SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

High Attendance Predicted for West Coast Casualty Seminar

March 19, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
With the diverse speakers and topics planned for this year’s West Coast Casualty Seminar in Anaheim, California on May 15th and 16th, attendance should be high. In 2013, there were approximately 1600 attendees coming from across the country as well as the United Kingdom. The event planners recently added additional blocks of rooms, as the Disneyland Hotel has sold out 90% of the previously allotted room blocks. The planners urge attendees to book their rooms soon. Seminar and panel topics have been announced. Thomas J. Halliwell, Esq. and Barry Vaughan, Esq. will be starting the seminar off with a discussion of “Recent California, Arizona and Nevada Court Decisions that Impact Construction Litigation and Defect Claims.” May 16th will feature a number of interesting break-out sessions including “Working Smarter with Technology” with speakers Brian Kahn, Esq., Paul R. Kiesel, Esq., Hon. Peter Lichtman (ret), Hon. Nancy Wieben Stock (ret), Peter S. Curry and Don MacGregor (Bert L. Howe & Associates, Inc.). Download Invitation and Register for Seminar... Read the court decision
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Strict Liability or Negligence? The Proper Legal Standard for Inverse Condemnation caused by Water Damage to Property

March 30, 2016 — Charles S. Krolikowski – Newmeyer & Dillion, LLP
Filing a lawsuit against a government entity can be a daunting task given the complexities of tort claims requirements and governmental immunities. A recent decision by the Court of Appeal in Pacific Shores Property Owners Association v. Department of Fish & Wildlife, Case No. C07020 (Jan. 20, 2016), provided welcome clarification as to the proper legal standard for an inverse condemnation action based upon activities of a government entity which cause water damage to private property. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Charles S. Krolikowski, Newmeyer & Dillion, LLP
Mr. Krolikowski may be contacted at charles.krolikowski@ndlf.com

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CA Homeowners Challenging Alternate Pre-Litigation Procedures

April 15, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Garret Murai on his California Construction Law blog discussed how some homeowners have challenged homebuilders who use alternative pre-litigation procedures instead of the rules of California’s Right to Repair Act (SB 800). “The Right to Repair Act, which was intended to help curb the then rising tide of residential construction defect litigation, provides mandatory pre-litigation procedures which must be followed in construction defect cases involving new residential construction,” Murai explained. “One of the major exceptions to the statutory pre-litigation procedures under SB 800, however, is that a homebuilder can opt to use its own alternative pre-litigation procedures if disclosed to a homebuyer.” Murai used The McCaffrey Group, Inc. v. Superior Court case to demonstrate that homeowners can challenge the builder’s use of alternative pre-litigation procedures, and win if they can prove that the alternate procedures are “unconscionable.” “For homebuilders, the take away is that, sure you can adopt your own alternative pre-litigation procedures under the Right to Repair,” Murai stated, “but if you do just know that they may be challenged by homeowners who may contend that they are unconscionable, which kinda defeats the whole idea behind SB 800 which was intended to reduce the amount of litigation the first place.” Read the court decision
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Mind Over Matter: Court Finds Expert Opinion Based on NFPA 921 Reliable Despite Absence of Physical Testing

September 12, 2022 — Gus Sara - The Subrogation Strategist
In Smith v. Spectrum Brands, Inc., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142262, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (District Court) considered whether the plaintiffs’ liability expert met the requirements of Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence and could testify that a filter pump for an aquarium tank was defectively designed and caused a fire at the plaintiffs’ home. The defendant filed a motion to exclude the plaintiffs’ liability expert on grounds that the expert’s opinion did not satisfy the reliability element of Rule 702 because the expert never conducted physical testing on the filter pump. The court found that the cognitive testing employed by the expert through various methods, including visual inspections of the evidence, a review of photographs of the scene and literature from the manufacturer, and research on similar products, was sufficiently reliable to admit his opinion. The Smith case involved a civil action brought by Jeanette Scicchitano Smith and Alexander Smith that arose from a 2019 fire at their residence in Lincoln University, Pennsylvania. The fire purportedly started in a filter pump, which was operating at the time of the fire, that the plaintiffs purchased in 2002 as part of an aquarium tank kit. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Gus Sara, White and Williams
Mr. Sara may be contacted at sarag@whiteandwilliams.com

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Heat Stress Deaths Show Europe Isn’t Ready for Climate Change

August 07, 2023 — Olivia Rudgard - Bloomberg
More than 60,000 people died as a result of record-breaking temperatures in Europe last summer, a study has found, raising concerns about multiple countries’ lack of preparation for extreme heat fueled by climate change. Between May 30 and Sept. 4 of last year, there were 61,672 deaths caused by hot weather across 35 European countries, according to the study by researchers at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and the French National Institute of Health, published in the journal Nature Medicine. Last year’s was the warmest summer ever recorded on the continent, breaking a record set just one year earlier. Temperatures were more than 2C above the recent average for countries that included France, Switzerland and Spain. Last year’s extreme-heat casualties echo an earlier hot summer in 2003, when 70,000 excess deaths were recorded across Europe. The loss of life led several countries to introduce early-warning systems for heat waves, as well as more planning around health care services. But the large number of deaths in 2022 shows the limitations of these measures, the study’s authors noted. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Olivia Rudgard, Bloomberg

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As Some States Use the Clean Water Act to Delay Energy Projects, EPA Issues New CWA 401 Guidance

August 26, 2019 — Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel
In just the past few weeks, three states have used their Clean Water Act 401 authority to delay, for an indefinite period, FERC-authorized pipeline expansion projects. On May 6, 2019, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality denied, without prejudice, Jordan Cove’s application for a Section 401 water quality certification. Jordan Cove plans to build an LNG export terminal at Coos Bay, Oregon, if it can obtain the necessary federal and permits. Under Section 401(a) of the Clean Water Act, any applicant for a federal permit to conduct any activity, including the operation of facilities which may result in any discharge into the navigable waters, shall provide the permitting agency a certification from the State in which the discharge may originate that any such discharge will comply with the applicable provisions of the Clean Water Act, including effluent limitations and state water quality standards. The States have a “reasonable time”—which shall not exceed one year after the receipt of the 401 application—in which to act, or the state’s authority may be waived by this inaction. The Oregon DEQ concluded that Jordan Cove has not demonstrated that its project, as presently configured, will satisfy state water quality standards. The 401 applications submitted by Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. (Transco) to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New York State Department of Environmental Protection were similarly rejected without prejudice on May 15, 2019 (New York) and June 5, 2019 (New Jersey). This use of the states’ 401 authority has frustrated plans to build and operate LNG pipelines around the country. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury
Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com

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Hunton Insurance Partner Syed Ahmad Named to Benchmark Litigation’s 2019 40 & Under Hot List

October 14, 2019 — Michael S. Levine & David M. Costello - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
Benchmark Litigation has named Syed Ahmad, a partner in Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Insurance Coverage practice, to the publication’s 40 & Under Hot List. Benchmark Litigation is the definitive guide to America’s leading litigation firms and attorneys. The 40 & Under Hot List honors the most notable up-and-coming litigation attorneys in the United States. Those named to the list have proven their eligibility as individuals at the partner level of their respective firms who are 40 years of age or younger. Reprinted courtesy of Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth and David Costello, Hunton Andrews Kurth Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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Toll Brothers Report End of Year Results

December 11, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The largest luxury home builder in the U.S. saw some significant gains in their final quarter for 2013. Their pre-tax income for the year was $150.2 million, up from last year’s $60.7 million, more than doubling. The firm’s revenues went up 65% to $1.04 billion, and the average price of homes was up as well. Toll Brothers is currently selling homes in 232 communities, also increasing over 2012. Due to the upcoming acquisition of Shapell, Toll Brothers projects that at the end of 2014 they will be selling in 250 to 290 communities. Read the court decision
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