Brazil World Cup Soccer Crisis Deepens With Eighth Worker Death
May 13, 2014 —
Tariq Panja – BloombergBrazil’s troubled World Cup staging efforts suffered another setback today following the electrocution death of a worker at one of the stadiums still under construction.
Mohammed Ali, 32, was killed while working in the Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba, said Renata Martins, a spokeswoman for the state of Mato Grosso, where the venue is located.
Ali’s death is the eighth construction related fatality at Brazil’s 12 World Cup venues and comes 35 days before the tournament opens on June 12 in Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena, another facility where work remains. The Cuiaba stadium, which will host four games starting with Chile playing Australia on June 13, is still missing 5,000 seats.
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Tariq Panja, BloombergMr. Panja may be contacted at
tpanja@bloomberg.net
Negligence Claim Not Barred by Gist of the Action Doctrine
February 18, 2015 —
Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law HawaiiThe Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that the insureds' negligence claim survived because it was not based upon breach of a duty created by the policy, but upon the alleged breach of a duty imposed by tort law. Bruno v. Erie Ins. Co,, 2014 Pa. LEXIS 3319 (Dec. 15, 2014).
After purchasing their home, the insureds obtained a homeowner's policy from Erie. A separate endorsement covered loss to the property caused by "fungi," which was included as any form of mold. The endorsement obligated Erie to pay up to $5,000 for loss caused by mold. The policy required Erie to pay the cost of testing the air to confirm the absence or presence of mold. If mold was present, Erie was to pay for the cost of removal, including the cost of tearing out any part of the property needed to gain access to the mold.
While renovating the basement, the insureds discovered two areas of black mold in close proximity to leaking water pipes. Erie was notified and sent an adjuster to view the mold. The adjuster took no action, but returned a couple of days later with an engineer. The adjuster and engineer informed the insureds that the mold was harmless and that health problems associated with mold were a media frenzy and overblown.
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Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law HawaiiMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Revisiting Statutory Offers to Compromise
August 28, 2023 —
Kathryne Baldwin - Wilke FleuryThe fourth appellate district published an opinion earlier this year in Smalley v. Subaru of America, Inc. (2022) 87 Cal.App.5th 450 that serves as an excellent refresher on requirements of the “998 Offer,” or a statutory offer to compromise pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) §998.
In Smalley, set in the context of a Lemon Law action, Defendant Subaru made a 998 Offer for $35,001.00, together with attorneys’ fees and costs totaling either $10,000.00 or costs and reasonably incurred attorneys’ fees, in an amount to be determined by the Court. (Smalley, supra, 87 Cal.App.5th at 454.) Plaintiff objected that the offer was not reasonable and the case proceeded to trial. At trial, a jury found in favor of Plaintiff and awarded him a total judgment award of $27,555.74 – far short of the $35,001.00 offer. The trial court found Plaintiff had failed to beat the 998 at trial and that Subaru’s earlier 998 offer was reasonable. Plaintiff appealed the post-judgment order awarding Plaintiff pre-offer costs and Defendant post-offer costs on the grounds that the 998 was not reasonable in that it did not specify whether Plaintiff would be deemed the prevailing party for purposes of a motion for attorneys’ fees. The fourth district affirmed the trial court’s order and engaged in a helpful review of 998 requirements.
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Kathryne Baldwin, Wilke FleuryMs. Baldwin may be contacted at
kbaldwin@wilkefleury.com
Elyria, Ohio, to Invest $250M to Halt Illegal Sewage into Black River
December 18, 2022 —
Jim Parsons - Engineering News-RecordElyria, Ohio, will invest nearly $250 million in capital improvement projects over the next 20 years to eliminate longstanding discharges of untreated sewage into the Black River, 10 miles upstream from Lake Erie. The plan is part of a consent decree negotiated with federal and state regulators following more than 1,000 illegal discharges from the city's sewer system into the river or its tributaries since 2011.
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Jim Parsons, Engineering News-Record
ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com
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Florida Supreme Court Adopts Federal Summary Judgment Standard, Substantially Conforming Florida’s Rule 1.510 to Federal Rule 56
June 07, 2021 —
Lewis BrisboisEffective May 1, 2021, the Florida courts will transition to a new summary judgment standard meant to “align Florida’s summary judgment standard with that of the federal courts and of the supermajority of states that have already adopted the federal summary judgment standard.” In re Amends. to Fla. Rule of Civ. Pro. 1.510, 309 So. 3d 192, 192 (Fla. 2020). Consistent with this amendment, Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510 has been amended to adopt the federal summary judgment rule, with exceptions for timing-related issues. The Florida Supreme Court’s most recent opinion on rule 1.510 and the text of new rule 1.510 can be found here.
