Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

London Is Falling Down and It's Because of Climate Change

July 16, 2023 — Priscila Azevedo Rocha - Bloomberg
Britain’s increasingly extreme weather is shaking the very foundations of its centuries-old history. The nation has been experiencing prolonged periods of drought after wet winters since last year. That’s causing the porous rock beneath vast parts of southeast of England, including London, to move more than usual, cracking or tilting many of the city’s historical homes in the plushest neighborhoods. The damage has triggered the highest insurance payout in almost two decades, with experts warning that it could get worse. The London clay, the type of soil that covers most of these areas, “is quite unique” because it can shrink and swell a lot, according to Lee Jones, a geological engineer at the British Geological Survey who has studied UK hazards for over 30 years. “The wetter it gets, the more it swells and expands and the drier it gets, the more it shrinks and cracks,” he said, adding that future temperature extremes will exacerbate the impact on buildings and roads. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Priscila Azevedo Rocha, Bloomberg

Will They Blow It Up?

March 28, 2012 — CDJ STAFF

The issues concerning the Harmon Towers building in Las Vegas continue to make their way through the courts. As we noted in a previous piece, Cook County building officials stated that the building could be a hazard if Las Vegas were struck by an earthquake. The question of whether the building will continue to stand is just one of the issues in front of a judge.

MGM Resorts International argued at a March 13 hearing for permission to implode the Harmon hotel building. They claim that more than 1,700 defects have been discovered in the building and that the building is a public safety hazard. Arguing against demolition, Perini Building Company, the general contractor for the hotel, and its subcontractors are claiming that imploding the building would destroy evidence and prejudice juries in the ongoing construction defect claims. They claim that MGM Resorts wishes to abandon the building due to the economic slowdown. Perini Corp, the contractor for the project, claims that the building can be fixed. Perini claims that MGM’s position in the construction trial would be improved if the building is demolished.

After Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez heard the four days of testimony on the Harmon Towers building and whether it should be demolished, she scheduled more testimony, with two days in April and an entire week in July. Judge Gonzalez will be deciding whether the building will be torn down, imploded, or left in place.

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Weslaco, Texas Investigating Possible Fraudulent Contractor Invoices

March 19, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The city of Weslaco in Texas fears that they have received “fraudulent invoices from the contractor of the…Valley Nature Center facility,” according to the Mid-Valley Town Crier. The project had been stalled due to “problems with numerous subcontractors claiming they hadn’t received payment.” Furthermore, “[c]onstruction is more than 14 months delayed and now halted as contractor GAS Enterprises demands more money from the city.” City Manager Leo Olivares informed GAS President Rene Salinas “that the city was aware of ‘forged requests for payments,’ ‘padding invoices’ and ‘requests for reimbursement for items, materials and labor that you did not pay,’” reported the Mid-Valley Town Crier. While Salinas did not respond to the Mid-Valley Town Crier when asked for a comment, he did send a letter to the city “arguing that none of the subcontractors had questioned the documents to him.” Read the court decision
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Subcontractors Aren’t Helpless

July 26, 2017 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
As a construction attorney here in Virginia, I often have the pleasure of assisting subcontractors seeking advice on their all important contracts with general contractors. I often sense that these subcontractors feel that they are at the bottom of the food chain and don’t have the “clout” necessary to push back at all against the myriad clauses in these contracts that seek to push the risk downhill. “Pay if Paid” clauses, subordination of lien clauses (which may or may not be enforceable), indemnification language that seems to make the subcontractor liable for way too much, and the dreaded incorporation clauses , would seem to make the subcontractor hold one big “bag of risk” on any construction project. While this may seem bleak, never fear, as a subcontractor you are not totally helpless. Remember, you don’t have to take a job from a general contractor that you get a bad feeling about. Often the best indicator of whether you want to move forward is your “spidey sense” that something seems a bit off or that the GC is trying to cram too much down your throat. Use your experience in the construction industry to guide your contracting activities. It is better to avoid the bad job than to take it in the long run. If you are a quality subcontractor (and I know you are or you wouldn’t be reading this), other work will come along because general contractors need good subs to get their work done. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Christopher G. Hill, The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

There’s Still No Amazon for Housing, But Fintech’s Working on It

February 14, 2022 — Patrick Clark - Bloomberg
It’s hard to imagine a better scenario for real estate technology than the one that played out in 2021. Low interest rates and pent-up demand ignited the hottest housing market on record, while the pandemic gave buyers and sellers new reasons to conduct business virtually. And yet the year will be better remembered for the way some of the biggest names in the industry struggled. The highest-profile flop was Zillow Group Inc., the online listings giant that pulled the plug on its nascent instant homebuying operation in the face of mounting losses. Compass Inc., the tech-driven real estate brokerage, saw its shares plummet 50% as part of a broader selloff in property-related technology stocks. Better, an online mortgage company, fired 9% of its staff. The bumpy year underscored a problem that’s been holding back the adoption of technology in real estate for the past two decades. Each sale of a home involves hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars, and no two properties are exactly alike. Silicon Valley-backed companies have gone a long way in making searching for homes and advertising them simpler and faster. But it’s a difficult process to move fully online and involves a lot of people such as agents, appraisers, brokers, and contractors, as well as entrenched interests. For example, Zillow’s house buying business—billed as a way for customers to get out of their homes quickly and speed the moving process—faltered in part because the company couldn’t find enough contractors to fix up those homes to resell them. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Patrick Clark, Bloomberg

Partners Patti Santelle and Gale White honored by as "Top Women in Law" The Legal Intelligencer

September 22, 2016 — White and Williams LLP
Managing Partner Patti Santelle and Partner Gale White were among the 25 women recognized by The Legal Intelligencer as "Top Women In Law" for 2016. The honor shines a light on the outstanding work being done by female attorneys across Pennsylvania who are making strides to push the legal profession forward for women. Honorees were selected by The Legal, with the help of suggestions from the legal community. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of White and Williams LLP

San Diego County Considering Updates to Green Building Code

August 06, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is meeting today to discuss “proposed building code amendments designed to promote energy efficiency in new homes,” according to Times of San Diego. Possible recommendations include “install electrical panels large enough to accommodate future improvements; put in a conduit that could be used for future roof-mounted solar panels; reserve space on south-facing roofs where solar panels might be added later;” and others. If the recommendations are approved, the “staff would draft detailed building code amendments and return early next year to get them adopted.” Read the court decision
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Noteworthy Construction Defect Cases for 1st Qtr 2014

April 30, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
John A. Husmann and Jocelyn F. Cornbleet of BatesCareyLLP analyzed several noteworthy construction defect cases that have already occurred in 2014, as published in Law360. The cases involved “the ‘occurrence’ requirement, contractual liability exclusion and ‘other insurance’ clauses.” Husmann and Cornbleet summarized Owners Insurance Co. v Jim Carr Homebuilder LLC (Alabama), Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. v. Snider (also Alabama), Woodward LLC v. Acceptance Indemnification Insurance Co. (Mississippi), and others. Read the court decision
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SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES