BERT HOWE
  • Nationwide: (800) 482-1822    
    concrete tilt-up building expert Seattle Washington casino resort building expert Seattle Washington high-rise construction building expert Seattle Washington hospital construction building expert Seattle Washington condominiums building expert Seattle Washington office building building expert Seattle Washington landscaping construction building expert Seattle Washington low-income housing building expert Seattle Washington custom homes building expert Seattle Washington Subterranean parking building expert Seattle Washington structural steel construction building expert Seattle Washington parking structure building expert Seattle Washington townhome construction building expert Seattle Washington retail construction building expert Seattle Washington Medical building building expert Seattle Washington condominium building expert Seattle Washington housing building expert Seattle Washington industrial building building expert Seattle Washington institutional building building expert Seattle Washington production housing building expert Seattle Washington mid-rise construction building expert Seattle Washington tract home building expert Seattle Washington
    Seattle Washington civil engineering expert witnessSeattle Washington construction scheduling and change order evaluation expert witnessSeattle Washington construction project management expert witnessSeattle Washington soil failure expert witnessSeattle Washington construction expert testimonySeattle Washington roofing construction expertSeattle Washington building code compliance expert witness
    Arrange No Cost Consultation
    Building Expert Builders Information
    Seattle, Washington

    Washington Builders Right To Repair Current Law Summary:

    Current Law Summary: (SB 5536) The legislature passed a contractor protection bill that reduces contractors' exposure to lawsuits to six years from 12, and gives builders seven "affirmative defenses" to counter defect complaints from homeowners. Claimant must provide notice no later than 45 days before filing action; within 21 days of notice of claim, "construction professional" must serve response; claimant must accept or reject inspection proposal or settlement offer within 30 days; within 14 days following inspection, construction pro must serve written offer to remedy/compromise/settle; claimant can reject all offers; statutes of limitations are tolled until 60 days after period of time during which filing of action is barred under section 3 of the act. This law applies to single-family dwellings and condos.


    Building Expert Contractors Licensing
    Guidelines Seattle Washington

    A license is required for plumbing, and electrical trades. Businesses must register with the Secretary of State.


    Building Expert Contractors Building Industry
    Association Directory
    MBuilders Association of King & Snohomish Counties
    Local # 4955
    335 116th Ave SE
    Bellevue, WA 98004

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Home Builders Association of Kitsap County
    Local # 4944
    5251 Auto Ctr Way
    Bremerton, WA 98312

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Home Builders Association of Spokane
    Local # 4966
    5813 E 4th Ave Ste 201
    Spokane, WA 99212

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Home Builders Association of North Central
    Local # 4957
    PO Box 2065
    Wenatchee, WA 98801

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    MBuilders Association of Pierce County
    Local # 4977
    PO Box 1913 Suite 301
    Tacoma, WA 98401

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    North Peninsula Builders Association
    Local # 4927
    PO Box 748
    Port Angeles, WA 98362
    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Jefferson County Home Builders Association
    Local # 4947
    PO Box 1399
    Port Hadlock, WA 98339

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10


    Building Expert News and Information
    For Seattle Washington


    Summary Findings of the Fourth National Climate Assessment

    What Construction Contractors Should Know About the California Government Claims Act

    Florida Extends Filing Time for Claims Subject to the Statute of Repose

    Still Going, After All This Time: the Sacketts, EPA and the Clean Water Act

    Haight has been named a Metropolitan Los Angeles Tier 1 “Best Law Firm” in four practice areas and Tier 2 in one practice area by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” in 2021

    Construction Defect Litigation in Nevada Called "Out of Control"

    U.S. Home Prices Climbed 0.1% in July as Gains Slowed

    The Requirement to State a “Sum Certain” No Longer a Jurisdictional Bar to Government Contract Claims

    Superior Court Of Pennsylvania Holds That CASPA Does Not Allow For Individual Claims Against A Property Owner’s Principals Or Shareholders

    Direct Contractors In California Should Take Steps Now To Reduce Exposure For Unpaid Wages By Subcontractors

    A Closer Look at an HOA Board Member’s Duty to Homeowners

    A New Perspective on Mapping Construction Sites with the Crane Camera System

    Court Requires Adherence to “Good Faith and Fair Dealing” in Construction Defect Coverage

    CEB’s Mechanics Liens and Related Remedies – 2014 Update

    Recent Florida Legislative Changes Shorten Both Statute of Limitation ("SOL") and Statute of Repose ("SOR") for Construction Defect Claims

    “I Didn’t Sign That!” – Applicability of Waivers of Subrogation to Non-Signatory Third Parties

    Showdown Over Landmark Housing Law Looms at U.S. Supreme Court

    Seeking Better Peer Reviews After the FIU Bridge Collapse

    Where Did That Punch List Term Come From Anyway?

