Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

John Aho: Engineer Pushed for Seismic Safety in Alaska Ahead of 2018 Earthquake

February 06, 2019 — Christine Kilpatrick - Engineering News-Record
The son of a pioneer bush pilot in Alaska, structural engineer John Aho spent decades working toward earthquake preparedness. He helped found a key seismic safety commission in the state, and serves on the City of Anchorage’s geotechnical advisory group. The fruits of his labor were clearly demonstrated on the morning of Nov. 30, when the magnitudes 7.0 and 5.7 earthquakes that struck the city caused limited structural damage, partly due to stringent building requirements. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Christine Kilpatrick - ENR
Ms. Kilpatrick may be contacted at kilpatrickc@enr.com

Building a Strong ESG Program Can Fuel Growth and Reduce Company Risk

June 19, 2023 — The Hartford Staff - The Hartford Insights
Companies are addressing today’s evolving ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) issues like they never have before. From climate change to diversity, equity and inclusion, these topics are at the forefront of discussion for businesses, with many seeking to understand stakeholder concerns and implement strategies to improve their ESG efforts. Stakeholders – consumers, investors and employees alike – have recently become more vocal and united in their demand for sustainable corporate behavior. In fact, 83% of consumers think companies should be actively working on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) program best practices and 86% of employees prefer to support or work for companies that care about the same issues they do.1 In turn, companies are addressing these issues like they never have before, in recognition of their importance as indicators of long-term value. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of The Hartford Staff, The Hartford Insights

No Indemnity Coverage Where Insured Suffers No Loss

November 05, 2014 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The insured subcontractor sought coverage under its Builder's Risk policy for loss despite already being paid under contract the amount sought under the policy. MKB Constr. v. Am Zurich Ins. Co., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136096 (W.D. Wash. Sept. 24, 2014). MKB contracted with the Lower Yukon School District (LYSD) to place gravel fill for a new building pad upon which a school building would be placed in Emmonak, Alaska. The project site was built on tundra that melted in the summer, becoming marshy and pocketed by pools of standing water. LYSD provided the bidding contractors with information stating that settlements of 3 to 9 inches could be expected in areas with 30 inches of fill. The contract was awarded to MKB, who subsequently realized it had under bid the amount of gravel fill that would be required. The estimated difference in the amount bid and the amount that would be needed was 6,583 cubic yards. LYSD refused to increase the contract price. 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

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

43% of U.S. Homes in High Natural Disaster Risk Areas

September 03, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
RealtyTrac released data that declared that “35.8 million U.S. single family homes and condos with a combined estimated market value of $6.6 trillion are in counties with high or very high natural hazard risk.” Each county was assigned one of five risk catagories for overall risk of natural disaster: Very High, High, Moderate, Low, and Very Low. States whose scores fell into the “Very High” category included California, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina. “The weather is beautiful in SoCal, but we are statistically more susceptible to the risk of fire, floods and earthquakes than most areas. Our agents must be articulate in explaining the higher risks to buyers. People have to be able trust their agent to fully disclose the risks of natural disasters and homeownership to allow buyers to make the most informed decisions,” Mark Hughes, chief operating officer with First Team Real Estate, covering the Southern California market, told RealtyTrac. “A well-informed knowledgeable buyer is best prepared to take on the potential risks associated with SoCal homeownership.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of

Time to Update Your Virginia Mechanic’s Lien Forms (July 1, 2019)

May 01, 2019 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
In a few of my recent posts here at Construction Law Musings, I’ve discussed a few bills that were considered and/or passed in the General Assembly this year. One of the bills is one close to my heart and a subject much discussed here, namely mechanic’s liens. HB2409 passed both houses of the General Assembly and has been signed by the Governor. This bill reconciled the language found in Virginia Code Sec. 43-4 with the various forms for general contractor, subcontractor and sub-subcontractor/supplier forms found in later sections of the code. As you will see if you download the .pdf of the bill as signed, this involved some tweaks to 43-4 and some updates to the mechanic’s lien forms that are in the code. The recent Desai case from the Virginia Supreme Court made it clear that such action was necessary. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrissghill@constructionlawva.com

Jury Convicts Ciminelli, State Official in Bid-Rig Case

August 14, 2018 — Engineering News-Record
After a four-week trial but with less than two days of deliberation, a Manhattan federal jury convicted Louis Ciminelli, former head of the now-defunct Buffalo, N.Y., contractor LPCiminielli, and Alain Kaloyeros, the fired ex-head of SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany, N.Y., of fraud and conspiracy in a scheme to rig bids on a $750-million upstate New York manufacturing project. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Engineering News-Record
ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com

The Economic Loss Rule: From Where Does the Duty Arise?

January 24, 2022 — Taylor Hite - Colorado Construction Litigation
When entering a contract under Colorado law or attempting to enforce your rights when the other party breaches a contract, it is important to know and understand what rights you have and what claims you can bring or defenses you may have. One important consideration is Colorado’s version of the economic loss rule. The Colorado Supreme Court has issued several opinions clarifying the scope of the economic loss rule since it adopted the rule in 2000. The purpose of the economic loss rule is to maintain the boundary between contract law and tort law. In Colorado, the economic loss rule provides that a party suffering only economic loss from the breach of an express or implied contractual duty may not assert a tort claim for the breach without an independent duty of care under tort law. In most instances the economic loss rule will not bar intentional tort claims. The question becomes: from where does the duty arise? Is there an independent duty in tort law? Did the duty arise solely from the contract? Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Taylor Hite, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
Ms. Hite may be contacted at Hite@hhmrlaw.com

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