Happenings in and around the 2015 West Coast Casualty Seminar
May 07, 2015 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFWest Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar returns to the Disneyland Hotel next week (May 14th and 15th), and the Construction Defect Journal has compiled a list of concerts, sporting events, and museum exhibitions taking place in and around Anaheim. Whether you like to spend your personal time checking out a new band, or watching your favorite Angel slide into home, or perusing the local art museum, there is something to spark your interest.
CONCERT VENUES
THE HOUSE OF BLUES IN ANAHEIM
Located in Downtown Disney, The House of Blues in Anaheim is a short walk from the convention hall.
Live Band Karaoke
Wednesday, May 13th Starting at 10pm
No Cover
For More Information...
Rockin’ The Blues with Griff Hamlin
Thursday, May 14th at 10pm
For More Information...
Tyrone Wells
Saturday, May 16th at 7pm
For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...
THE GROVE OF ANAHEIM
Near Angel Stadium, the Grove of Anaheim is just a few miles away from the seminar location.
Ministry
Monday, May 11th Doors Open at 7pm / Show Begins at 8pm
For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...
Kamelot plus Special Guest Dragonforce
Friday, May 15th Doors Open at 7pm / Show Begins at 8pm
For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...
CHAIN REACTION
Attendees can escape to this all-ages club that’s just a ten minute drive from the Disneyland Hotel.
Ice Nine Kills
Wednesday, May 13th at 7pm
For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...
Warped Tour Battle of the Bands
Thursday, May 14th at 7pm
For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...
Manifest Presents
Saturday, May 16th at 7pm
For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...
SPORTING EVENTS
ANGEL’S STADIUM – BASEBALL
Take care of your popcorn-and-peanuts-and-cracker-jacks fix while cheering for the Angel’s—conveniently just a few miles from the Disneyland Hotel.
Angels v. Colorado Rockies
Tuesday, May 12th at 7:05pm
Wednesday, May 13th at 7:05pm
For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
MUZEO
This local museum and cultural center is a short drive from the convention hall.
Cougars and Grizzlies: Sharing their Path
April 18, 2015-September 13th, 2015
Museum Days/Hours: Tuesday – Sunday (Closed Mondays) / 10 am to 5 pm
For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...
BOWERS MUSEUM (Santa Ana)
Voted “The Best Museum in Orange County” by OC Register Readers for 16 consecutive years, this arts and cultural center is worth the fifteen minute drive.
Qi Baishi: China’s Modern Master
April 11th, 2015-July 11th, 2015
Museum Days/Hours: Tuesday – Sunday (Closed Mondays) / 10 am to 4 pm
For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...
Where Ends Meet: A Retrospective of Works by Nancy Ravenhall Johnson
March 13th, 2015-August 16th, 2015
Museum Days/Hours: Tuesday – Sunday (Closed Mondays) / 10 am to 4 pm
For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...
Exhibition: Adams, Curtis, and Weston: Photographers of the American West
May 16th, 2015-November 29th, 2015
Museum Days/Hours: Tuesday – Sunday (Closed Mondays) / 10 am to 4 pm
For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...
Lecture: Adams, Curtis, and Weston: Photographers of the American West
Saturday, May 16th from 1:30pm to 2:30pm
For More Information and to Purchase Tickets...
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How One Squirrel Taught us a Surprising Amount about Insurance Investigation Lessons Learned from the Iowa Supreme Court
April 03, 2019 —
Graham C. Mills - Newmeyer & DillionA recent decision issued by the Iowa Supreme Court, City of West Liberty, Iowa v. Employers Mutual Casualty Company, highlights the importance for a policyholder to investigate a loss fully so that a wide range of evidence can be gathered and presented to show why there is coverage. The facts of City of West Liberty are a little unusual, but its lesson is not limited to Iowa insurance law; the issues litigated in this case show the value of investigating what caused a loss regardless of whether the loss occurred in California, Iowa, or elsewhere.
Background on the Case
City of West Liberty involved an insurance coverage dispute between a municipality owned electrical power plant and its insurance company. The dispute arose from a single adventurous squirrel who climbed onto an outdoor electrical transformer, touching two different parts of the power plant: a portion of the steel frame and a bare cable clamp. In doing so, the squirrel created a “conductive path,” in the words of the Iowa Supreme Court, between the high voltage clamp and the grounded frame. The path, once created, caused significant damage to the transformer and other electrical equipment at the city’s power plant.
The city submitted a claim for the resulting damage, but the insurance company denied it. The insurer denied based on an exclusion in the insurance policy for property damage “caused by arcing or by electrical currents other than lightning.” According to the insurance company, the squirrel had no role in causing the damage; all of the damage resulted from arcing, which was excluded from coverage. The ensuing lawsuit focused upon whether the squirrel had a role in causing the damage. If yes, then there would be coverage according to Iowa insurance law; when a loss results from two causes, one of which is covered and the other is not, then there is coverage if the loss occurs from the covered cause. Due to this legal standard, the city contended that, apart from the arcing causing any damage, the squirrel caused the damage too. Because the insurance policy provided protection against mischievous actions performed by squirrels, the city contended that it was entitled to coverage, even if the excluded arcing contributed to the same damage too. Unfortunately, for the city, the Iowa Supreme Court rejected that argument, finding instead that the property damage resulted only from the arcing, which was excluded from coverage. In reaching its conclusion, the court absolved the squirrel of any wrongdoing, finding that it did not cause any of the property damage.
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Graham C. Mills, Newmeyer & DillionMr. Mills may be contacted at
graham.mills@ndlf.com
Newmeyer & Dillion Attorneys Selected to Best Lawyers in America© Orange County and as Attorneys of the Year 2018
August 17, 2017 —
Newmeyer & Dillion LLPNEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – AUGUST 17, 2017 – Prominent business and real estate law firm Newmeyer & Dillion LLP is pleased to announce that nine of the firm’s attorneys were recently recognized in their respective areas in The Best Lawyers in America© 2018. Two attorneys, Gregory Dillion and Thomas Newmeyer, also have been selected as an Orange County "Lawyer of the Year." Attorneys named to The Best Lawyers in America, include:
| Jason M. Caruso |
Personal Injury Litigation, Product Liability Litigation |
| Michael S. Cucchissi |
Real Estate Law |
| Gregory L. Dillion |
Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Insurance Law, Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Real Estate |
| Jeffrey M. Dennis |
Insurance Law |
| Joseph A. Ferrentino |
Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Real Estate |
| Thomas F. Newmeyer |
Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation – Real Estate |
| John A. O'Hara |
Litigation – Construction |
| Bonnie T. Roadarmel |
Insurance Law |
| Carol Sherman Zaist |
Commercial Litigation |
Additionally, Gregory Dillion was selected as the Orange County Construction Litigation "Lawyer of the Year" and Thomas Newmeyer was selected as the Orange County Construction Law "Lawyer of the Year."
Best Lawyers is the oldest peer-review publication within the legal profession with a history of over 30 years. Attorneys are selected through intensive peer-review surveys in which leading lawyers evaluate their professional peers. Their listings are published in 75 countries worldwide and are recognized for their reliable and unbiased selections. Newmeyer & Dillion is immensely proud of these lawyers and looks forward to their future endeavors.
About Newmeyer & Dillion
For more than 30 years, Newmeyer & Dillion has delivered creative and outstanding legal solutions and trial results for a wide array of clients. With over 70 attorneys practicing in all aspects of business, employment, real estate, construction and insurance law, Newmeyer & Dillion delivers legal services tailored to meet each client’s needs. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with offices in Walnut Creek, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, Newmeyer & Dillion attorneys are recognized by The Best Lawyers in America©, and Super Lawyers as top tier and some of the best lawyers in California, and have been given Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review's AV Preeminent® highest rating. For additional information, call 949-854-7000 or visit www.ndlf.com.
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OSHA’s New Severe Injury and Fatality Reporting Requirements, Are You Ready?
