Faulty Workmanship may be an Occurrence in Indiana CGL Policies
April 07, 2011 —
Beverley BevenFlorez CDJ STAFFThe question of whether construction defects can be an occurrence in Commercial General Liabilities (CGL) policies continues to find mixed answers. The United States District Court in Indiana denied the Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment in the case of General Casualty Insurance v. Compton Construction Co., Inc. and Mary Ann Zubak stating that faulty workmanship can be an occurrence in CGL policies.
Judge Theresa L. Springmann cited Sheehan Construction Co., et al. v. Continental Casualty Co., et al. for her decision, ”The Indiana Supreme Court reversed summary judgment, which had been granted in favor of the insurer in Sheehan, holding that faulty workmanship can constitute an ‘accident’ under a CGL policy, which means any damage would have been caused by an ‘occurrence’ triggering the insurance policy’s coverage provisions. The Indiana Supreme Court also held that, under identically-worded policy exclusion terms that are at issue in this case, defective subcontractor work could provide the basis for a claim under a CGL policy.”
As we reported on April 1st, South Carolina’s legislature is currently working on bill S-431 that would change the wording of CGL policies in their state to include construction defects. Ray Farmer, Southwest region vice president of the American Insurance Association spoke out against the bill. “CGL policies were never meant to cover faulty workmanship by the contractor,” he said. “The bill’s supplementary and erroneous liability provisions will only serve to unnecessarily impact construction costs in South Carolina.”
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Five Types of Structural Systems in High Rise Buildings
November 02, 2020 —
Chris Jackson - Construction ExecutiveToday, many cities in different countries have high-rise buildings or more popularly known as skyscrapers. The concept of skyscraper was first used to define the more than 137-foot-high buildings constructed in Chicago in 1885. It is generally defined as one that is taller than the maximum height that requires mechanical vertical transportation for people. Usually, these buildings only have limited uses and are primarily focused on functioning as residential apartments, hotels and office buildings, though they occasionally include retail and educational facilities. Because high-rise buildings are among the largest buildings built, it is necessary that their commercial and office functions require a high degree of flexibility.
That’s why it is important for high-rise buildings to have structural systems or structural frames—the assembly of interrelated or interdependent elements that forms a complex structure. These structural systems are built and designed for resisting different loads. To further understand how structural systems work, take the human body as a comparison. If human bones are weak and not properly aligned, the human body as a whole will not be able to perform or work well. Structural systems, in the same way, would not be able to take loads if not built properly. After all, no one wants a toppling skyscraper. To give the readers more information about structural systems in high-rise buildings, this article will discuss some of them.
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Chris Jackson, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
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Homeowner may pursue negligence claim for construction defect, Oregon Supreme Court holds
March 01, 2011 —
Lori Bauman, Ater Wynne LLPIn Abraham v. T. Henry, Oregon’s court of appeals held that a Oregon’s court of appeals holds that a homeowner may sue builder for common law negligence absent a contractual provision that forecloses such a claim. Plaintiff homeowners hired defendant contractors to build a house. When plaintiffs discovered defects in the construction years later, they sued for negligence.
The Court of Appeals held that the parties’ contractual relationship did not prevent a negligence claim, and that plaintiffs were entitled to pursue a negligence per se claim based on a violation of the Oregon Building Code.
The Supreme Court affirmed, but on a somewhat different basis. First, according to the Court, a construction defect claim concerns damage to property — and not mere economic losses — and thus is not barred by the economic loss doctrine. Second, the existence
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Court Rejects Insurer's Argument That Two Triggers Required
May 12, 2016 —
Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law HawaiiThe court rejected the insurer's argument that two triggers - one for exposure to asbestos and one for resulting injury - were required under CGL policies. Compass Ins. Co. v. University Mechanical and Engineering Contractors, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS (N.D. Cal. March 25, 2016).
University Mechanical and Engineering Contractors, Inc. (UMEC) was a California corporation in the business of installing plumbing, piping and HVAC systems. UMEC was defending a number of asbestos cases in California state courts arising from its subcontracting work.
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Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law HawaiiMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Brown Orders Mandatory Water Curbs for California Drought
April 01, 2015 —
Michael B. Marois – BloombergGovernor Jerry Brown ordered California’s first mandatory water restrictions as the drought gripping the state enters a fourth year.
Brown issued an executive order seeking a mandatory 25 percent reduction in use and a requirement that new homes feature water-efficient irrigation if the builder plans to use potable water for landscaping. He also called for 50 million square feet of lawns to be replaced with drought-tolerant landscaping and required campuses, golf courses and cemeteries to cut back on water.
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Michael B. Marois, BloombergMr. Marois may be contacted at
mmarois@bloomberg.net
Biden Unveils $2.3 Trillion American Jobs Plan
May 10, 2021 —
Garret Murai - California Construction Law BlogThis past week, President Biden unveiled his American Jobs Plan, a $2.3 trillion dollar plan to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure over 8 years.
As we wrote about this past month, the American Society of Civil Engineers recently issued its 2021 Infrastructure Report Card which gave the country’s infrastructure a cumulative grade point average across several areas including roads, public transportations and schools of a disappointing C-. According to a White House fact sheet on the American Jobs Plan, while the United States is the wealthiest county in the world it currently ranks 13th when it comes to the overall quality of its infrastructure.
Infrastructure spending at the federal level has historically been paid for through the gas tax. Currently, that tax is 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel. The last time the federal gas tax was increased, however, was nearly 30 years ago in 1993. The reason for this long hiatus? Voter backlash and backlash by big businesses whose fleets still primarily rely on fossil fuels and diminishing returns as the number of electrical and hybrid vehicles increasingly hit the streets.
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Garret Murai, Nomos LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@nomosllp.com
68 Lewis Brisbois Attorneys Recognized in 5th Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America
September 23, 2024 —
Lewis Brisbois Newsroom(August 15, 2024) – 68 Lewis Brisbois attorneys across 26 offices have been named to the 5th edition of “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America.” Congratulations to the following attorneys on this recognition!
You can see the list of Lewis Brisbois attorneys named to Best Lawyers' 30th edition of The Best Lawyers in America here.
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Colorado’s Workers’ Compensation Act and the Construction Industry
June 20, 2022 —
Jordan Kaplan - Colorado Construction LitigationIn general, issues relating to employment law occur in all industries. However, some issues are more likely to be raised in certain employment contexts. For example, office work environments tend to give rise to harassment and discrimination claims while wage and hour disputes and workplace safety claims are common in the oil and gas industry. In the construction industry, employers must be especially cognizant of discrimination and harassment claims, employee misclassification claims, workplace safety issues, and wage and hour claims. In the context of workers’ compensation claims, construction projects often create unusual situations due to the contractual relationships between the parties.
Even relatively simple construction of a single-family residence involves several levels of contracting, including between the owner and general contractor, between the owner or general contractor and design team, between the general contractor and subcontractors, and between the prime subcontractors and lower tiered sub-subcontractors. In most circumstances, this would not be an issue. However, when an injured worker makes a workers’ compensation claim, the contractual relationships among the various entities involved in a project can have a significant impact on which party or parties could be liable for the injury.
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Jordan Kaplan, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLCMr. Kaplan may be contacted at
kaplan@hhmrlaw.com