Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Colorado Supreme Court Decision Could Tarnish Appraisal Process for Policyholders

September 16, 2019 — Michael V. Pepe - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
On June 24, 2019, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the plain language of appraisal provisions in insurance policies, requiring “impartial appraisers,” direct appraisers to be “unbiased, disinterested, and unswayed by personal interest,” regardless of who hires them, and prohibits the party-appointed appraisers from acting as advocates. A common and attractive alternative dispute resolution option, the appraisal process usually entails the policyholder and insurer each hiring their own appraiser, who estimates how much the claim is worth. These appraisers also select a third-party umpire, and if they cannot agree upon one, a court appoints one. The umpire analyzes the conflicting estimates and presents a number to resolve the dispute. If two of the three parties agree with the outcome, the number becomes binding. Owners Ins. Co. v. Dakota Station II Condo. Ass'n, Inc.1 began when Dakota Station II Condominium Association Inc. (“Dakota”) and its insurer, Owners Insurance Company (“Owners”) could not agree on how to value two claims arising out of weather damage. To settle the differences and come to a resolution, Dakota invoked the appraisal provision in the insurance policy instructing each party to select its own “competent and impartial appraiser.” Ultimately, a court-appointed umpire considered six cost categories in dispute and adopted four of Owners’ estimates and two of Dakota’s. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michael V. Pepe, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Mr. Pepe may be contacted at mvp@sdvlaw.com

Construction Contracts Need Amending Post COVID-19 Shutdowns

October 19, 2020 — Richard P. Higgins - Construction Executive
No one could have expected the coronavirus pandemic in the beginning of 2020. True, there were rumblings about a sickness in China that was highly contagious and infecting many people. Death tolls began rising as the world watched in disbelieve. After all, this is 2020. This is not supposed to happen. We should have been able to control the spread of the virus, but we could not. COVID-19 quickly spread throughout the world causing havoc and economic despair. While some sectors of the construction industry are not as impacted as others, contractors industry-wide need to consider how COVID-19 will impact their contractual obligations. Depending on what happens and what the government decides to do to stop the spread of the coronavirus, project delays, supply chain distributions, lost productivity and work stoppages may continue for months. All of this will impact the contracts that contractors have with owners. Contractors may not be able to preform according to the terms of the contract through no fault of their own. Owners may no longer qualify for the financing needed to pay for the project. FORCE MAJEURE According to Investopedia, “force majeure refers to a clause that is included in contracts to remove liability for natural and unavoidable catastrophes that interrupt the expected course of events and prevent participants from fulfilling obligations.” Reprinted courtesy of Richard P. Higgins, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Mr. Higgins may be contacted at Richard.Higgins@MCC-CPAs.com

Caltrans to Speak before California Senate regarding Bay Bridge Expansion

August 06, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that at an upcoming California Senate hearing, Caltrans is expected to defend itself against “allegations that they ‘gagged and banished’ engineers who identified construction problems on the new Bay Bridge eastern span and that the agency failed to maintain basic quality control on the project.” Members of the “Senate Transportation and Housing Committee will question Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty, other state officials and the head of the bridge's lead contractor, American Bridge/Fluor, about two reports last week from an investigator and a panel of six engineers who were critical of how the $6.4 billion project was managed.” Read the court decision
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New York Public Library’s “Most Comprehensive Renovation” In Its History

May 13, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Manhattan’s New York Public Library’s renovation plans have been revised after being “the subject of at least three lawsuits and repeated protests by academics, activists, writers and historians,” according to Construction Digital. The previous $300 million plan by Foster & Partners would have required the circulation collections to be relocated during the renovation process. Now, that plan has been abandoned for one that New York Public Library President Anthony Marx calls “the most comprehensive renovation in its history.” “Instead of removing the central stacks and placing the Mid-Manhattan Library in that space, we are proposing to renovate Mid-Manhattan Library at its current site,” Marx told Construction Digital. “This renovation will add much-needed computer labs and an adult education center, and an inspiring, comfortable space for browsing our largest circulating collection.” Read the court decision
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Showdown Over Landmark Housing Law Looms at U.S. Supreme Court

October 01, 2014 — Greg Stohr – Bloomberg
Over the past four decades, U.S. courts have ruled that plaintiffs making discrimination claims under the Fair Housing Act don’t have to prove intentional bias. Civil rights advocates simply have to show that lenders, insurers, developers or government agencies acted in ways that had a “disparate,” or unequal, impact on minority groups. Now, the Supreme Court is weighing whether to hear an appeal from Texas officials who argue that intent to discriminate must be proven and that the “disparate impact” standard is too loose an interpretation of the landmark 1968 law that prohibited discrimination in housing. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Greg Stohr, Bloomberg
Mr. Stohr may be contacted at gstohr@bloomberg.net

War-Torn Ukraine Looks to Europe’s Green Plans for Reconstruction Ideas

July 18, 2022 — Laura Millan Lombrana - Bloomberg
Ukrainian officials and architects are already thinking about how to rebuild cities torn by the Russian invasion in a way that is also respectful to the environment and helps fight climate change. Mariupol city hall officials have started to assess the damage caused by Russian shelling as a first step to rebuild the city once the war is over, Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov told an audience in Brussels at the New European Bauhaus festival, running through Saturday in several European cities. A coalition of Ukrainian and international experts in urban planning, heritage, energy and the circular economy are working toward the same goal. “We will reconstruct Ukraine, we have to do that and we will do that,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the festival. “It’s not only in our interest, it’s our moral obligation to do that — but when we are reconstructing Ukraine, let’s do it the right way, let’s do it in the spirit of the New European Bauhaus.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Laura Millan Lombrana, Bloomberg

Insurer’s Attempt to Shift Cost of Defense to Another Insurer Found Void as to Public Policy

June 09, 2016 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
While construction can sometimes be risky, construction litigation is almost always expensive. This volatile mix of risk and expense has made risk shifting, through indemnity and insurance, a primary goal and concern of project owners, contractors and suppliers alike. Construction insurers know this all too well and insurers, even between themselves, seek to shift risk. As one primary insurer found, however, risk shifting provisions in their policies – specifically, one which sought to shift the cost of defense to another insurer – is not without its limitations. 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

New York Team Secures Appellate Win on Behalf of National Home Improvement Chain

September 26, 2022 — Lewis Brisbois
New York, N.Y. (August 12, 2022) - New York Appellate Partner Nicholas P. Hurzeler, with New York Partners John J. Doody and David M. Pollack, obtained a significant appellate victory on behalf of a national home improvement chain when a New York Appellate Division panel for the Second Department reduced a jury verdict by more than half. In this matter, which was covered by Law360, the plaintiff was a customer at one of the chain's stores when he was involved in a confrontation with a man and his wife as they exited the store. The chain's loss prevention official told police that the plaintiff had assaulted the female customer. As a result of the incident, the plaintiff was arrested, spent the night in jail, and was arraigned at the same courthouse where he worked as a staff attorney while wearing only an undershirt and jogging shorts. He also had to disclose his arrest on his judgeship nomination application. The charges against him were ultimately dropped after the chain's loss prevention official told prosecutors that surveillance video showed that the female customer’s assault claims were false. The plaintiff subsequently sued the home improvement chain and its loss prevention official for allegedly causing his false arrest and interfering with his career goal of securing a New York state court judgeship. At the close of the trial in this case, the jury determined that the defendant was liable for battery and false imprisonment, and awarded the plaintiff $1.8 million for pain and suffering. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

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