Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

User Interface With a Building – Interview with Esa Halmetoja of Senate Properties

September 14, 2017 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
Architect Mies van der Rohe once said that, “An office is a machine for working in.” From a maintenance person’s point of view that might be true. For a user, an office should offer a productive working environment. A pilot project, led by Esa Halmetoja of Senate Properties, is trying to find out how a digital twin of a building would serve both the needs of the maintenance worker and the office worker. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at info@aepartners.fi

Scotiabank Is Cautious on Canada Housing as RBC, BMO Seek Action

April 12, 2021 — Shelly Hagan & Erik Hertzberg - Bloomberg
Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada’s third-largest lender, waded into the burgeoning debate over whether Justin Trudeau’s government should take immediate steps to cool the nation’s hot housing market, issuing a report that cautioned against rushing to implement new constraints. In a report released Sunday, Scotiabank’s chief economist Jean-Francois Perrault said the recent run-up in home prices nationally over the past year was in large part driven by sluggish supply that failed to keep up with higher demand -- a trend that could reverse itself as new sellers enter the market in coming weeks. If the government does decide to take action, it should target housing speculators, he said. Reprinted courtesy of Shelly Hagan, Bloomberg and Erik Hertzberg, Bloomberg Read the court decision
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Nine ACS Lawyers Recognized as Super Lawyers – Including One Top 10 and Three Top 100 Washington Attorneys

August 14, 2023 — Travis Colburn - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight
Our blog articles usually cover construction-related issues, but Ahlers Cressman & Sleight, PLLC – once again – is honored to announce nine members of our firm were awarded the distinction of being a “Super Lawyer” in Washington. To become a Super Lawyer, only the top attorneys are nominated by their peers. Once nominated, candidates are researched and evaluated by an independent third-party across twelve key categories, such as experience, honors/awards, verdicts/settlements, and others. Next potential Super Lawyers are evaluated by a highly-credentialed “Blue Ribbon Panel” of peers before final selection. The process is extremely competitive and only 5 percent of the total lawyers in Washington are nominated as Super Lawyers. The following – including one Top 10 and three Top 100 attorneys – are Ahlers Cressman & Sleight, PLLC’s Super Lawyers: John P. Ahlers, one of the firm’s founding partners, was again recognized as a Top 10 Super Lawyer in Washington State for 2023 – this is his seventh year in a row in the Top 10. A founding member of Ahlers Cressman & Sleight, PLLC, he has been named a Super Lawyer in Construction Litigation since 2001—23 years in a row. To read Mr. Ahlers’ full profile, click here. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Travis Colburn, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight
Mr. Colburn may be contacted at travis.colburn@acslawyers.com

New York Condominium Association Files Construction Defect Suit

December 10, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to The Real Deal, “The condominium association at 15 Union Square West has filed a $5 million lawsuit against developer Brack Capital Real Estate eight years after the building first launched sales, alleging that the firm did not deliver the quality of units it promised when residents originally signed their contracts.” Alleged problems include roof leaks, lack of terrace landscaping, and patchy electrical work, The Real Deal reported. A spokesperson for Brack stated, “We stand behind our product and are very proud of it.” Read the court decision
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Read Before You Sign: Claim Waivers in Project Documents

July 06, 2020 — William E. Underwood - ConsensusDocs
Not all claim waivers are appropriately titled “Waiver of Claims.” In fact, claim waivers can be found “hiding” without any advertisement or fanfare in a number of project documents, including change orders and applications for payment. So although getting work quickly approved and paid for is important, taking time to read the specific language in your project documents is just as important. Failure to pay close attention to this language could result in the waiver of key, unresolved project claims. Further, and although it should go without saying, it is also just as important to read all of the terms of your contract. Important waiver language might not exist on the face of form project documents, but rather might be contained in the general and/or supplemental conditions of your contract and automatically incorporated into your form project documents. And these types of incorporated waivers can be just as enforceable. So it is critically important to understand what you are signing and the implications it might have on future claims. This article will explore some of the common types of claim waivers that can be found in project documents so that you are better positioned to avoid inadvertently waiving claims in the future. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of William E. Underwood, Jones Walker LLP
Mr. Underwood may be contacted at wunderwood@joneswalker.com

An Obligation to Provide Notice and an Opportunity to Cure May not End after Termination, and Why an Early Offer of Settlement Should Be Considered on Public Works Contracts

August 17, 2020 — Jeff Kaatz - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight
In 2015, the City of Puyallup (“City”) and Conway Construction Company (“Conway”) executed a public works contract for road improvements (“Project”). On March 9, 2016, approximately four months after work started on the Project, the City issued Conway a notice of suspension and breach of contract and identified nine defective and uncorrected work and safety concerns. Conway denied any wrongdoing, and on March 25, 2016, the City issued a notice of termination for default and withheld payments due to Conway. Conway subsequently filed suit in Pierce County Superior Court and alleged the City’s termination for default breached the contract and sought a determination that the City’s termination for default was improper and should be deemed a termination for convenience. Conway sought approximately $1.25 million in damages and recovery of its attorney fees and costs. Following a bench trial, the Trial Court found the City breached the contract and awarded Conway damages, attorney fees, and costs. The City appealed.[1] On appeal, after affirming the trial court’s determination that the City improperly terminated Conway, the Court of Appeals considered two other issues raised by the City. First, whether the City was entitled to a set-off for replacing defective work discovered after Conway was terminated. Second, whether Conway is entitled to attorney fees if it did not make the statutorily required offer of settlement per RCW 39.04.240. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jeff Kaatz, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight
Mr. Kaatz may be contacted at Jeff.Kaatz@acslawyers.com

Anti-Assignment Provision Unenforceable in Kentucky

December 20, 2012 — TRED EYERLY, INSURANCE LAW HAWAII
On a certified question from the Federal District Court, the Supreme Court of Kentucky decided that an anti-assignment provision in a policy is unenforceable.Wehr Constructors v. Paducah Div. Assur. Co. of Am., 2012 Ky. LEXIS 183 (Ky. Oct. 25, 2012). Before building an addition to its hospital, Murray Calloway County Hospital purchased a builder's risk policy from Assurance Company of America.The policy provided, "Your rights and duties under this policy may not be transferred without Assurance's written consent . . . ." The Hospital contracted with Wehr Constructors to install concrete subsurfaces and vinyl floors in order to expand the hospital. After installation, a portion of the floors and subsurface work was damaged. The Hospital submitted a claim to Assurance for $75,000, but the claim was denied. Wehr sued the Hospital to recover money for its work on the construction project. In settling the case, the Hospital assigned to Wehr any claim or rights the Hospital had against Assurance. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii.
Mr. Eyerly can be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Diggin’ Ain’t Easy: Remember to Give Notice Before You Excavate in California

February 15, 2018 — Matthew Peng – Construction Law Blog
If you are reading this blog, my guess is that you know what excavation is and why it is important to the construction process. However, what you may not know is the complicated California law that governs this process. The statute for an excavation contractor to be familiar with is California Government Code section 4216, et seq. However, like most things worth pursuing, that is easier said than done. Section 4216 contains several layers of prerequisites and requirements. This article will explore the notice requirement. Section 4216.1 requires “every operator of a subsurface installation” to share costs of a regional notification center. This is necessary because Section 4216.2(b) requires “an excavator planning to conduct an excavation shall notify the appropriate regional notification center of the excavator’s intent to excavate” before beginning that excavation. The statute lists two regional notification centers: the Underground Service Alert—Northern California and the Under Ground Service Alert—Southern California. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Matthew Peng, Gordon & Rees
Mr. Peng may be contacted at mpeng@grsm.com

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