Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Subcontractor's Faulty Workmanship Is Not an "Occurrence"

March 16, 2017 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The court found there was no duty to defend the subcontractor for alleged faulty workmanship in installing stone veneer at a condominium construction project. Quality Stone Veneer, Inc. v. Selective Ins.Co. of Am., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9393 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 23, 2017). Quality Stone Veneer (QSV) entered a subcontract with Mignatti Construction, the general contractor, for development of a condominium. QSV agreed to provide all the materials and labor related to the installation of stone veneer at the project. After construction began, the Association filed a complaint against Mignatti, claiming deficiencies in the construction of the furnace, ventilation, roofing, alarms, sprinklers, electrical and water systems. Mignatti filed a joinder complaint against QSV for contribution and/or indemnity for breach of warranty and negligence. 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

Five-Year Peak for Available Construction Jobs

December 11, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
There are more job openings in construction now than there have been since 2008. The October jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 124,000 job openings in construction. With the demand for workers, some builders have experienced labor shortages, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The NAHB expects the trend to continue into 2014, “if firms can find workers with the right skills.” Read the court decision
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Las Vegas HOA Conspiracy & Fraud Case Delayed Again

September 17, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “[T]he federal trial of former construction company boss Leon Benzer and five others in a massive scheme to take over Las Vegas-area homeowners associations” has been delayed to February 2015 by U.S. District Judge James Mahan. Defense attorneys “argued they needed more time to review thousands of pages of new documents provided by prosecutors.” The prosecutors did not object to the delay. Benzer and the other defendants face conspiracy and fraud charges in an HOA takeover scheme that allegedly occurred between 2003 and 2009. Read the court decision
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Renovate or Demolish Milwaukee’s Historic City Hall?

July 02, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s City Hall, which according to the New York Times is “one the largest of its kind in the country,” is “slowly sinking.” However, residents are debating whether it is worth the millions to renovate—especially considering that despite $76 million spent in 2006 to restore the building’s exterior, a terra cotta urn fell into the street in 2011 resulting in a lawsuit against the contractor. The main problem with the building is that “old wooden pilings that support the base of City Hall, timbers anchored deep into the marshy soil more than a hundred years ago, are decaying,” the New York Times reported. “So far, the northeast corner of the aging structure has ‘settled’ 2.16 inches over the past three decades — a small change, but serious enough to raise concerns about the possibility of more structural problems.” However, proponents of renovation mention the building’s rich history. In 1895 when the City Hall was built, it was “the third-tallest structure in the country at the time, behind the Philadelphia City Hall and the Washington Monument.” The German Renaissance Revival building features a 400-foot clock tower, which “is most fondly remembered for its role in the opening credits of the sitcom ‘Laverne & Shirley.’” “Buildings like this are salvageable,” Dennis Barthenheier, a contractor who has used concrete to reinforce the pilings of nearly two dozen sinking structures in downtown Milwaukee, told the New York Times. “But it’s not a cheap date.” Read the court decision
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Florida District Court Finds That “Unrelated” Design Errors Sufficient to Trigger “Related Claims” Provision in Architects & Engineers Policy

March 02, 2020 — Jason Taylor - Traub Lieberman
Most professional liability polices include some form of a “related claims” provision that generally provides where two or more claims or wrongful acts are causally or logically related, they will be deemed to constitute a single claim. Importantly, these provisions typically provide that those “claims” are then deemed to have been “first made” at the time the first claim or act was committed for purposes of the policy’s claims-made and reporting requirements. Understandably, these provisions provide insurers and insureds with some clarity over the number and timing of claims that could involve multiple errors or omissions, and potentially aggregate all related claims or acts into a single policy period. While reasonable in principle, application of such provisions, especially involving large scale design and construction projects, is not always so easy. Nova Southeastern University, Inc. v. Continental Cas. Co., 18-cv-61842 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 27, 2019), involved such an insurance coverage dispute with a design project gone wrong. DeRose Design Consultants, Inc. (“DeRose”) was hired as a structural engineer to design “ice tanks” to store and chill water for an energy efficient air conditioning facility constructed on the campus of Nova Southeastern University (“NSU”). An early water test on one of the tanks determined the walls of the ice tank deflected, leaked, and cracked when the tank was filled with water. DeRose later discovered that the problems with the ice tank were caused by a structural design error. The first errors were discovered in early 2009, and reported under DeRose’s professional liability policy with Evanston. DeRose then created a remedial design to repair the tanks, which involved strengthening repairs. Additional leaking and an early indication of corrosion involving the Remedial Design arose as early as October 25, 2009. Several field investigation reports were prepared in 2011 and 2012 confirming these issues with the Remedial Design. A third report in February 2012, however, identified a new error involving the concrete slab under the ice tanks also designed by DeRose. The third report concluded that the concreate slab was overstressed and could not handle the loads of the ice tanks. The report also concluded, however, that the design defects in the concrete slab were “unrelated” to the original design defect of the ice tank walls or Remedial Design. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jason Taylor, Traub Lieberman
Mr. Taylor may be contacted at jtaylor@tlsslaw.com

NCDOT Aims to Reopen Helene-damaged Interstate 40 by New Year's Day

December 10, 2024 — Derek Lacey - Engineering News-Record
Interstate 40, closed in late September when flooding from Hurricane Helene caused multiple landslides and washouts in the Pigeon River Gorge between North Carolina and Tennessee, is expected to partially reopen on New Year’s Day 2025, more than three months after the storm. Long-term reconstruction plans are still in early development. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Derek Lacey, ENR
Mr. Lacey may be contacted at laceyd@enr.com

Baltimore Project Pushes To Meet Federal Deadline

July 22, 2019 — Justin Rice - Engineering News-Record
Two giant anaerobic digesters shaped like Faberge eggs have for years served as landmarks for commuters traveling on Interstate-695 east of downtown Baltimore. And cranes, recently removed, signaled the location of one of the latest projects in a years-long, $1.6-billion construction program to upgrade the 100-year-old Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant. “You probably won’t see a collection of this many ‘sticks’ anywhere else in the city,” Shane Lippert noted back in October. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Justin Rice, ENR
Mr. Rice may be contacted at ricej@enr.com

Coping With The New Cap And Trade Law

January 04, 2023 — John P. Ahlers - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight
On May 17, 2021, Governor Jay Inslee signed a new carbon pricing bill making Washington only the second in the nation to have such an extensive climate-change reduction policy (Senate Bill 5126). The Stated Purpose of the New Law: SB5126 creates a system to cap carbon pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and individual businesses are provided specific limits on emissions (“Cap”). Those businesses then have to purchase credits for allowed emissions. The businesses which emit fewer greenhouse gases than the credits allotted them can sell their credits to businesses that are not reducing emissions as quickly (“Trade”). The overall pool of carbon credits are to be gradually reduced by 2050 to hit a goal of net-zero emissions. This bill is colloquially known as the “Cap and Trade Law.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of John P. Ahlers, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight
Mr. Ahlers may be contacted at john.ahlers@acslawyers.com

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