SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

The Conscious Builder – Interview with Casey Grey

February 16, 2017 — Aarni Heiskanen – AEC Business
In this podcast interview, Casey Grey talks about Conscious Building, passive houses, and and how we can make our homes healthier. About Casey Grey Casey Grey is the founder and CEO of The Conscious Builder Inc., an Ontario company. Casey is one of those very few people who knew what he wanted from a very young age. Although his goals have changed over the years, they have always revolved around building homes. From Lego, to tree houses to custom homes, he is constantly looking for ways to build better homes. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aarni@aepartners.fi

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Bert Hummel Appointed to Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism

May 10, 2021 — Bert Hummel - Lewis Brisbois
Atlanta Partner Bert Hummel was recently appointed to the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism (CJCP) for the 2020-2021 term. In this role, Mr. Hummel has assisted in carrying out the charge of the CJCP, namely, to enhance professionalism among Georgia’s lawyers. Mr. Hummel’s appointment follows his participation on the Grants Committee and the Professionalism Committee of the CJCP. In addition, Mr. Hummel was selected as one of seven members of CJCP’s Benham Awards Subcommittee, which recognizes Georgia attorneys who dedicate their practice or time to serving the public and profession. “I am honored to be appointed to a body that continually strives to do so much good for both the legal profession and the community at large. For the past several months, I have appreciated the work the Commission has undertaken to promote professionalism in the practice of law through educational programming while also promoting community service programs through the CJCP’s Grants Committee that I served on as well. I look forward to continuing to serve with my colleagues at the CJCP to promote our shared goals. I also relish the opportunity to serve during a time in which professionalism is of the utmost importance as we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic made even more unique and special by the fact this is the last year Chief Justice Melton will serve as chair after announcing his retirement from the Supreme Court effective at the end of the Bar year.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bert Hummel, Lewis Brisbois
Mr. Hummel may be contacted at Bert.Hummel@lewisbrisbois.com

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Insurer Unable to Declare its Coverage Excess In Construction Defect Case

January 06, 2012 — CDJ STAFF

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a summary judgment in the case of American Family Mutual Insurance Co. v. National Fire & Marine Insurance Co. Several other insurance companies were party to this case. In the earlier case, the US District Court of Appeals for Arizona had granted a summary judgment to Ohio Casualty Group and National Fire & Marine Insurance Company. At the heart of it, is a dispute over construction defect coverage.

The general contractor for Astragal Luxury Villas, GFTDC, contracted with American Family to provide it with a commercial liability policy. Coverage was issued to various subcontractors by Ohio Casualty and National Fire. These policies included blanket additional insured endorsements that provided coverage to GFTDC. The subcontractor policies had provisions making their coverage excess over other policies available to GFTDC.

The need for insurance was triggered when the Astragal Condominium Unit Owners Association filed a construction defect claim in the Arizona Superior Court. CFTDC filed a third-party claim against several subcontractors. The case was settled with American Family paying the settlement, after which it filed seeking reimbursement from the subcontractor’s insurers. The court instead granted summary judgment in favor of Ohio Casualty and National Fire.

American Family appealed to the Ninth Circuit for a review of the summary judgment, arguing that the “other insurance” clauses were “mutually repugnant and unenforceable.” The Ninth Circuit cited a case from the Arizona Court of Appeals that held that “where two policies cover the same occurrence and both contain ‘other insurance’ clauses, the excess insurance provisions are mutually repugnant and must be disregarded. Each insurer is then liable for a pro rate share of the settlement or judgment.”

The court noted that unlike other “other insurance” cases, the American Family policy “states that it provides primary CGL coverage for CFTDC and is rendered excess only if there is ‘any other primary insurance’ available to GFTDC as an additional insured.” They note that “the American Family policy purports to convert from primary to excess coverage only if CFTDC has access to other primary insurance as an additional insured.”

In comparison, the court noted that “the ‘other insurance’ language in Ohio Casualty’s additional insured endorsement cannot reasonably be read to contradict, or otherwise be inconsistent with, the ‘other primary insurance’ provision in the American Family policy.” They find other reasons why National Fire’s coverage did not supersede American Family’s. In this case, the policy is “written explicitly to apply in excess.”

Finally, the Astragal settlement did not exhaust American Family’s coverage, so they were obligated to pay out the full amount. The court upheld the summary dismissal of American Family’s claims.

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Irene May Benefit Construction Industry

September 01, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

Noting that while it wasn’t the $15 billion disaster some predicted, Hurricane Irene still caused quite a bit of damage on its path up the Eastern Seaboard. Martha White, reporting for MSNBC cites Kinetc Analysis Corp. with an estimate of $7 billion in damage. Carl Van Horn, a professor of public policy at Rutgers University expected an initial decline in construction jobs, due to projects delayed due to the storm’s arrival, but he said, “a few weeks later, employment picks up as people rebuild.”

Kinetic says that one unknown is how much of the damage is insured. They expect only $3 billion of damage will be covered by insurance. This would likely put a drag on consumer spending, as homeowners would have to dig into their own pockets to pay for repairs, according to Karl Smith, associate professor of economics and government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Overview of New Mexico Construction Law

June 25, 2019 — Walter F. Crowson - Snell & Wilmer Under Construction Blog
We’ve seen an uptick in out-of-state companies working on construction projects in New Mexico. The following is an overview of some of the nuances of New Mexico construction law about which companies may want to be aware. Construction Contract Issues Limitation of Liability Clauses are usually Enforceable, but Anti-Indemnity Clauses Are Not New Mexico courts have enforced limitation of liability clauses included in construction contracts. See Fort Knox Self Storage, Inc. v. W. Techs., Inc., 140 N.M. 233, 237 (N.M. Ct. App 2006). New Mexico law recognizes the difference between contracts that insulate a party from any and all liability and those that simply limit liability. Fort Knox Self Storage, Inc., 140 N.M. 233 at 237. An exculpatory clause immunizes a party from liability, whereas a limitation of liability clause merely curtails liability. Id. A limitation of liability clause has been held not to violate New Mexico public policy because the party “still bears substantial responsibility for its actions.” Id.; see also Cowan v. D'Angelico, 2010 WL 11493789, *6 (D. N.M. Apr. 26, 2010). Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Walker F. Crowson, Snell & Wilmer
Mr. Crowson may be contacted at wcrowson@swlaw.com

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A Primer on Insurance for Construction Projects

November 30, 2020 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
People who live in glass houses should have insurance (in addition to not throwing stones). So too should your construction project. The risks inherent on a construction project are many and varied, ranging from property damage to personal injury to pollution remediation costs, and wise contractors and project owners know that one of the best ways to mitigate these risks is through insurance. So, here’s a primer on what you need to know about insurance on construction projects. Commercial General Liability Insurance (CGL) What it Covers:

• Property damage.
• Bodily injury.
• Personal and advertising injury (e.g., libel and slander).

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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

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Gone Fishing: Tenant’s Insurer Casts A Line Seeking To Subrogate Against The Landlord

October 17, 2022 — William L. Doerler - The Subrogation Strategist
In J&J Fish on Ctr. Str., Inc. v. Crum & Forster Specialty Ins. Co., No. 20-cv-644-bhl, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16361, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (District Court) recognized that “[t]here will be no further fish fries on Center Street until someone pays to repair the collapsed floor at J&J Fish on Center Street, Inc. (J&J Fish).” The contenders were: 1) J&J Fish; 2) its’ insurer, Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Company (Insurer); and 3) J&J Fish’s landlord, Vision Land, LLC (Vision). Recognizing Insurer’s right to subrogate against Vision based on the terms of the parties’ lease, the District Court held Insurer owed J&J Fish coverage for the losses it sustained, but that Insurer could subrogate against Vision for anything it had to pay J&J Fish. In J&J Fish, Vision and J&J Fish signed a lease (Lease) for a building (the Building) located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Lease required Vision to “purchase and keep in full force and effect on the building(s) . . . insurance against fire and such other risks as may be included in all-risks policies . . .” Vision, however, never obtained any insurance on the Building. Pursuant to the Lease, Vision also agreed to “maintain and repair the structure including the slab floor and exterior walls of the Premises.” With respect to J&J Fish, the Lease required J&J Fish to maintain “Physical Damage insurance, including but not limited to fire . . . and all other risks of direct physical loss as insured . . . for the full replacement cost of all additions, improvements (including leasehold improvements) and alterations to the Premises.” J&J Fish purchased a commercial property and casualty insurance policy (the Policy) from Insurer. The Policy covered “additions, improvements . . . and alterations” as the Lease required. In addition, it insured the Building itself against “collapse,” subject to certain exceptions. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of William L. Doerler, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Doerler may be contacted at doerlerw@whiteandwilliams.com

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Housing Stocks Rally at End of November

December 04, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The homebuilding industry had something to be thankful for this year. In a report on stocks issued just before the Thanksgiving holiday, Standard Pacific Group and Toll Brothers where outperforming the S&P 500 (Gafisa S.A., a Brazilian firm that trades on the New York Stock Exchange also outperformed the index). Both of the U.S. firms traded about their 50-day moving averages. A third U.S. home builder, The Ryland Group, traded above its 50-day moving average, but did not outperform the S&P 500. Read the court decision
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