FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

California Fears El Nino's Dark Side Will Bring More Trouble

September 17, 2015 — Brian K. Sullivan – Bloomberg
A group of drought experts gathered in California this week, and it wasn’t long before the conversation turned to El Nino. They weren’t touting it as the savior that will end the state’s four-year drought. Instead, they were looking at a darker scenario where the weather-changing phenomenon adds another year of dryness in the north while ravaging the south with floods. “What do you say when the governor asks you what to do? ‘You prepare for flood and drought because there is a possibility you can get both,”’ said Mike Anderson, state climatologist. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Brian K. Sullivan, Bloomberg

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Construction Defects not Creating Problems for Bay Bridge

July 31, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
There might have been a number of problems with San Francisco’s new Bay Bridge, but despite all that, the Contra-Costa Times says that the experts say that there is no reason for panic. And although the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, Mark DeSaulnier, has been a critic of the bridge, he says that he is “convinced the old bridge is unsafe.” Although DeSaulnier wants an independent review, construction of the bridge has been investigated by what the Times refers to as “dozens of internationally renowned bridge engineers and other experts.” According to the experts, the problems with the bridge fall in to three categories, ranging from the fixable, through the fixed, to those that were never actual problems. Of the last category, the Oakland Tribune reported in 2005 that construction workers claimed they were told to “conceal shoddy welds to speed up construction,” but the Federal Highway Administration outside experts found no evidence of bad welds. In another case, bad welds were discovered at the factory where a span was being constructed. The process was changed and the bad welds repaired. Caltrans has delayed the opening of the Bay Bridge to December 10. Earlier plans were to open the bridge in September. Read the court decision
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The Oregon Tort Claims Act (“OTCA”) Applies When a Duty Arises from Statute or Common Law and is Independent from The Terms of a Specific Contract. (OR)

February 25, 2014 — Natasha Khachatourians – Scheer & Zehnder LLP Liability Newsletter
Case: Jenkins v. Portland Housing Authority, 260 Or.App. 26, 316 P.3d 369 (2013). Issue: Do tort claims arising from a rental agreement fall within the exemption from the definition of a tort under the OTCA? NO. Facts: Plaintiff rented an apartment in a public housing complex operated by the Portland Housing Authority (“PHA”). While walking in the hallway of the building, Plaintiff slipped on a puddle of water that had leaked from a broken washing machine in a nearby laundry room. Plaintiff fell and was injured. The trial court granted summary judgment to PHA, finding that the PHA was considered a public body under the OTCA and, as a result, enjoyed discretionary immunity from liability. The issue before the court was whether the OTCA applied to a claim under the Oregon Residential Landlord Tenant Act (“ORLTA”) since an ORLTA claim generally arises out of a rental agreement. Plaintiff did not plead breach of a specific provision of the rental agreement, and she conceded that she had alleged a breach of a legal duty resulting in injuries. Plaintiff argued, however, that her claim involved a duty arising from the rental agreement. As such, she contended her claim fell within the exception of the definition of a “tort” under OTCA, and thus the OTCA should not apply to give PHA discretionary immunity. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Natasha Khachatourians, Scheer & Zehnder LLP
Ms. Khachatourians may be contacted at natashak@scheerlaw.com

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Cost of Materials Holding Back Housing Industry

June 28, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
As home building makes its recovery, there’s another hurdle to overcome: the cost of building materials. The Toledo Blade reports that the rise in the costs of materials makes homes built this year several thousands of dollars more expensive than those built last year. One builder, James Moline, said that he “ended up eating some of the lumber prices on a deal this spring because lumber prices went up so much.” The cost of framing lumber has increased by about two-thirds, while the cost of strand board has more than doubled. Happily, material costs seem to have hit their high and in recent months have started to lower. The rise, according to Robert Denk, a senior economist at the National Association of Home Builders, is due to suppliers cutting back on capacity when demand dwindled, and despite the increase in building starts, suppliers have yet to bring that capacity back. Read the court decision
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Slip and Fall Claim from Standing Water in Parking Garage

