Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Contract Change #1- Insurance in the A201 (law note)

April 11, 2018 — Melissa Dewey Brumback – Construction Law in North Carolina
Insurance– everyone needs it; everyone would just as soon not have to deal with it. I get it, I do. Attorneys, Insurance Agents– no one likes spending time with those folk! Good news though. The changes to the A201 mean that you may end up spending less time with both! The most important change to the Insurance requirements of the AIA contract is that most of it has moved to a new Exhibit. Why is this important? Instead of having to send the entire contract to your agent or broker, you can now send them only the section that they really need to review for compliance. This also means that if insurance policies change (as they surely will), the entire contract document does not need to be re-written– the Exhibit can be updated accordingly, leaving the rest of the A201 alone. Nice, right? This change was made to streamline insurance review and provide for that flexibility of the changing insurance market. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Melissa Dewey Brumback, Ragsdale Liggett PLLC
Ms. Brumback may be contacted at mbrumback@rl-law.com

First Circuit Limits Insurers’ Right to Recoup Defense Costs or Settlement Payments

April 02, 2024 — Eric Hermanson, Austin Moody & Victoria Ranieri - White and Williams LLP
Weighing in on an issue that has divided courts nationwide, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has ruled that an insurer under Massachusetts law has no right to recoup defense costs, or amounts the insurer pays in settlement – even if the insurer reserves rights prior to payment and obtains a ruling, after the fact, that no defense or indemnity was owed. Berkley Natl. Ins. Co. v. Atlantic-Newport Realty LLC, No. 22-1959, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 4115 (1st Cir. Feb 22, 2024) (“Granite Telecomm"). However, the First Circuit rested its ruling on narrow procedural grounds, which may prolong the controversy rather than resolve it. The insureds in Granite Telecomm owned a company cafeteria. They were sued by a food service worker who suffered a foot infection after being exposed to bacteria during a sewage backup. They sought coverage from their insurer, Berkley. Berkley argued that coverage was barred by a fungus and bacteria exclusion in the policy. The insureds disagreed. They threatened suit under M.G.L. ch. 93A, and demanded that Berkley defend the case. Reprinted courtesy of Eric Hermanson, White and Williams LLP, Austin Moody, White and Williams LLP and Victoria Ranieri, White and Williams LLP Mr. Hermanson may be contacted at hermansone@whiteandwilliams.com Mr. Moody may be contacted at moodya@whiteandwilliams.com Ms. Ranieri may be contacted atranieriv@whiteandwilliams.com Read the court decision
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Coverage Denied for Condominium Managing Agent

May 24, 2018 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Determining there were no allegations of bodily injury or property damage in the underlying lawsuit, the court found there was no duty to defend or indemnify the condominium's managing agent. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Certified Mgmt., 2018 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 71124 (D. Haw. April 27, 2018). Frederick Caven sued Certified Management, dba Associa Hawaii ("Associa") on behalf of himself and a class. Caven alleged that he owned a condominium and was a member of the Regency homeowners' association. The suit alleged that Associa was the managing agent for the association. Caven sold his unit in April 2016. Caven asked Associa for condominium documents to provide to the purchaser. Associa charged Caven $182.29 to download 197 pages of condominium documents for Regency. Associa also charged Caven $286.46 for a one-page "fee status confirmation," a document prepared by Associa which contained financial and other information needed to complete the sale. Caven alleged that the fees charged by Associa and other unit owners were excessive and in violation of Hawaii law. 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

Court’s Ruling on SB800 “Surprising to Some”

October 16, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Describing it as “surprising to many in the residential home building industry,” Jay Drake of Reuben, Junius & Rose LLP has a piece discussing the recent California Court of Appeals decision that SB800 is not a homeowner’s only remedy for construction defects. The court found, according to Mr. Drake that “the primary purpose of the Act was to provide a property owner with remedies for repair of construction defects before the defects caused actual damages.” In the case before the court, the construction defects had already lead to further damages. Mr. Drake notes that the legislative history of SB800 puts the bill in response to an earlier California court case in which the courts determined that without actual damage to property, a homeowner could not file a construction defect lawsuit. The court concluded that SB800 was not intended to limit the homeowner’s rights after a construction defect situation has lead to damage. Read the court decision
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In Hong Kong, You Can Find a Home Where the Buffalo Roam

September 17, 2014 — Shai Oster – Bloomberg
To city dwellers worried about mice and rats, spare a thought for Hong Kongers confronting half-ton feral beasts. A few miles from some of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the world, more than 1,000 cows and buffalo from abandoned farms roam the countryside. Development now is pushing them into harm’s way and onto roads. Hong Kong represents an extreme example of the task many communities face of balancing conservation and growth. Wolves sniff near the suburbs of Paris, bears roam Lake Tahoe and moose stumble across the roads of Halifax. There’s a new word to describe how undomesticated animals adapt to man-made environments: synurbanization. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Shai Oster, Bloomberg
Shai Oster may be contacted at soster@bloomberg.net

Packard Condominiums Settled with Kosene & Kosene Residential

August 27, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Residents of the Packard Condominiums in Indianapolis, Indiana “have settled a two-year-old lawsuit with developer Kosene & Kosene Residential,” according to the Indianapolis Business Journal. The Homeowners association stated that “the agreement would lead to repayment of a construction loan and avoidance of a special assessment on residents.” The association claimed to have spent “$3 million on ‘renovation and remediation’ of subpar construction of the condo building,” reported the Indianapolis Business Journal. The article also declared that at least 25 subcontractors participated in the mediation. Read the court decision
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Digital Twins – Interview with Cristina Savian

February 11, 2019 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
In this interview with Cristina Savian, we discuss the present and future of digital twins in the construction industry. Cristina Savian is the founder and managing director at BE-WISE, a London based consultancy firm specialized in helping start-ups and SMEs to scale-up and bring new technologies into the construction market. Cristina has over twenty years’ experience in the civil engineering and technology industries, working from small-scale traffic calming and parking schemes in UK and Italy, through to planning major events such as playing a key role as transport manager of the Greenwich Park venue during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She then moved to work for a multinational leading technology company, Autodesk, covering several global roles as technical and commercial lead across Europe and America. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

More Musings on Why I Mediate

November 18, 2024 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
Whew! I’m back. And yes, I know it’s been a while (it has been a busy year, both personally and professionally). Hopefully, this will be the first of at least a few more consistent posts here at Construction Law Musings. Now, on with the post: Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a surge in mediation, both in my capacity as a mediator and as counsel for construction industry clients. These recent events have reaffirmed what I have always believed to be true, namely that no construction case is impossible to settle and avoid the cost and expense of litigation. I was also reminded of why I became a certified mediator and of the satisfaction that I get from helping individuals and construction companies find a business solution and closure. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

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