Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Hyundai to Pay 47M to Settle Construction Equipment's Alleged Clean Air Violations

November 04, 2019 — Tom Ichniowski - Engineering News-Record
Hyundai Construction Equipment Americas Inc. and its parent company are paying a $47-million civil penalty to settle federal allegations that the company sold construction vehicles that weren't certified to meet the appropriate Clean Air Act emissions standards, federal agencies say. Reprinted courtesy of Tom Ichniowski, Engineering News-Record Mr. Ichniowski may be contacted at ichniowskit@enr.com Read the court decision
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Court of Appeal Holds That Higher-Tiered Party on Construction Project Can be Held Liable for Intentional Interference with Contract

December 07, 2020 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
In Caliber Paving Company, Inc. v. Rexford Industrial Realty and Management, Inc., Case No. G0584406 (September 1, 2020), the 4th District Court of Appeal examined whether a higher-tiered party on a construction project can be held liable for intentional interference with contract when it interferes with the contract between lower-tiered parties even though the higher-tiered party has an economic interest in the contract between the lower-tiered parties. The Caliber Paving Case Project owner Rexford Industrial Realty and Management, Inc. owns and operates industrial property throughout Southern California. In 2017, Rexford hired contractor Steve Fodor Construction to perform repaving work at Rexford’s property in Carson, California. Fodor Construction in turn hired subcontractor Caliber Paving Company, Inc. to perform the repaving work. The subcontract divided the parking lot into four areas, with separate costs to repave each area, and Caliber completed its work in one area in June 2017. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Appraisal Process Analyzed

August 19, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The California Court of Appeal offered a primer in the appraisal process in reversing the trial court's confirmation of the appraisal award. Lee v. California Capital Ins. Co., 2015 Cal. App. LEXIS 530 (Cal. Ct. App. June 18, 2015). A fire damaged an apartment building owned by the insured. The fire started in unit 3 on the ground floor. The insurer argued the fire did not extend beyond unit 3. The insured claimed that the fire damaged six of the 12 apartments with fire or smoke. The insured's public adjuster submitted a claim to the insurer that exceeded $800,000. The statement of loss included costs for cleaning, asbestos abatement, reconstruction of affected apartments, and loss of rent. The public adjuster said the loss consisted of burn damage to unit 3 and some damage to the "common" walls located between the apartments on the two floors above unit 3. All of the interior rooms of five apartments other than unit 3 would need to be completely dismantled and then replaced. 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

There's No Such Thing as a Free House

April 01, 2015 — Megan McArdle – Bloomberg
Should people be able to get a free house by refusing to pay their mortgage? That's the question Florida has to answer. The housing crisis is over, and the housing market is healing itself, though slowly in some places. But a backlog of foreclosures still remains ... and it has been going on so long that some homes are now past the statute of limitations for collecting debt. Lawyers for the homeowners are arguing that this means they get to keep the house. Lawyers for the banks are, unsurprisingly, arguing that each month they fail to pay the mortgage payment starts the statutory clock anew. Both arguments create problems if the courts endorse them. If failing to pay really restarted the clock every month, then there wouldn't be a statute of limitations on debt -- creditors could just keep sending you bills forever and dun you right up to the edge of your grave. There's a very good reason that we have statutes of limitations on most crimes and most debts: The law recognizes that our interests in justice and contract rights must be balanced against other considerations. People need to be able to plan their lives without decades-old problems coming back to bite them, and also, as cases age, they get harder and harder to prove as witnesses die, evidence gets lost and memories fade. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Megan McArdle, Bloomberg
Ms. McArdle may be contacted at mmcardle3@bloomberg.net

Bad Faith in the First Party Insurance Context

December 15, 2016 — David Adelstein – Florida Construction Legal Updates
In a previous article I discussed bad faith when it comes to an insurance claim. Recently, in Barton v. Capitol Preferred Insurance Co., Inc., 41 Fla. L. Weekly D2736b (Fla. 5th DCA 2016), the court discussed bad faith in the first-party insurance context (i.e., a property / homeowners insurance policy). In this case, homeowners, as the insured, sued their homeowners insurance carrier for sinkhole coverage. The homeowner filed a Civil Remedy Notice of Insurer Violation (also known as a Civil Remedy Notice) against their insurer with the Florida Department of Insurance in accordance with Florida Statute s. 624.155. This Civil Remedy Notice is a prerequisite to initiating such a bad faith claim; the notice specifies the statutory violations committed by the insurer and gives the insurer 60 days to cure the violation. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Florida Construction Legal Updates
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@katzbarron.com