January 22, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
In Metairie, Louisiana, Paul Unkauf filed a lawsuit after he allegedly “slipped and fell on standing water in the parking garage,” located at Heritage Plaza, according to the Louisiana Record. The defendants, Stewart Development LLC, Stirling Properties LLC, Platinum Parking LLC and First Financial Company, are “accused of permitting standing water to dampen the pathway leading to the elevator bank, failing to dry the pathway, failing to warn of the hazard, failing to properly inspect the area in question, failing to provide a safe means of exit and entrance, being careless and negligent under the circumstances, failing to properly identify and correct defects in design and failing to properly supervise and train employees,” reports the Louisiana Record. Unkauf is seeking an “unspecified amount in damages” for “medical expenses, physical pain, loss of function, mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life and permanent partial disability.” Read the court decision
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New York Court Rejects Owner’s Bid for Additional Insured Coverage

September 06, 2021 — Eric D. Suben - Traub Lieberman
Tenders for additional insured coverage in construction accidents are frequently litigated in New York courts. Although the past few years have seen changes in the law regarding the causal nexus between the named insured’s work and coverage for the purported additional insured, courts often find there is at least a duty to defend the additional insured where there are allegations of the employer/subcontractor’s presence at the site. An exception is the recent decision in Gemini Insurance Company v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, Index No. 652669/20 in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York (Lebovits, J.). In that case, Gemini insured the owner and general contractor of a construction project, and Lloyd’s insured the injured claimant’s employer under a policy endorsed to provide additional insured coverage to entities who “have agreed in writing in a contract or agreement” with the named insured that they must be “added as additional insured.” Although the court found that the contracts here satisfied this requirement for additional insured coverage, the court’s analysis did not end there. Noting that even where such contract exists, the Lloyd’s policy would not provide additional insured coverage “in all circumstances” (emphasis in original), the court next considered whether the underlying injury was “caused in whole or in part by: 1. [The named insured’s] acts or omissions, or 2. The acts or omissions of those acting on [the named insured’s] behalf,” as required under the endorsement’s wording. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Eric D. Suben, Traub Lieberman
Mr. Suben may be contacted at esuben@tlsslaw.com

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Housing Advocacy Group Moved to Dissolve New Jersey's Council on Affordable Housing

November 05, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The New Jersey Law Journal reported that "[a]n affordable housing advocacy group in New Jersey is asking the state Supreme Court to remove from the administration of Gov. Chris Christie the authority to determine municipalities’ obligations for low- and moderate-income housing and to instead place that responsibility in the hands of trial judges." New Jersey's state constitution mandates affordable housing obligations (referred to as the Mount Laurel decisions). “It is no longer possible to trust that COAH can or will faithfully implement the Mount Laurel doctrine,” wrote the center’s associate director, Kevin Walsh, in the motion to enforce litigants’ rights, as quoted by the New Jersey Law Journal. “This should be the end; there should be no more extensions, no further last chances.” Municipalities are protected from being sued by developers, however, last year the court stated "that it would consider lifting that protection if COAH failed to adopt new regulations that passed constitutional muster," according to the New Jersey Law Journal. Read the court decision
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Oklahoma Finds Policy Can Be Assigned Post-Loss

April 26, 2021 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Oklahoma joined the majority of court in finding that after a loss occurs, the insured can assign the policy to another. Johnson v. CSAA Gen. Ins. Co., 2020 Okla LEXIS 118 (Okla. Dec. 15, 2020). Johnson's property was damaged in a storm. She filed a claim with her insurer. She also executed an assignment of her claim in order to repair the property with the execution of assignment to Triple Diamond Construction LLC. An appraiser retained by Triple Diamond determined the storm damage was $36,346.06. The insurer paid only $21,725.36 for the loss. Johnson and Triple Diamond sued the insurer for breach of contract, seeking $14,620.70, not inclusive of interest, attorneys' fees and costs. The insurer filed a motion to dismiss, or an alternative motion for summary judgment to dismiss Triple Diamond as a party. The insurer argued that both the policy and an Oklahoma statute barred the assignment. The district court granted the insurer's motion. 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

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