million record set only a few months earlier. These sales seem modest compared with a $147 million sale in East Hampton, New York, and a $120 million sale in Greenwich, Connecticut, the two highest U.S. residential transactions in 2014. There have been six sales of more than $100 million in the past four years, with more likely to come. Wealthy investors have benefited from rising stock markets, while preserving capital by acquiring assets such as U.S. residential real estate. However, the high-end market isn't a proxy for the health of the broader U.S. housing market. Unlike the buyers in the market's upper strata, who often are foreign and all-cash purchasers, the majority of U.S. homebuyers remain dependent on access to credit. And today's tight lending conditions aren’t expected to ease anytime soon. According to the Federal Reserve, only a small number of banks have recently eased mortgage standards. Read the court decision
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    Reprinted courtesy of Jonathan J. Miller, Bloomberg
    Mr. Miller may be contacted at jmiller@millersamuel.com

    Security on Large Construction Projects. The Payment Remedy You Probably Never Heard of

    May 07, 2015 —
    California has a number of statutory payment remedies available on construction projects. Some, such as the mechanics lien, are relatively well known and often utilized. Others, such as the stop payment notice, are somewhat less so. However, there’s one statutory payment remedy you may not have heard of at all. And that is, security requirements for large projects. What is security for large projects? Security is required on certain large construction projects to guarantee the payment by owners to direct contractors, and applies if either: 1. Fee Interest and Contract of Greater Than $5 million: The owner contracting for a work of improvement holds a fee interest in the property being improved and enters into a construction contract for the improvement of the property greater than $5 million; or 2. Less Than Fee Interest, Including Leasehold Interest, and Contract of Greater Than $1 million: The owner contracting for a work of improvement holds less than a fee interest (including a leasehold interest) in the property being improved and enters into a construction contract for the improvement of the property greater than $1 million. 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

    Benefits and Pitfalls of Partnerships Between Companies

    December 21, 2016 —
    To bring innovations to the market, companies almost always need partnerships. Partnerships can offer scalability, productivity, and open up new markets. However, partnerships are not easy to establish and manage. The benefits of partnering Construction companies have always done joint ventures. The reason has been to simply be able to bid for and deliver a project that would be too big for one company at that specific moment. Partnering allows you to become larger than you are and to get work that would otherwise be out of your reach. It also lets you spread the risk in a demanding project among the members. Read the court decision
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    Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
    Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aarni@aepartners.fi

    Manhattan to Get Tall, Skinny Tower

    October 21, 2013 —
    At its narrowest, it’s going to be only sixty feet wide. And that will run 1,350 feet into the air. A new apartment tower is going up in New York, and one of its amenities will be that residents in the top floors will be able to look down on the Empire State Building. “It may be the skinniest building ever,” said Gregg Pasquarelli, the principal of SHoP Architects, the firm that designed the building. He estimates its ratio of height to width as “something like 25-to-1.” For all its height, the building will be divided into about 100 units. As part of the development deal, the tower will incorporate and preserve the landmark Steinway Hall. The chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Robert Tierney, described it as “the best of both worlds of new construction and design and historic preservation.” Read the court decision
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    Reprinted courtesy of

    Wine without Cheese? (Why a construction contract needs an order of precedence clause)(Law Note)

    August 11, 2011 —

    For today’s law note, I’m addressing a comment that came to me last week from Dave O’Hern of Miller O’Hern Construction.  Dave writes:

    I am a general contractor doing a fuel tank replacement project for our county. In the specifications there is a spec for a UL 142 tank, on the plans the spec references UL 2085 ? a much more expensive tank. My subcontractor bid the UL 142 tank. The specifications state that the specs and plans are on the same level of precedence.

    The county wants me to furnish the more expensive tank without compensation citing the clause that states the plans and specs are complementary and what is called for by one is binding as if called by all and the most stringent requirement will apply.

    Read the full story…

    Reprinted courtesy of Melissa Brumback of Ragsdale Liggett PLLC. Ms. Brumback can be contacted at mbrumback@rl-law.com.

    Read the court decision
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    Reprinted courtesy of