Robots on Construction Sites Are Raising Legal Questions

September 18, 2023 — Peter Sheridan - Construction Executive
Mark Twain said that “good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions.” Aesop warns “be careful what you wish for….” But is there a good decision to be made now to employ robots on your next project? There is not a lot of experience to help us make that decision, and the robotic laborer that does not tire or need breaks or desire a raise or promotion looks like an option we might all wish for when planning our next project. Are there pitfalls, traps for the unwary? Always. Spotting them is the trick. After a brief glimpse into the past for appropriate context, there are a few traps that need to be considered. Reprinted courtesy of Peter Sheridan, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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The Washington Supreme Court Rules that a Holder of a Certificate of Insurance Is Entitled to Coverage

March 09, 2020 — Sally Kim & Kyle Silk-Eglit - Gordon & Rees Insurance Coverage Law Blog
The Washington courts have historically found that the purpose of a certificate of insurance is to advise others as to the existence of insurance, but that a certificate is not the equivalent of an insurance policy. However, the Washington State Supreme Court recently held that, under certain circumstances, an insurer may be bound by the representations that its insurance agent makes in a certificate of insurance as to the additional insured (“AI”) status of a third party. Specifically, in T-Mobile USA, Inc. v. Selective Ins. Co. of America, the Supreme Court found that where an insurance agent had erroneously indicated in a certificate of insurance that an entity was an AI under a liability policy, that entity would be considered as an AI based upon the agent’s apparent authority, despite boilerplate disclaimer language contained in the certificate. T-Mobile USA, Inc. v. Selective Ins. Co. of America, Slip. Op. No. 96500-5, 2019 WL 5076647 (Wash. Oct. 10, 2019). In this case, Selective Insurance Company of America (“Selective”) issued a liability policy to a contractor who had been retained by T-Mobile Northeast (“T-Mobile NE”) to construct a cell tower. The policy conferred AI status to a third party if the insured-contractor had agreed in a written contract to add the third party as an AI to the policy. Under the terms of the subject construction contract, the contractor was required to name T-Mobile NE as an AI under the policy. T-Mobile NE was therefore properly considered as an AI because the contractor was required to provide AI coverage to T-Mobile NE under the terms of their contract. However, over the course of approximately seven years, Selective’s own insurance agent issued a series of certificates of insurance that erroneously identified a different company, “T-Mobile USA”, as an AI under the policy. This was in error because there was no contractual requirement that T-Mobile USA be added as an AI. Nonetheless, the certificates stated that T-Mobile USA was an AI, and they were signed by the agent as Selective’s “authorized representative.” Reprinted courtesy of Sally S. Kim, Gordon & Rees and Kyle J. Silk-Eglit, Gordon & Rees Ms. Kim may be contacted at sallykim@grsm.com Mr. Silk-Eglit may be contacted at ksilkeglit@grsm.com Read the court decision
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Roni Most, Esq., Reappointed as a City of Houston Associate Judge

November 06, 2023 — Linda Carter - Kahana Feld
Yesterday, Roni M. Most, Esq., was reappointed as an Associate Judge for the City of Houston. Mr. Most is the Managing Partner of Kahana Feld’s Houston office, chairs the firm’s Corporate Compliance & Transaction group, and heads the Texas division of Kahana Feld’s National Appellate Strategy & Advocacy group. Mr. Most was first appointed as an Associate Municipal Court Judge of the City of Houston in 2012 and he continues to serve in this position. The Most name has been a fixture in Harris County courts, with Judge Most being a third-generation attorney, his family has advocated for their client’s causes for over five decades. Mr. Most received his Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin and went on to graduate with his J.D. from the South Texas College of Law in 2000. Upon graduating, Mr. Most started The Most Law firm, and then went on to become one of the founding partners of Gerber & Most, PLLC. Mr. Most joined Kahana Feld as a Partner in January 2021. He brings over 20 years of experience in general civil litigation (property & casualty) and appeals, state and federal corporate litigation, collections, construction law, and real estate, as well as providing general business counsel. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Linda Carter, Kahana Feld
Ms. Carter may be contacted at lcarter@kahanafeld.com

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