Columbus Ohio Building Expert Directory

Hundreds Celebrated the Grand Opening of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Southern California Riverside Construction Training Center

February 14, 2023 — Associated Builders and Contractors
RIVERSIDE, Calif., Feb. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today the Associated Builders and Contractors Southern California Chapter (ABC), hosted hundreds of community members as they cut the "ribbon" of their third training center in Southern California. "Today is a celebration, but it also represents a continued commitment by ABC and our membership to supply a skilled, trained, and safe construction workforce for Southern California," stated Nick McFayden, ABC SoCal's Board Chair. Jon Krystafik, Vice Chairman of the Training Trust commented, "Our training facility is unique. You may have toured other facilities but with ours you will see we don't just train one craft. Here Apprentices and Craft trainees are receiving cutting edge training in Electrical, Plumbing, Low Voltage and HVAC/Sheet Metal." Krystafik added, "Our trustees had a dream 10 years ago to train residents in the inland empire. Today it is a reality!" ABC Southern California Chapter is an association of contractors that believe in the Merit Shop Philosophy. Merit shop encourages open competition and a free enterprise approach that awards contracts and employment based solely on merit, safety, quality, and cost, regardless of labor affiliation. The chapter is one of 68 throughout the country and represents nearly 400 member companies. Read the court decision
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Tarriffs, a Pandemic and War: Construction Contracts Must Withstand the Unforeseeable

May 16, 2022 — Brett Moritz, Adrian Bastianelli III & Adam Handfinger - Construction Executive
Since the tariffs on steel and the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction industry has been reeling from the impact of material shortages and price increases, labor shortages, breakdowns in the supply chain and the inflationary effect of these issues. Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine has only exacerbated the situation. International conflicts can constrain supply, resulting in delays and price increases for contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. The disruption caused by the war is expected to be particularly acute due to the role that Russia and Ukraine play in the world economy and the effect of the economic sanctions that have been imposed on Russia by the United States and other countries. Russia controls approximately 10% of the global copper reserves and is estimated to produce about 10% of the world’s nickel supply. It also provides at least 30% of Europe’s oil and natural gas. Ukraine is a significant source of raw materials, such as iron. Thus, the war will cause significant shortages and price increases to the global construction industry. There are already reports of delays and cost increases for commodities such as nickel, aluminum, copper and—most importantly—steel, which have resulted in impacts to construction costs and schedules. Suppliers are especially sensitive to the volatile markets caused by these conditions. Some are insisting on automatic price increases in their purchase orders. All of this, not to mention the anticipation of what may come next, points to the necessity for a new paradigm to achieve a successful project. It is more important today than ever that owners, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers reasonably address the economic and time impacts of these unforeseeable events in preparing contracts for future work and in administering existing contracts. Otherwise, the risk of a default on more than one level may put projects in jeopardy, to no one’s benefit. Reprinted courtesy of Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Policy Renewals: Has Your Insurer Been Naughty or Nice?

December 26, 2022 — Latosha M. Ellis & Jae Lynn Huckaba - Hunton insurance Recovery Blog
A review of insurance policies at renewal should be on every business’s annual task list—and it should be checked twice! Just as your business grows and evolves every year, so should your insurance program. Together with staying proactive and preparing for renewal months before the policy expiration, there are a number of best practices to put your business in the best position to maximize insurance recovery, including shopping around, evaluating changes to your business, engaging the appropriate stakeholders, and performing a policy audit with a coverage attorney. Shop Around An early start to the renewal process allows for thorough decision-making and more time to engage in negotiations with the insurer. Even if the preference is to stay with the existing insurer, shopping around creates some buying power within the negotiation process. Evaluate Operational or Business Practice Changes Risk control and mitigation have a direct impact on your premiums and availability of coverage. Assess any changes in the business’s exposure to risk and make any necessary insurance coverage adjustments. Reprinted courtesy of Latosha M. Ellis, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Jae Lynn Huckaba, Hunton Andrews Kurth Ms. Ellis may be contacted at lellis@HuntonAK.com Ms. Huckaba may be contacted at jhuckaba@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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Three lawyers from Haight were recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 Edition

September 30, 2019 — William G. Baumgaertner, Michael Leahy, & Denis Moriarty - Haight Brown & Bonesteel
Congratulations to Haight’s attorneys who were recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 Edition Los Angeles, California William G. Baumgaertner for personal injury and product liability litigation for plaintiffs and defendants Michael Leahy for insurance law Denis Moriarty for insurance law Reprinted courtesy of Haight Brown & Bonesteel attorneys William G. Baumgaertner, Michael Leahy and Denis J. Moriarty Mr. Baumgaertner may be contacted at wbaum@hbblaw.com Mr. Leahy may be contacted at mleahy@hbblaw.com Mr. Moriarty may be contacted at dmoriarty@hbblaw.com Read the court decision
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More In-Depth Details on the Davis-Bacon Act Overhaul

November 06, 2023 — Seth C. Wiseman & Angela M. Richie - Construction Executive
The U.S. Department of Labor’s finalization of a rule updating the Davis-Bacon Act, the federal law that governs how prevailing wages for federal construction projects can be determined, will have a significant impact on contractors and workers alike in the construction industry. The new rule, in effect, adopts the 30% rule, meaning that the prevailing wages must be equal to the wage paid to at least 30% of workers of a particular classification in a particular area. The new rule also implements a new anti-retaliation provision, specifically protecting construction workers who raise concerns about payment practices from adverse employment actions. The timing of this new rule is particularly significant for contractors, as it will likely raise the cost of labor for contractors at a time when the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the CHIPS Act are providing additional funding for federal projects across the country. Thus, it is important for all parties in the construction industry to understand the updated rule in order to evaluate the short-term impacts on their respective projects and long-term impact on their respective businesses. Reprinted courtesy of Seth C. Wiseman & Angela M. Richie, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Mr. Wiseman may be contacted at swiseman@grsm.com Ms. Richie may be contacted at arichie@grsm.com Read the court decision
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If a Defect Occurs During Construction, Is It an "Occurrence?"

February 12, 2024 — Brendan J. Witry - The Dispute Resolver
Establishing insurance coverage for construction defects is almost as important as establishing liability in the underlying construction defect litigation itself. The risk to the defendant contractor of defending a construction claim can place significant burdens on a contractor’s operations and an uninsured judgment might even put the contractor out of business. For owners, suing a contractor for construction defects can become academic if there is no prospect of insurance coverage; obtaining a $1 million judgment against a contractor with limited assets would be a pyrrhic victory. Commercial General Liability (CGL) carriers are obligated to defend claims that potentially fall within the coverage granted by the policy.[1] When presented with a claim, CGL insurers typically have three options: (1) assume the defense without reservation; (2) assume the defense asserting defenses to coverage, and depending on the state, reserving the right to recover defense costs if it later determines there is no duty to defend; or (3) deny the claim outright and seek a declaratory judgment holding that the insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify. An insurer may deny the claim outright and not seek a declaratory judgment, but does so at its peril because it can expose the insurer to significant liability if the insured later shows the insurer in fact had a duty to defend. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Brendan J. Witry, Laurie & Brennan LLP
Mr. Witry may be contacted at bwitry@lauriebrennan.com

Contractual “Pay if Paid” and “Pay when Paid” Clauses? What is a California Construction Subcontractor to Do?

November 29, 2021 — William L. Porter - Porter Law Group
The Situation California Construction Subcontractors Face in Obtaining Payment: California construction subcontractors find themselves faced with a significant payment issue every time they are asked to sign a subcontract on a major project. Invariably, the subcontract the prime contractor presents to the subcontractor for signature will contain a clause by which the prime contractor imposes a condition on payment from the prime contractor to the subcontractor. The condition will be either one or the other of two general types. Either the prime contractor will specify that it never has to pay the subcontractor if the prime contractor itself is not paid by the owner (a “pay-if-paid” clause), or the prime contractor will pay the subcontractor only after the prime contractor has first exhausted all its efforts to obtain payment from the owner through litigation, arbitration or otherwise, possibly delaying payment to subcontractors by months or even years (a “pay-when-paid” clause). Goal of the Article: The goal of this article is to draw a distinction between the pay-if-paid and pay-when-paid clauses, discuss the legality of these clauses in California, the problems these clauses create for subcontractors, advise the reader of helpful recent legal developments in this area of law, address the possibility of a further legislative remedy to address the issue, and discuss what the subcontractor might do to protect itself while awaiting a legislative remedy that may or may not ever arrive. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of William L. Porter, Porter Law Group
Mr. Porter may be contacted at bporter@porterlaw.com

Legal Fallout Begins Over Delayed Edmonton Bridges

June 22, 2016 — Scott Van Voorhis - Engineering News-Record
The project teams for Edmonton’s two problem bridge-replacement projects have put most of their woes behind them—if trips to civil court and possible late-completion penalties are excluded. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Scott Van Voorhis, Engineering News-Record
ENR may be contacted with questions or comments at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com

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