As background, on December 31, 2020, the Florida Supreme Court adopted the federal summary judgment standard by amending Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510(c) to include the following sentence: “The summary judgment standard provided for in this rule shall be construed and applied in accordance with the federal summary judgment standard articulated in Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1976); and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574 (1986) [(the ‘Celotex trilogy’)].” In re Amends. to Fla. Rule of Civ. Pro. 1.510, 309 So. 3d at 196. The court’s amendment was slated to take effect on May 1, 2021, subject to a public comment period. The court also sought guidance from the Florida Bar’s Civil Procedure Rules Committee. After careful consideration of numerous responses, the court ultimately chose to adopt the substance of the text from federal rule 56. Along with its amendments, the court provides substantial guidance as to how the Florida courts and practitioners should interpret the new rule. A summary of the court’s thorough discussion follows.
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Lewis Brisbois
New Orleans Drainage System Recognized as Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
May 29, 2023 —
The American Society of Civil EngineersNEW ORLEANS, La. – The
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) today recognized the New Orleans Drainage System in New Orleans, Louisiana as a
Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The project was innovative and largely unprecedented for its time, and the first portions came online in the year 1900. The system now consists of 22 drainage pumping stations and 1,200 miles of network drains, as well as green infrastructure elements to manage stormwater runoff. The infrastructure is largely credited for making the existence of New Orleans possible, and the improved drainage and reduction in standing water contributed to better public health and reduced the number of malaria and typhoid deaths in the early 20th century.
New Orleans' position near the mouth of the Mississippi River made it a vital city for trade and commerce in the U.S. economy since the early 1800s, despite its problematic natural environment. The city was perched along the banks of the Mississippi River and next to Lake Pontchartrain, surrounded by swamps. Improvements to levee systems prevented the city from being inundated with flooding from the river, but rainfall became a pervasive issue as the city's population grew in the 1870s.
The drainage system was first proposed in 1876 to replace primitive "drainage machines," steam-powered paddle wheels that moved water runoff into canals that led to Lake Pontchartrain. The existing system was inefficient and could not handle the frequent, heavy tropical rain New Orleans experiences and could not lift water sufficiently to drain the city. After several proposals, construction on the current drainage system started in 1897, and the first portions of the system came online in 1900. The system drains stormwater through pipes and canals to reach drainage pump stations which expel the water into several bodies of water surrounding the city. Engineers have repeatedly expanded and enlarged the drainage system, including a massive investment in the drainage system authorized by the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project and approved by Congress in 1996. The Sewerage and Water Board's green infrastructure plan is a critical partner and complement to the drainage system today.
The New Orleans Drainage System's design has inspired water management system design in communities around America and worldwide. In Southeastern Florida, water management systems using pumps and canals divert excess water away from heavily populated areas during heavy rain, including tropical storms and hurricanes. Engineers in Kolkata, India and Shanghai, China have also used drainage and pumping systems like the ones in New Orleans to assist with water management.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation's infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel.
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New Executive Order: Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All
May 08, 2023 —
Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2GavelThe White House has released the text of the President’s new Executive Order strengthening the Federal Government’s commitment to taking new actions to enhance and promote environmental justice. The Order was published in the Federal Register on April 26, 2023 at 88 FR 25251. President Clinton’s pioneering 1994 Executive Order remains effective, but the Federal Government must, as part of a whole-of-government approach to environmental justice, “build upon and strengthen its commitment to deliver environmental justice to all communities across America.”
Unlike that Order, this Order defines “environmental justice.” For purposes of this new Order, “environmental justice” takes into account all adverse human health and environmental effects and hazards, including those related to climate change, the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens, and the legacy of racism or other structural or systematic barriers, and ensures equitable access to a healthy, sustainable and resilient environment in which to live, play, work, learn, worship and engage in cultural and subsistence practices.
“Federal activity” is now broadly defined as “any agency rulemaking, guidance, policy, program, practice or action that affects or has the potential to affect human health and the environment, including any agency action related to climate change.” This Order references the seven previous Executive Orders devoted to climate change, clean energy and the Inflation Reduction Act.
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Anthony B. Cavender, PillsburyMr. Cavender may be contacted at
anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com
David M. McLain to Speak at the CLM Claims College - School of Construction - Scholarships Available
July 28, 2016 —
David M. McLain – Colorado Construction LitigationI am happy to have been asked to serve as an instructor at this year's CLM Claims College – School of Construction, to be held at the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront in Baltimore, Maryland on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 through Saturday, September 10, 2016.
Overview of the 2016 School of Construction
Construction claims present myriad complexities in claim handling. Construction defect lawsuits are often multi-party cases with cross claims and third-party claims between and among the numerous defendants. Insurance coverage is intertwined and complex due to the interplay of primary, excess, wrap, and additional insurers for the numerous defendants. All this is further complicated by statutes and regulations, inconsistent case law and procedural peculiarities throughout the United States. The economic stakes are high as the damages claims can be in the multi-millions.
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David M. McLain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLCMr. McLain may be contacted at
mclain@hhmrlaw.com