SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Home-Building Climate Warms in U.S. as Weather Funk Lifts

May 20, 2015 — Sho Chandra and Steve Matthews – Bloomberg
The surge in April housing starts sends a clear signal that bad weather was the root cause of weak readings in the first quarter. The question now is whether the rebound is strong enough to lift the world’s largest economy. Builders broke ground on 1.14 million homes at an annualized rate last month, the most since November 2007 and up 20.2 percent from March, figures from the Commerce Department showed Tuesday in Washington. It was the single-biggest monthly surge since 1991, with both the Northeast and Midwest taking part, clearly showing milder temperatures had a hand. The rebound in home building is shaping up to be large enough to make a meaningful contribution to economic growth this quarter. Nonetheless, because residential construction accounts for less than 4 percent of the economy, it would take big gains to make up for what’s likely to be sustained weakness in manufacturing caused by slowing exports and cuts in business investment by the energy industry. Reprinted courtesy of Sho Chandra, Bloomberg and Steve Matthews, Bloomberg Read the court decision
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Loan Modifications Due to COVID-19 Pandemic: FDIC Answers CARES Act FAQs

May 11, 2020 — Nancy Sabol Frantz, Marissa Levy, Timothy E. Davis & Kristen E. Andreoli - White and Williams
In support of financial institutions and borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the newly enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) includes a number of provisions permitting lenders to suspend, during a covered period, requirements under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) with respect to categorizing certain loan modifications as a troubled debt restructuring (TDR) due to COVID-19. In light of the CARES Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a series of answers to FAQs for financial institutions with respect to loan modifications. The FAQs help guide lenders as well as borrowers as they address pending defaults under existing credit facilities. The FAQs encourage financial institutions to work with borrowers who may be unable to meet their payment obligations due to COVID-19 in several ways: Payment Accommodations Short-term accommodations which modify, extend, suspend or defer repayment terms should be intended to facilitate the borrower’s ability to work through the immediate impact of the virus. According to the FAQs, all loan accommodation programs should ultimately be targeted towards repayment. To that end, the FDIC recommends that financial institutions address deferred or skipped payments by either extending the original maturity date or by making those payments due in a balloon payment at the maturity date of the loan. Reprinted courtesy of White and Williams attorneys Nancy Sabol Frantz, Marissa Levy, Timothy E. Davis and Kristen E. Andreoli Ms. Frantz may be contacted at frantzn@whiteandwilliams.com Ms. Levy may be contacted at levymp@whiteandwilliams.com Mr. Davis may be contacted at davist@whiteandwilliams.com Ms. Andreoli may be contacted at andreolik@whiteandwilliams.com Read the court decision
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US Moves to Come Clean on PFAS in Drinking Water

September 18, 2023 — Pam McFarland, Debra K. Rubin & Mary B. Powers - Engineering News-Record
Congress has allocated billions of dollars to address contamination caused by the ubiquitous class of “forever” chemicals known as PFAS—with billions more also earmarked in recent legal settlements with manufacturers—but drinking water managers, construction sector experts and other stakeholders say the true cost of cleanup could be much higher. Reprinted courtesy of Pam McFarland, Engineering News-Record, Debra K. Rubin, Engineering News-Record and Mary B. Powers, Engineering News-Record Ms. McFarland may be contacted at mcfarlandp@enr.com Ms. Rubin may be contacted at rubind@enr.com Read the court decision
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Breach Of Duty of Good Faith And Fair Dealing Packaged With Contract Disputes Act Claim

March 27, 2023 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
An interesting opinion on a motion to dismiss came out of the United States Court of Federal Claims dealing with the claim that the government breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing in administering the prime contract. The contractor’s argument was that the government breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing by denying the contractor’s claim under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA). This was a creative claim and argument that deserves consideration because it tied in the contracting officer’s denial of the CDA claim for additional money with a breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing. In this case, Aries Construction Corp. v. U.S., 2023 WL 2146598 (Fed. Cl. 2023), a prime contractor was hired for a water pipeline construction project. The contractor encountered unexpected difficult site conditions that required additional equipment and labor. The contractor informed the contracting officer and alleged it was instructed to proceed with the additional equipment and labor. The contractor submitted a claim under the CDA but the contracting officer denied the claim. The contractor pursued the claim in the United States Court of Federal Claims arguing the government breached the contract and, of interest, breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing. The government moved to dismiss the breach of good faith and fair dealing claim arguing that besides failing to state a cause of action the Court of Federal Claims had no jurisdiction because the breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing was not properly presented to the contracting officer under the CDA. The Court of Federal Claims denied the government’s motion. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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William Doerler Recognized by JD Supra 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards

March 14, 2022 — William Doerler - White and Williams LLP
Congratulations to Bill Doerler, Counsel of the Subrogation Group who has been recognized as a top author in Product Liability in the 2022 JD Supra Readers' Choice Awards. Bill was ranked number 9 out of a pool of approximately 800 authors writing about product liability matters on JD Supra in 2021. The Readers’ Choice Awards recognize top authors and firms for their thought leadership in key topics read by C-suite executives, in-house counsel, media and other professionals across the JD Supra platform during 2021. These annual awards (now in their seventh year) recognize JD Supra contributors for the visibility and engagement their thought leadership earned among readers in select subjects during the previous 12 months. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of William Doerler, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Doerler may be contacted at doerlerw@whiteandwilliams.com

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Second Circuit Court Differentiates the Standard for Determining Evident Partiality for a Neutral Arbitrator and a Party-Appointed Arbitrator

August 07, 2018 — Celia B. Waters - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
On June 7, 2018, the Second Circuit Court in Certain Underwriting Members of Lloyds of London v. Fla., Dep’t of Fin. Servs.,1 held that a party-appointed arbitrator should not be held to the same standard as a neutral arbitrator. The Court vacated a district court’s order vacating an arbitral award in a reinsurance dispute between Insurance Company of Americas (“ICA”) and Certain Underwriting Members of Lloyds of London (“Underwriters”). The case was one of first impression for the Second Circuit on how to determine the standard of evident partiality challenged to a party-appointed arbitrator. Underwriters reinsured ICA under a series of treaties. The treaties each contained an arbitration clause requiring that disputes be adjudicated by an arbitration panel consisting of three members: one party-appointed arbitrator for each party, and a neutral. The clause required only that the arbitrators “be active or retired disinterested executive officers of insurance or reinsurance companies or Lloyd’s London Underwriters.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Celia B. Waters, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Ms. Waters may be contacted at cbw@sdvlaw.com

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Lewis Brisbois Ranked Tier 1 Nationally for Insurance Law, Mass Tort/Class Actions Defense by U.S. News/Best Lawyers

November 21, 2022 — Lewis Brisbois
(November 3, 2022) - Lewis Brisbois has once again been ranked Tier 1 nationally by U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers for ‘Insurance Law’ and ‘Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants,’ as well as ranking Tier 1 in 14 different practice areas across 15 metro regions. In addition to Lewis Brisbois' national ranking, the firm also ranked Tier 1 for ‘Insurance Law’ in the Philadelphia, Reno, and Tampa metro areas, and Tier 1 for ‘Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants’ in the Los Angeles area. The firm was also ranked Tier 1 in the following regional categories:

• ‘Commercial Litigation’ in Akron;
• ‘Corporate Governance Law’ in San Francisco;
• ‘Corporate Law’ in Akron;
• ‘Environmental Law’ in Washington, D.C.;
• ‘Litigation - Health Care’ in Portland, Ore. and Roanoke;
• ‘Litigation – Municipal’ in Wichita;
• ‘Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants’ in Chicago and Roanoke;
• ‘Mergers & Acquisitions Law’ in Akron;
• ‘Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants’ in Chicago, Inland Empire, New York City, Orange County, Roanoke, and Seattle;
• ‘Product Liability Litigation – Defendants’ in Philadelphia;
• ‘Tax Law’ in Akron; and
• ‘Trusts & Estates Law’ in Akron.

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Appraisers May Determine Causation

January 21, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
In a case of first impression, the Iowa Court of Appeals held that an appraisal may determine issues of causation. North Glenn Homeowners Association v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 854 N.W. 2d 67 (Iowa Ct. App. 2014). On July 15, 2009, North Glenn Homeowners Association submitted a claim to State Farm for hail damage on the roof. The claim was paid. North Glenn did not repair all of the damage, instead deciding to use some of the money to make other repairs to the 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

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