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Blackstone Said in $1.7 Billion Deal to Buy Apartments

January 21, 2015 — Hui-yong Yu – Bloomberg
Blackstone Group LP (BX), the biggest owner of U.S. single-family houses, agreed to buy 36 apartment properties across the country for about $1.7 billion as it expands its rental business, according to two people with knowledge of the transaction. The low-rise, garden-style properties are being sold by Praedium Group, a New York-based real estate investment firm, and contain about 11,000 apartments, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deal is private. About half of the buildings are in California, Washington, D.C., and Boston, with the rest located around the U.S., they said. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Hui-yong Yu, Bloomberg
Hui-yong Yu may be contacted at hyu@bloomberg.net

Homebuilding Held Back by Lack of Skilled Workers

June 28, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Home construction in Michigan could surge by thirty-seven percent this year, if the workers are there to build these houses. Aaron Rigozzi, the owner of Semper Fi Construction, told the Detroit Free Press that at the height of the boom he had fourteen employees whose wages reached $25 an hour. Now his firm has filed for bankruptcy and has only three employees. The top wage is $16 an hour. He also has the problem of people whose skills are less than what they claim. “You can hire people and they say they can do this or that, but they really can’t.” The Home Builders Association of Michigan says that this is stretching out the time to complete a new house by months, and leading homeowners who are looking for a contractor stranded for weeks. In 2012, more home permits were taken out than in any year since 2008. Read the court decision
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EPC Contractors Procuring from Foreign Companies need to Reconsider their Contracts

July 18, 2018 — Hwan Kim – Construction & Infrastructure Law Blog
A recent California case may force engineering, procurement and construction companies doing business with foreign suppliers to reconsider—and maybe rewrite—their contracts. In Rockefeller Technology Investments (Asia) VII v. Changzhou SinoType Technology Co., Ltd., the California Court of Appeal held that parties may not contract around the formal service requirements of the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents, commonly referred to as the Hague Service Convention. The decision could have profound implications for international business. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Hwan Kim, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Mr. Kim may be contacted at hkim@sheppardmullin.com

Recovering For Inflation On Federal Contracts: Recent DOD Guidance On Economic Price Adjustment Clauses

October 24, 2022 — Amanda L. Marutzky - ConsensusDocs
Since October 2020, inflation in the United States has seen its fastest increase in more than 30 years. In the last year alone, inflation has remained as high as 8.6%. This hike has impacted everything from diesel to steel. In the construction industry, the higher prices of goods and services directly affect how contractors draft their construction contracts. The Department of Defense (DoD) has taken note of this dramatic price increase and recently issued guidance to its commanding officers and the procurement community. On May 5, 2022, DoD issued a memorandum titled “Guidance on Inflation and Economic Price Adjustments.” The stated purpose of the memo is “to assist COs to understand whether it is appropriate to recognize cost increases due to inflation under existing contracts as well as offer considerations for the proper use of EPA when entering into new contracts.” DoD’s memo responds to contractor and contracting officer concerns about the sudden and unexpected cost increases in labor and materials. Economic Price Adjustments, or EPAs, are adjustments to a stated contract price upon the occurrence of certain contingencies. FAR 16.203-1. They are of three general types – (1) adjustments based on established prices, (2) adjustments based on actual costs of labor or material, or (3) adjustments based on cost indexes of labor or material. Id. Because EPAs allow for adjustments in a contract price, EPA clauses allow a contractor to recover unanticipated increases in its project costs. For example, FAR 52.216-4, Economic Price Adjustment-Labor and Material, authorizes a contractor to recover for increases in the cost of material or labor. Such recovery is available when costs increase more than 3%, with a maximum recovery of 10% of the original contract price. See also FAR 52.216-2 through FAR 52.216-4. These EPA clauses provide contractors with relief and protection from issues such as dramatic inflation. EPA clauses, however, are not included in all contracts. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Amanda L. Marutzky, Watt, Tieder, Hoffar, & Fitzgerald, LLP (ConsensusDocs)
Ms. Marutzky may be contacted at amarutzky@watttieder.com

Chicago Cubs Agree to Make Wrigley Field ADA Improvements to Settle Feds' Lawsuit

December 03, 2024 — James Leggate - Engineering News-Record
Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs have entered into a settlement with the U.S. Dept. of Justice over renovations to Wrigley Field, federal and Cubs officials announced Oct. 31. As part of the settlement, the team agreed to update Wrigley Field with more accessibility options for people with disabilities. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of James Leggate, ENR
Mr. Leggate may be contacted at leggatej@enr.com

Appropriation Bill Cuts Military Construction Spending

June 15, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

The Hill reports that HR 2055, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs (VA) and Related Agencies bill, has passed with only five votes in opposition. The bill cuts the budget for military construction spending by $2.6 billion due to anticipated base closures.

The bill includes $186 million for family housing construction by the Army, $100 million for family housing construction by the Navy and Marines, and $84 million for family construction by the Air Force, with an additional $50 million allocated for the DOD outside the military branches. By the act, these funds will remain available until September 30, 2016.

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Colorado HB 13-1090: Concerning Payment of Amounts Due Under a Construction Agreement

February 21, 2013 — David M. McLain — Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
On January 17, 2013 Representative Fischer introduced House Bill 13-1090 into the Colorado House of Representatives. HB 1090 was assigned the House Business, Labor, Economic and Workforce Development Committee. The bill, sponsored by Senator Tochtrop in the Senate, sets the following requirements for both private and public construction contracts: The owner and contractor must make regular progress payments approximately every 30 days to contractors and subcontractors for work actually performed. To receive the progress payments, the contractor and subcontractor must submit a progress payment invoice plus any required documents. A contractor must pass on the progress payment to the subcontractor within 5 days or by the end of the billing cycle. Interest accrues on unpaid progress payments. A contract may extend a billing cycle to 60 days, but the contract must duly warn of this. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David M. McLain
mclain@hhmrlaw.com

Virginia Chinese Drywall and pollution exclusion

May 27, 2011 — CDCoverage.com

In Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. The Overlook, LLC, No. 4:10cv69 (E.D. Va. May 13, 2011), homeowner Edmonds sued insured developer/general contractor Overlook seeking damages resulting from defective Chinese drywall installed in Edmonds’ home. Overlook’s CGL insurer Nationwide defended Overlook under a reservation of rights and filed a declaratory judgment action. The federal district trial court granted Nationwide’s motion for summary judgment.