Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Damages to Property That is Not the Insured's Work Product Are Covered

October 27, 2016 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
Reversing the district court, the Eighth Circuit predicted that under Iowa law, damage to property other than the insured's work product was covered. Decker Plastics Inc. v. West Bend Mut. Ins. Co., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 15235 (8th Cir. Aug. 19, 2016). A 1's, Inc. packaged and sold landscaping materials. Decker Plastics Corporation sold plastic bags to A 1's. The plastic bags were filled with sand and rock, and stored outdoors for sale to customers. Because Decker failed to manufacture the bags with an ultraviolet inhibitor, the bags deteriorated in the sunlight. This caused small shreds of plastic to commingle with A 1's landscaping materials. The plastic was a contaminant that could not be inexpensively separated form A 1's products. A 1's had to clean spilled materials from customer sites, purchase replacement bags from another supplier, and pay to clean up its own property. 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

Florida Death Toll Rises by Three, Reaching 27 as Search Resumes

July 05, 2021 — The Associated Press (Adriana Gomez Licon & Bobby Caina Calvan) - Bloomberg
Surfside, Fla. (AP) -- Rescuers searched through fresh rubble Monday after the last of the collapsed Florida condo building was demolished, which allowed crews into previously inaccessible places, including bedrooms where people were believed to be sleeping at the time of the disaster, officials said. But they faced a new challenge from thunderstorms that hit the area as Tropical Storm Elsa approached the state. Four more victims were discovered in the new pile, Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told family members, raising the death toll to 28 people. Another 117 people remain unaccounted for. The demolition late Sunday was crucial to the search-and-rescue effort, officials said, and raised the prospect that crews could increase both the pace of their work and the number of searchers at the site, although the chance of finding survivors 12 days after the June 24 collapse has diminished. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of The Associated Press, Bloomberg

Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage for Inverse Condemnation Action

June 02, 2016 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The South Carolina Court of Appeals found there was no coverage for an inverse condemnation action based upon the policy's pollution exclusion. South Carolina Ins. Reserve Fund v. E. Richland County Public Service District, 2016 S. C. App. LEXIS 32 (S.C. Ct. App. March 23, 2016). In 2010, Coley Brown filed a complaint against the East Richland County Public Service District ("District") for inverse condemnation, trespass, and negligence. The complaint alleged that the District had installed a sewage force main line and an air relief valve on Brown's street, and the valve released offensive odors on his property many times a day. The stench caused Brown to buy a new piece of property and move, but he was unable to sell the old property. The district tendered the complaint to the South Carolina Insurance Reserve Fund ("Fund"), but coverage was denied. 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

Taylor Morrison Home Corp’ New San Jose Development

October 15, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The Silicon Valley Business Journal reported that Taylor Morrison Home Corp has made the “biggest land acquisition so far in San Jose” after acquiring “an 8-acre chunk of dirt in the developing Montecito Vista area where it has plans to build out 184 townhomes.” The developer “paid about $32.5 million, or roughly $176,600 per buildable unit, for the land, according to public tax records,” according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Construction is scheduled to begin November of 2015 and models should be ready by April of 2016. Read the court decision
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$5 Million Construction Defect Lawsuit over Oregon Townhomes

January 06, 2012 — CDJ STAFF

A homeowners’ association in Lake Oswego, Oregon has filed a $5 million lawsuit against the developers of the luxury townhomes. The homeowners of Sunset Crossing are suing Centurion Homes and Aspen Townhomes over claims that construction defects have lead to water intrusion and structural damages. The townhomes were built in 2005.

Andy Burns, the lawyer for Phillip and Patricia Gentelmann, the owners of both Centurion Homes and Aspen Townhomes, said the Gentelmanns were “taking these allegations very seriously.” The suit says that the construction violated state and local building codes and that the firms did not repair damage caused by water intrusion.

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Homebuilders Opposed to Potential Change to Interest on Construction Defect Expenses

January 22, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
In 2008, the Colorado Supreme Court concluded that in calculating interest on the expense of repairing construction defects would start at the time that the defect was repaired. In 2009, the Colorado State Legislature introduced a bill that would have made homeowners eligible for interest back to the purchase date of their homes. The Colorado Springs Business Journal notes that the Colorado Springs Housing and Building Association is concerned that the legislature might take up the issue again, in which case, the HBA would oppose it. Read the court decision
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West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar Announced for 2014

October 30, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Organizers describe the even as “America’s largest, America’s favorite, America’s best construction defect seminar.” And in 2014, they will hold the twenty-first of these annual construction defect seminars. As for size, last year’s event comprised 1,614 attendees, travelling not only from across the county, but from outside the United States as well. West Coast Casualty is beginning to line up its speakers for next May’s seminar. The organizers are asking speakers to submit proposed topics by November 25 and the list will be finalized on December 15. The theme for the event will be “Back to Business … Working Smarter … Not Harder.” While West Coast Casualty is looking for topics that focus on the central theme, they are also interested in presentations on emerging trends in construction defect litigation. In addition to seminars, there will be booths for many of the companies in the construction defect resolution industry, demonstrating products and services of use to professionals in the field. This gives attendees a chance for less-structured interaction than is possible within a seminar. Continuing education credits were granted for the 2013 seminar by a lengthy list of organizations, which included the Bar Associations of 22 states and the Departments of Insurance of 35. The 2014 West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar will be held May 15 and 16 at the Disneyland Hotel and Resort. During the seminar comes the awarding of the prestigious Jerrold S. Oliver Award of Excellence, named in honor of the late Judge Jerrold S. Oliver, who was known for his skills as a mediator. In 2013, the “Ollie” was awarded to Margie Luper in acknowledgement of her contributions to the betterment of the construction defect resolution field. The recipients of the Jerrold S. Oliver Award of Excellence are selected by the votes of about 6,000 industry professionals. Read the court decision
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Pandemic-Related Construction Materials Pricing Poses Challenges in Construction Lawsuits

September 20, 2021 — Nick Stewart - Construction Executive
During the global pandemic the construction industry saw unprecedented inflation in the cost of building supplies as a result of a myriad of issues. On May 7, 2021, lumber prices hit a record high at $1,670.50 per thousand board feet. This was more than six times their pandemic low in April 2020. This significant price spike was related to closure of sawmills during the height of the pandemic, low supply, soaring demand to expand existing homes or purchase new construction, the western U.S. wildfires and tariffs. More recently, lumber prices have fallen but they are still up nearly 100% from spring 2020. Some experts believe that the recent wildfires in the western United States and upcoming hurricane season will cause prices to jump back up in the upcoming months. Additionally, since March 2020, steel prices are up roughly 200%. The increase in steel prices is a result of many of the same factors causing lumber pricing spikes. Many steel mills shut down production or drastically reduced production during the early days of the pandemic expecting a deep recession and/or to comply with restrictive government mandates. Despite these industry expectations, demand for steel -elated products like grills and home appliances soared. These household demands for steel-based products impacted the price of steel for construction projects. Prior to the pandemic, hot-rolled steel traded between $500 and 800 per ton but hit an all-time high of $1,825 per ton in early July 2021. Reprinted courtesy of Nick Stewart, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Mr. Stewart may be contacted at nstewart@turnerpadget.com

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES