Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Confidence Among U.S. Homebuilders Little Changed in January

January 28, 2015 — Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- Confidence among U.S. homebuilders hovered in January close to a nine-year high, indicating the residential real estate market is poised to expand this year. While the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment gauge fell to 57 this month from 58 in December, readings greater than 50 mean more respondents report good market conditions, according to figures issued from the Washington-based group Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for 58. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bloomberg News

Treasure Island Sues Beach Trail Designer over Concrete Defects

September 10, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The city of Treasure Island, Florida “has filed a lawsuit against Graham Landscape Design of St. Petersburg and Coastal Technology Corp. of Vero Beach for failing to properly design the 1-mile trail along the city's beachfront, which has hundreds of cracks in its concrete surface,” reported the Tampa Bay Times. "The city has been unable to resolve the construction defects of the Central Beach Trail outside of the litigation process," City Attorney Maura Kiefer said to the Tampa Bay Times. Cracks allegedly began appearing on the $1.2 million dollar trail soon after the project was concluded (March 2013). Treasure Island “submitted a performance bond claim and notified insurance companies representing Graham Landscape of the problem.” Consultants hired by Phil Graham IV, the owner of the design company, determined that the cracking was caused by “a combination of problems in the design, construction and composition of materials.” Read the court decision
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Fire Damages Unfinished Hospital Tower at NYU Langone Medical Center

December 15, 2016 — Jeff Rubenstone – Engineering News-Record
A fire broke out Dec. 14 at a hospital tower under construction at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. The blaze sent a column of thick black smoke up through the Manhattan skyline. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jeff Rubenstone, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Rubenstone may be contacted at rubenstonej@enr.com

The California Privacy Rights Act Passed – Now What?

November 09, 2020 — Heather Whitehead - Newmeyer Dillion
The ballot initiative, Proposition 24, has been passed by voters in yesterday’s election. What does this proposition entail and how does it impact the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)? What’s Covered in Proposition 24 - The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) The CPRA, among other things, does the following:

Revises the existing CCPA to expand consumer rights with respect to personal information and sensitive personal information;
Creates a new agency responsible for enforcing the CPRA; and
Increases penalties for violations related to the personal information of children under the age of 16.

As for additional consumer rights, the CPRA offers consumers the opportunity to request a correction of inaccurate personal information. In addition, a consumer may direct a company to “limit its use of the consumer's sensitive personal information” to a use that an average customer would expect. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Heather Whitehead, Newmeyer Dillion
Ms. Whitehead may be contacted at heather.whitehead@ndlf.com

How Mansions Can Intensify Wildfires

May 30, 2022 — Todd Woody - Bloomberg
A neighborhood of $4 million homes that burned Wednesday in a Southern California wildfire highlights the vulnerability of large suburban dwellings to climate-driven blazes, according to fire experts. The Coastal Fire destroyed at least 20 homes in a gated community in Laguna Niguel, a wealthy Orange County enclave near Laguna Beach. Houses in the Coronado Pointe development line a ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Homes in the neighborhood are palatial, ranging in size from about 4,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet, and sit on large lots with room for swimming pools with coastal views. But the mansions are wedged together with relatively little space between buildings. When a fire broke out near a wastewater treatment plant on Wednesday, it raced up a chaparral-covered hillside until it encountered an explosive source of fuel – Coronado Pointe. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Todd Woody, Bloomberg

GSA Releases Updated Standards to Accelerate Federal Buildings Toward Zero Emissions

August 12, 2024 — The U.S. General Services Administration
WASHINGTON — The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is advancing progress toward the Biden-Harris Administration's federal sustainability goals by releasing updated standards for federal buildings. P100 Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service establish mandatory design and construction standards and performance criteria for 300,000 federal buildings nationwide. The updated standards will help advance the adoption of cleaner, more efficient technologies for buildings; lead the way towards realizing the goals of the Federal Sustainability Plan to achieve net-zero emissions from all federal buildings by 2045; and promote the use of American-made, low carbon construction materials. P100 requires that facilities adopt advanced energy conservation strategies and eliminate on-site fossil fuel use, directives that align with federal sustainability goals and will accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy. The industry-leading standard calls for grid-interactive efficient buildings, leverages innovative technologies through GSA's Green Proving Ground, requires the use of low-embodied carbon materials, and directs potable water reuse. These comprehensive measures ensure that new and renovated federal facilities achieve peak performance while minimizing environmental impact. The 2024 P100 establishes exceptional benchmarks for:

Electrification: New standards for building equipment and systems to be powered by clean energy sources.
Embodied Carbon: Requirement to utilize low-embodied carbon materials, including salvaged, reused, regenerative, and biomimetic options.
Energy Efficiency: Enhanced building envelope performance to minimize energy loss and improve overall efficiency.
Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings: New measures to support a more resilient, responsive grid.
Water Reuse: Mandating that buildings have a 15% potable water reuse rate.
Construction Decarbonization: Ground breaking new low-carbon methods for constructing federal buildings including clean energy operations, material salvage, and offsite assemblage.
Labor Practices: New standards protecting workers from unfair or unsafe labor practices, ensuring supply chains are free from child and forced labor and that workers are protected from the impacts of extreme heat.

P100 is updated and published every three years. For more detailed information on the 2024 P100 and other GSA initiatives, visit www.gsa.gov/p100. Read the court decision
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The Registered Agent Advantage

October 22, 2014 — Christopher G. Hill – Construction Law Musings
In the Commonwealth of Virginia, as in most states, all corporations, LLC’s or other corporate style entities are required to have a registered agent if they are to do business in the Commonwealth. The reasons for the requirement are many, but the main ones are taxation, service of process and communication from the Virginia State Corporation Commission (the “SCC”). Without such a registered agent, many rights, for example the right to prosecute a lawsuit, are not available to the unregistered entity. As a construction company that I hope is incorporated (if you aren’t you should do take this step), your registered agent can be an officer of the company, a company that meets the requirements of the SCC that allow it to act as a registered agent, or an attorney licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is this last category that you should carefully consider. Why do I think that a Virginia construction attorney is the best candidate for use as the registered agent of either a local or out of state contractor or subcontractor? As you might imagine from the title of this post, I’ll let you know. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Christopher G. Hill, Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PC
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

And the Winner Is . . . The Right to Repair Act!

February 15, 2018 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
Civil litigation attorneys often talk about “damages.” Because without damages . . . well . . . you’re out of luck. But damages come in different flavors. In construction litigation, when it comes to defective construction, there are two basic flavors: actual damages and economic damages. Actual damages include property damage and personal injury, such as a defective roof that causes water damage into the interior of the structure or collapses causing injury to someone inside the structure. In contrast, economic damages would be the cost to repair or replace the defective roof, without any resulting property damage or personal injury. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@wendel.com

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES