Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Canada's Ex-Attorney General Set to Testify About SNC-Lavalin Scandal

April 03, 2019 — Associated Press - Engineering News-Record
TORONTO (AP) — Canada's former attorney general is expected to testify Wednesday about whether she was inappropriately pressured by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office to avoid prosecuting a major Canadian engineering company. Ex-Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould has said she wants to tell "her truth" and she will speak at a hearing of the Parliament justice committee. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Engineering News-Record
ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com

AFL-CIO Joins in $10 Billion Infrastructure Plan

June 30, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

The AFL-CIO has announced plans to generate up to $10 billion in funding for infrastructure development, training construction workers, and making buildings more energy efficient, pledging $20 million to retrofit buildings. Bloomberg News reports that union officials made the announcement in Chicago at the Clinton Global Initiative, releasing a statement from Richard Trumka, president of the union, “we, at the AFL-CIO, believe that together, with our partners in business and government, we can profitably invest significant resources to make America more competitive and energy efficient.” A foot injury prevented Mr. Trumka from attending the event.

The statement also quoted Mark Ayers, president of the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, “the time is now to become intensely focused on the creation of jobs.”

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Insurer's Motion to Dismiss "Redundant Claims" Denied

June 21, 2024 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The insurer's motion to dismiss was more appropriate for an eventual summary judgment motion and was consequently denied. Sivan Lam v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81262 (M.D. Fla. April 12, 2024). Lam suffered a loss to her home due to Hurricane Ian. When only a portion of the claim was paid, Lam sued his insurer, Scottsdale, for breach of contract (Count I) and declaratory relief (Count II). Scottsdale argued that Lam's request for declaratory relief was redundant of her breach of contract claim. The court noted that Rule 12 (b)(6), Fed. R. Civil P., was a vehicle to challenge a claim's sufficiency. Redundancy was not insufficiency, and it was not a ground for dismissal under Rule 12 (b)(6). Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Could This Gel Help Tame the California Fires?

November 28, 2018 — Gordy Megroz - Bloomberg
In 2009, Jeff Denholm was making a living as an adventure athlete, competing in stand-up paddleboard races and riding giant waves at Mavericks, the famous surf break near his home in Santa Cruz, Calif. Denholm was sponsored by Patagonia Inc., but to generate extra cash—“Adventure athletes don’t make a ton of money,” he says—he had a side gig leasing a fire truck to state and county crews that had run out of equipment battling wildfires. One firefighting tool that Denholm kept onboard was retardant, which helps tamp down existing fires and can prevent them; he used a type known as a foam suppressant. Last year the U.S. Forest Service spent about $72 million on retardants, but in researching them, Denholm discovered some discouraging information. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Gordy Megroz, Bloomberg

BHA at The Basic Course in Texas Construction Law

October 21, 2015 — CDJ STAFF
Bert L. Howe & Associates, Inc., (BHA) is proud to be partnering with the State Bar of Texas, Construction Law Section, as a sponsor and exhibitor at The Basic Course in Texas Construction Law to be held November 12 & 13, 2015 at The Westin Austin at The Domain. With offices in San Antonio and Houston, Bert L. Howe & Associates, Inc., offers the experience of over 20 years of service to carriers, defense counsel, and insurance professionals as designated experts in over 5,500 cases. BHA’s staff encompasses a broad range of licensed and credentialed experts in the areas of general contracting and specialty trades, as well as architects, and both civil and structural engineers, and has provided services on behalf of developers, general contractors and subcontractors. BHA’s experience covers the full range of construction defect litigation, including single and multi-family residential (including high-rise), institutional (schools, hospitals and government buildings), commercial, and industrial claims. BHA also specializes in coverage, exposure, premises liability and delay claim analysis. As the dynamic litigation climate in Texas continues to change, and as the number of construction defect and other construction-related cases continues to rise and become more sophisticated, it is more important than ever for contractors and builders to be aggressive in preparing for claims before they are made, and in defending against those claims once they are filed. Since 1993, Bert L. Howe & Associates, Inc., has been an industry leader in providing construction consulting services, and has been a trusted partner with builders and insurance carriers, both large and small, in Texas and across the Western United States. Register for the Basic Course... Read the court decision
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Justin Bieber’s Unpaid Construction Bill Stalls House Sale

March 26, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The Toronto Sun reported that Justin Bieber’s Calabasas, California house sale to Khloe Kardashian has been stalled due to a an unpaid construction bill. Bieber sold the home for $7.2 million, but allegedly owes $85,000 to a construction company for home repairs. Bieber moved out of his mansion in Calabasas “to Atlanta, Georgia after numerous encounters with the police regarding alleged loud parties, speeding in the gated community and 'egging' a [neighbor’s] house,” according to the Toronto Sun. Bieber has a week to pay the lien, or the house sale does not go through. Read the court decision
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Megaproject Savings Opportunities

April 15, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Joel Levy in Construction Digital interviewed Christopher Dann, a Partner of Booz & Company’s Energy, Chemicals and Utilities practice, regarding how to be more efficient and save money when managing billion dollar construction megaprojects. According to Construction Digital, “Booz & Company, (recently rebranded as Strategy&), is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and over a century of working with huge clients in several sectors, has gathered the knowledge to identify what it terms a $40 trillion opportunity for savings in construction megaprojects over the next 20 years as clients combat a 30 percent average figure of overrun in schedule and cost.” Dann cited several reasons for inefficiencies in megaprojects, including “inefficient advance planning and analysis” and “lack of completion of detail design engineering prior to the start of construction,” reported Construction Digital. The inefficiencies can be countered, according to Dann, “when following a clear strategy.” Read the court decision
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Alleged Serious Defects at Hanford Nuclear Waste Treatment Plant

August 26, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to the Los Angeles Times, “A team of nuclear waste experts has found hundreds of serious defects at an Energy Department plant designed to turn millions of gallons of highly radioactive sludge into more stable solid glass at the former weapons facility in Hanford, Wash.” The report from 2014 was leaked, and stated that the “partially built facility is riddled with 362 ‘significant design vulnerabilities’ that could affect safety and future operations.” Thirty-seven experts led by two senior managers created the report. The Los Angeles Times reported that the report findings “are significant because the plant is part of the Energy Department’s 2013 initiative to fix earlier problems that stalled construction of other parts of the treatment system at Hanford, the site of the nation’s worst radioactive contamination.” Read the court decision
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