December 31, 2014 —
Craig Martin – Construction Contractor AdvisorLast September, OSHA announced its final rules for reporting severe injuries and fatalities. The new rules take effect on January 1, 2015. Are you ready?
The New Rule Requirements
- OSHA’s severe injury and fatality reporting requirements apply to all employers covered by OSHA, not just those with 10 or more employees.
- All employee work-related fatalities must be reported within 8 hours of the death. The previous rule required reporting only when 3 or more employees suffered a work related fatality.
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Craig Martin, Lamson, Dugan and Murray, LLPMr. Martin may be contacted at
cmartin@ldmlaw.com
Home Builders Wear Many Hats
May 10, 2013 —
CDJ STAFFGeorge McMahan, the president of the West Texas Home Builders Association, writes in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal about what it takes to be a home builder. He notes that “a home builder guides dozens of skilled artisans and professionals,” and must “understand all of the home’s complex systems and know enough about each contractor’s trade in order to coordinate this skilled team to build and sell a quality product.”
Additionally, home builders must “serve as liaisons with their communities and local government officials.” After the site is selected and homes are being built, “a home builder acts as an inspector.” McMahan notes that “a professional home builder will make certain the home meets both code and warranty guidelines long before and after the officials show up.”
“Home builders,” he says, “are schedulers and record keepers.” They have to “tackle multiple tasks simultaneously in order to keep the construction process moving forward.” They “wear many, many hats,” so that they can “deliver a home where the new owners can hang their own hats, raise a family and build lifelong memories.”
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Property Owners Sue San Francisco Over Sinking Sidewalks
June 20, 2022 —
Beverley BevenFlorez – CDJ StaffResidents of the Mission Bay neighborhood seek “to hold the City of San Francisco responsible for raising up the sinking sidewalks” reported
KRON 4. The suit alleges that the city should shoulder the responsibility for the necessary work needed for the infrastructure.
Historically, “the neighborhood around the Chase Center east of Interstate 280 was part of the bay,” according to
SF Gate. Later, “the area was filled with dirt and rock and further filled with rubble after the 1906 earthquake.” In 1998, further development took place. All of the “new occupied buildings in Mission Bay, such as the UCSF campus, the Chase Center and the 6,000 residential units there, are anchored into the bedrock," but "the sidewalks, streets and parks are not, and that's a problem.”
"We're not asking for a handout; we're asking for a hand. We want them to step forward and make the repairs that they can actually implement,"
Scott Mackey, Partner at
Berding | Weil, told
CBS News. "Everyone understood that it's built on fill and built in an area where there would be some settlement. But, there also is an expectation that when the city turns over the infrastructure that that homeowners and property owners have to maintain, is that it's built correctly - that they're able to maintain it. The homeowners cannot continually chase the differential movement.”
Read the full story at KRON 4...
Read the full story at SF Gate...
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Despite Construction Gains, Cement Maker Sees Loss
May 10, 2013 —
CDJ STAFFVulcan Materials, the Birmingham, Alabama-based business that describes itself as the nation’s largest producer of construction aggregates and aggregate-based construction materials, has reported that its losses have increased to $54.8 million in the first quarter of 2013. This was on revenues of $538 million, an increase from the past. The first quarter also saw the company shipping 248,000 tons of material, an increase of fourteen percent over the first quarter of 2012. Losses were attributed to bad weather, lower production volumes, and an increase in costs.
Global Cement quotes Don James, the chairman and CEO of Vulcan, “growth in residential construction activity and its traditional follow-on impact to private non-residential construction underpins our expectations for volume and earnings improvement in 2013.”
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Why You Should Consider “In House Counsel”
September 22, 2016 —
Christopher G. Hill – Construction Law MusingsWe construction lawyers have occasionally taken it on the chin as one of the obstacles in the construction process. However, I have often argued what I believe to be true, that early consultation with a construction lawyer, before problems occur, is a great way for a construction company to avoid issues and to, yes, save money in the long run.
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The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PCMr. Hill may be contacted at
chrisghill@constructionlawva.com