    Where Mechanic’s Liens and Contracts Collide

    Legal Risks of Green Building

    Private Statutory Cause of Action Under Florida’s Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act

    Construction and AI: What Contractors Need to Know from ABC’s New Report

    DC Circuit Upholds EPA’s Latest RCRA Recycling Rule

    Just Because You Allege There Was an Oral Contract Doesn’t Mean You’re Off the Hook for Attorneys’ Fees if you Lose

    Playing Hot Potato: Indemnity Strikes Again

    Release Language Extended To Successor Entity But Only Covered “Known” Claims

    Florida County Suspends Impact Fees to Spur Development

    “To Indemnify, or Not to Indemnify, that is the Question: California Court of Appeal Addresses Active Negligence in Indemnity Provisions”

    Damage Control: Major Rebuilds After Major Weather Events

    KF-103 v. American Family Mutual Insurance: An Exception to the Four Corners Rule

    Updated: Happenings in and around the West Coast Casualty Seminar

    Biden Administration Issues Buy America Guidance for Federal Infrastructure Funds

    Third Circuit Holds That Duty to Indemnify "Follows" Duty to Defend

    Buyers Are Flocking to NYC’s Suburbs. Too Bad There Aren’t Many Homes to Sell.

    Will Millennial’s Desire for Efficient Spaces Kill the McMansion?

    Recommencing Construction on a Project due to a Cessation or Abandonment

    End of an Era: Los Angeles County Superior Court Closes the Personal Injury Hub

    Pulte’s Kitchen Innovation Throw Down

    Waiving Workers’ Compensation Immunity for Indemnity: Demystifying a Common and Scary-Looking Contract Term

    Brief Discussion of Enforceability of Anti-Indemnity Statutes in California

    NYC Design Firm Executives Plead Guilty in Pay-to-Play Scheme

    Ohio Condo Development Case Filed in 2011 is Scheduled for Trial

    The Unwavering Un-waivable Implied Warranty of Workmanship and Habitability in Arizona

    Practical Pointers for Change Orders on Commercial Construction Contracts

    Second Circuit Upholds Constitutionality of NY’s Zero Emissions Credit Program

    Expired Contract Not Revived Due to Sovereign Immunity and the Ex Contractu Clause

    Do You Have the Receipt? Pennsylvania Court Finds Insufficient Evidence That Defendant Sold the Product

    Recent Third Circuit OSHA Decision Sounds Alarm for Employers and Their Officers

    Connecticut Grapples With Failing Concrete Foundations
    Corporate Profile

    SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
    DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

    Leveraging from more than 7,000 construction defect and claims related expert witness designations, the Seattle, Washington Building Expert Group provides a wide range of trial support and consulting services to Seattle's most acknowledged construction practice groups, CGL carriers, builders, owners, and public agencies. Drawing from a diverse pool of construction and design professionals, BHA is able to simultaneously analyze complex claims from the perspective of design, engineering, cost, or standard of care.

    Building Expert News & Info
    Seattle, Washington

    Construction Firm Settles Suit Over 2012 Calif. Wildfire

    January 15, 2019 —
    SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Officials say a construction company and a logging firm have collectively agreed to pay $9 million for damages resulting from a 2012 wildfire that burned more than 1,600 acres of national forest land in Northern California. The U.S. Attorney's office in Sacramento says Monday that the agreement settles a lawsuit brought by the federal government against Kernen Construction and Bundy & Sons Logging. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Engineering News-Record
    ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com

    Nondelegable Duties

    June 04, 2024 —
    Have you heard the expression “nondelegable duty”? The issue of a nondelegable duty comes into play when a party hires an independent contractor and the independent contractor commits negligence, primarily in the personal injury context. In other words, a plaintiff wants to hold a defendant liable for the injuries caused by the defendant’s independent contractor. A nondelegable duty is one that “may be imposed by statute, contract, or the common law. In determining whether a duty is nondelegable, the question is whether the responsibility at issue is so important to the community that an employer should not be allowed to transfer it to a third party.” Garcia v. Southern Cleaning Service, Inc., 360 So.3d 1209, 1211 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023) (internal citation omitted). When it comes to CONTRACTUAL duties:
    [S]pecifically the principle that one who undertakes by contract to do for another a given thing cannot excuse himself to the other for a faulty performance by showing that he hired someone else to perform the task and that other person was the one at fault. In other words, where the contracting party makes it her or his duty to perform a task, that party cannot escape liability for the damage caused to the other contracting party by the negligence of independent contractors hired to carry out the task.
    Gordon v. Sanders, 692 So.2d 939, 941 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997).
    Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
    Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

    Breach of a Construction Contract & An Equitable Remedy?

    September 22, 2016 —
    In payment or collection-type lawsuits, the party suing for money sometimes asserts a claim for unjust enrichment or quantum meruit as an alternative equitable remedy to a breach of contract claim. Frankly, sometimes a party will do this as a means to throw everything against the wall hoping something, just something, sticks. However, if there is a contract by and between the parties, equitable claims such as unjust enrichment or quantum meruit will invariably fail. They will fail because a party cannot circumvent a contract simply because their recourse may prove better under an equitable theory. It doesn’t work like that! And, it should not! Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of David M. Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
    Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

    Zell Says Homeownership Rate to Fall as Marriages Delayed

    April 30, 2014 —
    The U.S. homeownership rate may fall to as low as 55 percent because more Americans are choosing to rent as they postpone getting married and having children, said Sam Zell, chairman of landlord Equity Residential. Demographic and lifestyle changes, more than economic factors, are driving down the ownership rate over the long term, Zell said yesterday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California. As of 2010, about 54 percent of adults were married, down from 57 percent a decade earlier, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “The deferral of marriage has such a staggering impact on real estate and I just don’t think people focus on it,” said Zell, 72, whose Chicago-based Equity Residential is the largest U.S. apartment landlord. “I don’t think the multifamily market has ever had a better set of future demographics.” Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of John Gittelsohn, Bloomberg
    Mr. Gittelsohn may be contacted at johngitt@bloomberg.net

    Legal Battle Kicks Off to Minimize Baltimore Bridge Liabilities

    May 06, 2024 —
    The owner of the ship that destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the indefinite closure of the port a week ago, is seeking to limit its liability to about $44 million. According to reporting by my Bloomberg News colleagues citing legal experts, the company — Grace Ocean — could face hundreds of millions of dollars in damage claims. On Monday it filed a petition jointly with Synergy Marine, which was operating the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali. They claim the collapse of the bridge was “not due to any fault, neglect, or want of care” of the companies and that they shouldn’t be held liable for any loss or damage from the disaster. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Brendan Murray, Bloomberg

    How Long does a Florida Condo Association Have to File a Construction Defect Claim?

    September 17, 2014 —
    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
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of

    The Role of Code Officials in the Design-Build Process

    November 16, 2023 —
    Building codes are an integral part of the design-build process, but what role do building code professionals play throughout that process? Kevin McOsker, vice president of technology services for the government relations department at the International Code Council, breaks it down, from basic design to groundbreaking ideas to incorporating new technology and retrofitting older builds. McOsker, whose experience includes serving as building official for the city of Las Vegas, is no stranger to striking architecture and the safety protocols that go along with it. He believes that safety protocol starts before the contractors begin building and that contractors should be involved throughout the entire journey. Reprinted courtesy of Grace Calengor, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of

    Be a Good Neighbor: Techniques to Mitigate the Risk of Claims from Adjacent Landowners

    December 07, 2020 —
    In May 2020, a real estate developer performing excavation work in New York was sued by a neighboring property owner for property damage. A court overturned an injunction preventing the developer from continuing excavation work after reviewing a preconstruction assessment that showed the damage to the neighboring property was preexisting—not caused by the excavation (see Feldman v. 3588 Nostrand Ave. LLC as an example) A preconstruction assessment is one of the most important tools in the arsenal of a developer protecting itself from neighbors bringing claims for property damage. Part two of this series will review the benefits of risk mitigation tools recommended for developers such as postconstruction assessments and monitoring during construction. Preconstruction Assessment Overview A preconstruction assessment is a review of a property adjacent to a site where demolition and/or construction activities are to take place. The goal of the assessment is to establish baseline conditions by conducting an inspection of buildings and infrastructure, including identification of existing damage to improvements, so that causation of any alleged damages can be more easily determined. Reprinted courtesy of Joshua Levy, Josh Neudorfer & Madeleine Bailey, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Mr. Levy may be contacted at joshua.levy@huschblackwell.com Mr. Neudorfer may be contacted at jneudorfer@thesigmagroup.com Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of