Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

No Coverage for Repairs Made Before Suit Filed

August 22, 2022 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
After a hurricane damaged the building the insured was constructing, there was no coverage under the CGL policy for repairs the insured made in the absence of a suit being filed. Planet Construction J2911 LLC. v. Gemini Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105468 (W.D. La. June 13, 2022). Planet Construction was a general contractor hired to build a fitness club. On August 27, 2020, Hurricane Laura struck the area. After the storm, a pipe in the sprinkler system broke, allegedly due to faulty materials and workmanship by a subcontractor, S&S Sprinkler. Planet Construction sought coverage under its policy with Gemini as well as under S&S's policy with Zurich. Both insurers denied coverage and Planet Construction filed suit. 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

BHA Sponsors 28th Annual Construction Law Conference in San Antonio, TX

January 07, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Bert L. Howe & Associates, Inc. is proud to be joining with the State Bar of Texas, Construction Law Section, as a sponsor and exhibitor at the 28th Annual Construction Law Conference to be held March 5-6, 2015 at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter. With offices in San Antonio and Houston, Bert L. Howe & Associates, Inc. (BHA) offers the experience of over 20 years of service to carriers, defense counsel, and insurance professionals as designated experts in over 5,000 cases. BHA’s staff encompasses a broad range of licensed and credentialed experts in the areas of general contracting and specialty trades, as well as architects, and both civil and structural engineers, and has provided services on behalf of developers, general contractors and sub-contractors. BHA’s experience covers the full range of construction defect litigation, including single and multi-family residential (including high-rise), institutional (schools, hospitals and government buildings), commercial, and industrial claims. BHA specializes in coverage, exposure, and delay claim analysis as well. Download the seminar brochure and register for the event... For more information on Bert L. Howe & Associates, Inc., you may contact Don MacGregor at dmac@berthowe.com or 210.441.8375. Read the court decision
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Manhattan Trophy Home Sellers Test Buyer Limits on Price

February 14, 2014 — Oshrat Carmiel – Bloomberg
Broker Alon Chadad’s client purchased a $14.3 million apartment on Manhattan’s Central Park South, then spent nine months seeking approval for plans to overhaul it. In January, the buyer changed course, listing the unit for sale at more than double what he paid just a year ago. “He filed all the documents for renovation and he was ready to go and he decided, ‘You know what? I see opportunity in the market,’” said Chadad, co-founder of Blu Realty Group and the agent for the 6,160-square-foot (572-square-meter) condominium, which has an asking price of $29.5 million. Luxury-apartment owners in New York are listing a record amount of properties for sale, testing the upper limits of what buyers are willing to pay even as median prices remain off their peak set almost six years ago. Sellers have taken notice of a handful of record-shattering deals, triggered by an $88 million purchase at 15 Central Park West, and demand for trophy homes by international investors seeking havens for their cash. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Oshrat Carmiel, Bloomberg
Ms. Carmiel may be contacted at ocarmiel1@bloomberg.net

Contractors Prepare for a Strong 2021 Despite Unpredictability

April 05, 2021 — Kenny Ingram - Construction Executive
A recent IFS study found many construction and engineering companies are reimagining their business models to ensure a secure future, using the pandemic-induced lull in business to prepare themselves to get back to operations on a strong footing. The research shows 70% of businesses have increased or maintained digital transformation spend, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In the infrastructure, engineering and construction sectors the figure is more than 75%. There are many challenges the industry will face in the new year following the unpredictability of 2020, but there are also many opportunities. Despite the uncertainties that lay ahead, here are the few trends predicted to impact the sector 2021 and beyond. Reprinted courtesy of Kenny Ingram, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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10 Year Anniversary – Congratulations Greg Podolak

November 23, 2016 — Edwin L. Doernberger – Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
2016 marks 10 years of successful practice for SDV Partner, Gregory Podolak. Greg has spent his entire professional career with Saxe, Doernberger & Vita, rising up the ranks from Summer Associate to Managing Partner of SDV’s first satellite office located in Naples, FL. Greg also manages SDV’s Cyber Risk group and is a nationally recognized author and speaker on the topic. Over the past decade, Greg has been honored with numerous awards, including the Connecticut Law Tribune’s 2015 New Leaders in the Law, and for the past five years in a row has been chosen as a Super Lawyers® Rising Star. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Edwin L. Doernberger, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Mr. Doernberger may be contacted at eld@sdvlaw.com

Sanctions Award Against Pro Se Plaintiff Upheld

June 22, 2020 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The plaintiff's failure to timely name an expert witness in his bad faith action led to sanctions being awarded against him in favor of the insurer. Black v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 2020 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2477 (Cal. Ct. App. April 23, 2020). After Black's claim was denied by Fireman's Fund, he communicated with company through letters, emails and phone conversations. Black complained that Fireman's Fund handled his claim improperly, engaged in illegal activities and had ties to the Nazi regime in Germany. Fireman's Fund sued Black alleging that his communications amounted to civil extortion, interference with contractual relations, interference with prospective economic advantage, and unfair business practices. Fireman's Fund eventually dismissed its complaint without prejudice. Black, however, had filed a cross-complaint in which he asserted a number of claims, including bad faith. Black designated attorney Randy Hess as an expert on insurance claims. Over the next year and a half, Fireman's Fund repeatedly attempted to take Hess's deposition. In March 2018, Fireman's Fund moved to compel the deposition or exclude the testimony. The court set a July 20, 2018 deadline for the disposition to take place or else the testimony would be excluded. 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

California Supreme Court Declines Request to Expand Exceptions to Privette Doctrine for Known Hazards

January 17, 2022 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
First things first. Happy New Year! Hope you had a good one. To start things off in the new year we’ve got an employment-related case for you – Gonzalez v. Mathis, 12 Cal.5th 29 (2021) – a California Supreme Court case involving the Privette Doctrine. For those not familiar with the Privette Doctrine, the Privette Doctrine is named after the case Privette v. Superior Court, 5 Cal.4th 689 (1993), which held that project owners and higher-tiered contractors are not liable for workplace injuries sustained by employees of lower-tiered contractors. Since then, courts have carved out a few exceptions to the Privette Doctrine including the “retained control exception” (also known as the Hooker exception – that’s the name of the case not the occupation of the injured worker) whereby a “hirer,” that is, the higher-tiered party who hired the lower-tiered party whose employee is injured, can be held liable if the hirer: (1) retains control over any part of the lower-tiered party’s work; and (2) negligently exercises that control in a manner that affirmatively contributes to the worker’s injury. Another exception is the “concealed hazard exception” (also known as the Kinsman exception) whereby a hirer can be held liable if: (1) the hirer knew, or should have known, of a concealed hazard on the property that the lower-tiered contractor did not know of and could not have reasonably discovered; and (2) the hirer railed to warn the lower-tiered contractor of that hazard. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Is Construction Heading Off the Fiscal Cliff?

December 20, 2012 — CDJ STAFF
After a period of growth, the construction industry lost 20,000 jobs in November, based on the federal jobs data. Damon Scott of New Mexico Business Weekly suggests that contractors may have laid off employees in anticipation of the “fiscal cliff.” Ken Simpson, the chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders said in a press release that “it is discouraging that construction employment is still struggling after three years of expansion in the overall economy.” Read the court decision
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