Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Hunton Insurance Partner Syed Ahmad Serves as Chair of the ABA Minority Trial Lawyer Committee’s Programming Subcommittee

January 13, 2020 — Michelle M. Spatz - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
Syed Ahmad, a partner in Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Insurance Coverage practice, has volunteered to serve as Chair of the ABA Minority Trial Lawyer Committee’s Programming Subcommittee. The Minority Trial Lawyer Committee (MTL) serves as a resource for minority litigators, in-house counsel and law students, aiming to foster professional development, legal scholarship, advocacy and community involvement. As Chair of the Programming Subcommittee, Syed, who was named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under Hot List earlier this year, will help advance MTL’s mission of facilitating discussions about diversity and the law and providing career network opportunities for minority trial lawyers. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michelle M. Spatz, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Ms. Spatz may be contacted at mspatz@HuntonAK.com

New York Climate Mobilization Act Update: Reducing Carbon Emissions and Funding Solutions

August 30, 2021 — Caroline A. Harcourt - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Blog
In our June 16 CMA Update, we discussed how the New York City Climate Mobilization Act (CMA) will affect building owners and the market for CMBS mortgage loans (loans pooled and resold as commercial mortgage-backed securities). (For more information on C-PACE financing, see Sustainable Buildings and Development: Carbon Emissions and the Recent Climate Mobilization Act of New York City.) In this update, we will outline some of the funding solutions that are available to New York City building owners looking to retrofit their buildings in order to comply with the CMA’s requirements. Funding Solutions for Covered Building Owners The cost of retrofitting buildings to incorporate energy efficient features and to achieve compliance with the CMA can be daunting. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Caroline A. Harcourt, Pillsbury
Ms. Harcourt may be contacted at caroline.harcourt@pillsburylaw.com

Brookfield Wins Disputed Bid to Manage Manhattan Marina

January 28, 2015 — Martin Z Braun – Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Brookfield Property Partners won a bid to run a marina in New York’s Battery Park City neighborhood over the objections of residents backing a local businessman who operated the facility and a popular sailing club and school. The state’s Battery Park City Authority voted Thursday to approve a 10-year agreement with Brookfield, which owns an adjacent 8 million-square-foot office and retail complex. Brookfield is bringing in billionaire real estate investor Andrew Farkas’s Island Global Yachting to manage the North Cove Marina. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Martin Z Braun, Bloomberg
Mr. Braun may be contacted at mbraun6@bloomberg.net

President Trump Repeals Contractor “Blacklisting” Rule

March 29, 2017 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
Former President Obama’s so-called “Blacklisting” rule was short-lived. On Monday, President Trump signed a joint resolution eliminating the rule, which had required bidders on federal projects with a value in excess of $500K to report state and federal labor and safety violations within the past three years. The Blacklisting rule, also known as the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order 13673, only went into effect in October 2016. 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

Former Owner Not Liable for Defects Discovered After Sale

January 29, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
In a “tentative decision” by Judge Steven Kleifield, Mark Van Peebles and a real estate company have been exonerated “of any liability in a lawsuit involving the sale of the actor’s Playa del Rey condominium, whose buyer says he discovered mold and a flooring defect,” according to the Patch. However, the judge “ordered the Waterfront Homeowners Association to pay Adel Bebawy $26,217 for repair work on the floor and the kitchen as well as civil penalties for not keeping him informed about board meetings.” The suit began in 2009 after Bebawy alleged “he discovered the floor had a severe slope and that there was significant mold in a bathroom,” reported the Patch. Kleifield, however, stated that the mold didn’t affect the condo’s value. Furthermore, Kleifield wrote that the sloping didn’t become an issue until Bebawy began installing a hardwood floor. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of

Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (08/10/22)

August 29, 2022 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
The Senate passes the Inflation Reduction Act, construction costs continue to rise across the U.S., commercial real estate advances the adoption of ESG strategies, and more.

The recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 leaves out the carried interest tax hike, much to the relief of real estate investors worldwide. (Taylor Driscoll, Bisnow)
Commercial real estate continues to push forward ESG strategies, given the significant carbon footprints left by most office buildings. (Ted Jackson, CFO)
“Space as a Service” tech company Neighbor, which re-purposes under-utilized real estate into storage for tenants, hits its stride in the post-pandemic landscape as the excess of unprofitable space rises. (The Real Deal)

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

Designing the Process to Deliver Zero-Carbon Construction – Computational Design in Practice

January 04, 2023 — Peter Debney - AEC Business
Computational Design is generating increasing interest in the construction industry as well as a certain amount of confusion. It is not parametric design; instead it takes parametric design to the next level. It is a set of methods that will define how we design structures over the next decades. With Computational Design, you don’t design the building; you design the automated process to find the best building design. Why use Computational Design? Computational Design is enabling us to create buildings that are far more efficient than we can manage using more traditional methods. Some architects are indeed using it to produce novel building forms, but its great advantage is in helping us towards efficient, zero-carbon construction. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Peter Debney, AEC Business

Balestreri Potocki & Holmes Attorneys Named 2020 Super Lawyers and Rising Star

July 06, 2020 — Balestreri Potocki & Holmes
The law firm of Balestreri Potocki & Holmes is pleased to announce that Shareholders Thomas A. Balestreri, Jr. and Joseph P. Potocki have been selected as 2020 Super Lawyers and Associate Robin H. Smith has been named a 2020 Rising Star. Each year no more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected to receive the honor of being included in the Super Lawyers list and no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers are selected to the Rising Stars list. Balestreri has been selected to the Super Lawyers list in the areas of Construction Litigation. Balestreri has dedicated most of his 30 plus years in practice to the representation of developers, property owners, and general contractors in litigation, negotiations, and risk management. A seasoned trial lawyer, he has tried a number of high exposure cases with great success. Selected as a Super Lawyer in the area of Construction Litigation, Potocki’s practice concentrates on litigation, transactional matters and construction contract drafting and negotiation. His extensive litigation experience involves high-value disputes relating to a wide variety of issues in the real estate, business and construction arenas. Smith has been named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in the area of Civil Litigation. In her varied litigation practice, Smith represents individuals and business entities in complex catastrophic personal injury matters. She also represents employers in labor and employment matters and a variety of businesses, including automobile dealers, in breach of contract, unfair competition, unfair business practices, defamation, and consumer claims. Super Lawyers, a Thompson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys. Balestreri Potocki & Holmes is headquartered in San Diego, California. The firm provides comprehensive counsel to large and small companies across a wide range of established and emerging industries. Balestreri Potocki & Holmes is located in downtown San Diego at 401 B Street, Suite 1470. More information about the firm can be found at: www.bph-law.com. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Balestreri Potocki & Holmes

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES