Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Nevada Judge says Class Analysis Not Needed in Construction Defect Case

October 22, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to the National Law Journal, “The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled it neither arbitrary nor capricious for a trial judge to decline to perform a class-action analysis in a lawsuit filed by a homeowners’ association against a general contractor over alleged defects.” Justice Michael Douglas stated, as quoted by the National Law Journal, “The district court was not required to conduct that analysis at this point in the litigation because nothing in the record indicates that the association sought to proceed as a class action.” The general contractor argued that the construction defect law did “not apply because the development’s units were no longer new residences once they were rented as apartments.” However, the justices declared “that the association can pursue its lawsuit for construction defects in common elements owned by multiple units as long as one unit is a new residence.” Read the court decision
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Amazon’s Fatal Warehouse Collapse Is Being Investigated by OSHA

December 13, 2021 — Josh Eidelson & Spencer Soper - Bloomberg
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation into the collapse of an Amazon.com Inc. warehouse, according to a Labor Department spokesperson. A tornado struck the Amazon delivery station in Edwardsville, Illinois, on Friday, killing six workers and destroying much of the facility at the peak of the holiday shopping season. “OSHA has had compliance officers at the complex since Saturday, Dec. 11, to provide assistance,” the spokesperson said. “OSHA has six months to complete its investigation, issue citations and propose monetary penalties if violations of workplace safety and or health regulations are found.” Reprinted courtesy of Josh Eidelson, Bloomberg and Spencer Soper, Bloomberg Read the court decision
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BP Is Not an Additional Insured Under Transocean's Policy

April 01, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
Responding to a certified question from the Fifth Circuit, the Texas Supreme Court determined that BP was not an additional insured under Transocean's liability policy and had no coverage under the policy for the deaths caused by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon. In re Horizon, 2015 Tex. LEXIS 141 (Tex. Feb. 13, 2015). We have previously posted on this case in the federal courts here and here. Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon, a mobile offshore drilling unit operating in the Gulf of Mexico pursuant to a contract with BP. After an explosion in April 2010, the rig caught fire, killing eleven crew members. Both Transocean and BP sought coverage under Transocean's primary and excess policies. Although they did not dispute that BP was an additional insured, Transocean and its insurers argued that BP was not entitled to coverage for pollution-related liabilities arising from subsurface oil releases in connection with the Deepwater Horizon accident. 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

Governor Bob Ferguson’s Recent Executive Orders – A Positive Sign for Washington’s Construction Industry

January 21, 2025 — Ryan Sternoff & Trygve Groh - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight
On January 15th, in his first act as Washington’s Governor, Bob Ferguson signed three executive orders, two of which may have a direct impact by removing some of the “red tape” that stifles Washington’s construction industry. This appears to be a positive sign that the Governor’s office is focused on pragmatic action, rather than partisan politics. Executive Order 25-02 is entitled “Assessing Regulatory Efficiency and Addressing Washington’s Affordable Housing Crisis” and directs all executive and small cabinet agencies (collectively, “State Agencies”) to review their rules and regulations and prepare a report for the Governor’s Office that identifies rules or regulations that impact the construction of new housing. The reports will also identify rules or regulations that are no longer necessary and can be rescinded, rules or regulations that can be amended to speed up housing construction. The reports will include descriptions of proposed amendments to such rules and regulations. The reports must be provided to the Governor’s Office within sixty days. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Ryan Sternoff, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight
Mr. Sternoff may be contacted at ryan.sternoff@acslawyers.com

Louisiana District Court Declines to Apply Total Pollution Exclusion

December 15, 2016 — William S. Bennett – Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana recently decided that a broad total pollution exclusion in a marine general liability policy did not bar coverage. The insurer could not unambiguously establish, based on the facts of the underlying case, that waste from a shipyard’s sandblasting activities met the requirements of the exclusion. The court found that the insurer could not meet Louisiana’s three-part test to determine whether the policy’s total pollution exclusion applied. The Doerr test requires an insurer to refer to the allegations in the underlying complaint to prove 1) the insured is a “polluter”, 2) the injury-causing substance is a “pollutant,” and 3) there was a “discharge, dispersal, seepage, migration, release or escape” of the pollutant. Total pollution exclusions are extremely prohibitive for policyholders because they eliminate coverage for virtually all pollution incidents, but this decision reinforces that policyholders may still have a path to coverage. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of William S. Bennett, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Mr. Bennett may be contacted at wsb@sdvlaw.com

GSA Releases Updated Standards to Accelerate Federal Buildings Toward Zero Emissions

August 12, 2024 — The U.S. General Services Administration
WASHINGTON — The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is advancing progress toward the Biden-Harris Administration's federal sustainability goals by releasing updated standards for federal buildings. P100 Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service establish mandatory design and construction standards and performance criteria for 300,000 federal buildings nationwide. The updated standards will help advance the adoption of cleaner, more efficient technologies for buildings; lead the way towards realizing the goals of the Federal Sustainability Plan to achieve net-zero emissions from all federal buildings by 2045; and promote the use of American-made, low carbon construction materials. P100 requires that facilities adopt advanced energy conservation strategies and eliminate on-site fossil fuel use, directives that align with federal sustainability goals and will accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy. The industry-leading standard calls for grid-interactive efficient buildings, leverages innovative technologies through GSA's Green Proving Ground, requires the use of low-embodied carbon materials, and directs potable water reuse. These comprehensive measures ensure that new and renovated federal facilities achieve peak performance while minimizing environmental impact. The 2024 P100 establishes exceptional benchmarks for:

Electrification: New standards for building equipment and systems to be powered by clean energy sources.
Embodied Carbon: Requirement to utilize low-embodied carbon materials, including salvaged, reused, regenerative, and biomimetic options.
Energy Efficiency: Enhanced building envelope performance to minimize energy loss and improve overall efficiency.
Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings: New measures to support a more resilient, responsive grid.
Water Reuse: Mandating that buildings have a 15% potable water reuse rate.
Construction Decarbonization: Ground breaking new low-carbon methods for constructing federal buildings including clean energy operations, material salvage, and offsite assemblage.
Labor Practices: New standards protecting workers from unfair or unsafe labor practices, ensuring supply chains are free from child and forced labor and that workers are protected from the impacts of extreme heat.

P100 is updated and published every three years. For more detailed information on the 2024 P100 and other GSA initiatives, visit www.gsa.gov/p100. Read the court decision
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How Long does a Florida Condo Association Have to File a Construction Defect Claim?

September 17, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to a post on Orlando Sentinel’s HOA & Condo Blog, sponsored by the firm Becker & Poliakoff, generally a Condominium Association has “4 years from turnover of control of the Condominium Association from the developer” to file a lawsuit for construction defects. However, the association may have additional time to file. If defects from the original construction were discovered after the 4 years have lapsed, “[a] condominium association may still pursue a claim for latent defects,” which is one that “is hidden, and not discovered despite the exercise of due diligence, for the period of 4 years from turnover.” The Statute of Repose in Florida is “10 years from the date the building received its original Certificate of Occupancy.” Read the court decision
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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (10/1/24) – Hybrid Work Technologies, AI in Construction and the Market for Office Buildings

November 05, 2024 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, commercial mortgage bond market in trouble, commercial real estate investments, pressure on mortgage REITs, and more!

Short-term issues facing U.S. commercial real estate have made it an investment opportunity and values have bottomed out. (CNBC)
As organizations report plans to shake up their real estate portfolios, the flight to quality spurs interest in space planning, amenities and hybrid work technologies. (Joe Burns, Facilities Dive)
The conversation about AI’s potential benefits and risks has been a common refrain in construction recently. (Matthew Thibault, Construction Dive)

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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES