Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Eleven WSHB Lawyers Honored on List of 2016 Rising Stars

July 28, 2016 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP (WSHB) announced that eleven of their attorneys were recognized on the list of 2016 Rising Stars. According to their press release, “The attorneys honored on the Rising Stars list are 40 years or younger and demonstrate the finest qualities of a good lawyer: first-rate legal skills, preparation, judgment, creativity, dedication and ethics. No more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in each state are named to Rising Stars.” The WSHB lawyers on the list practice out of Southern California, Northern California, the Pacific Northwest, Arizona, and Florida, and include Raymond Babaian, Emil Macasinag, Amy Pennington, Christopher Perez, Keith Smith, Kevin Gillispie, Alicia Kennon, Eugene Zinovyev, Timothyf Repass, Jodi Mullis, and Vincent Beilman. “We are pleased to have 11 of our best selected for this year’s lists,” said Dan Berman, Firm Chairman and Founding Partner. “We value our selections to Rising Stars because the choices come from our peers. It is truly an honor and a validation of all of the great work we do at WSHB.” Read the court decision
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First Circuit Finds No Coverage For Subcontracted Faulty Work

December 17, 2024 — Eric Hermanson & Austin Moody - White and Williams LLP
After almost two years' deliberation, the First Circuit last week issued its long-awaited decision in Admiral Ins. Co. v. Tocci Bldg. Corp.[1]: affirming on other grounds, and leaving in place a district court decision that found subcontracted faulty work was not an "occurrence" and did not lead to covered “property damage” under Massachusetts law. The decision leaves Massachusetts among a number of states where general contractors should not expect coverage from their commercial general liability (CGL) insurers for damage falling within the contractor’s scope of work. Since the "scope of work" – where general contractors are involved – often encompasses an entire project, contractors who want coverage in Massachusetts should take care to make alternative arrangements: transferring risk to subcontractors through indemnity provisions and additional-insured endorsements, or relying on other policy forms where available. Reprinted courtesy of Eric Hermanson, White and Williams LLP and Austin Moody, White and Williams LLP Mr. Hermanson may be contacted at hermansone@whiteandwilliams.com Mr. Moody may be contacted at moodya@whiteandwilliams.com Read the court decision
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Fifth Circuit Holds Insurer Owes Duty to Defend Latent Condition Claim That Caused Fire Damage to Property Years After Construction Work

October 05, 2020 — Jeremy S. Macklin - Traub Lieberman Insurance Law Blog
Most general liability policies only provide coverage for “property damage” that occurs during the policy period. Thus, when analyzing coverage for a construction defect claim, it is important to ascertain the date on which damage occurred. Of course, the plaintiffs’ bar crafts pleadings to be purposefully vague as to the date (or period) of damage to property. A recent Fifth Circuit decision applying Texas law addresses this coverage issue in the context of allegations of a condition created by an insured during the policy period that caused damage after the policy expired. In Gonzalez v. Mid-Continent Cas. Co., 969 F.3d 554 (5th Cir. 2020), Gilbert Gonzales (the insured) was a siding contractor. In 2013, the underlying plaintiff hired Gonzales to install new siding on his house. In 2016, the underlying plaintiff’s house was damaged in a fire. The underlying plaintiff sued Gilbert in Texas state court alleging that when Gonzalez installed the siding in 2013, he hammered nails through electrical wiring and created a dangerous condition that caused a fire three years later in 2016. At the time Gilbert performed construction work, he was insured by Mid-Continent Casualty Company. Mid-Continent disclaimed coverage to Gonzales on the basis that the complaint unequivocally alleged that property was damaged in 2016 and there were no allegations that property damage occurred prior to 2016 or was continuing in nature. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jeremy S. Macklin, Traub Lieberman
Mr. Macklin may be contacted at jmacklin@tlsslaw.com

Gain in Home Building Points to Sustained U.S. Growth

October 22, 2014 — Michelle Jamrisko and Danielle Trubow – Bloomberg
Builders started work on more homes in September and American consumers this month were the most optimistic in seven years, signaling the U.S. economy will ride out a global slowdown. Housing starts climbed 6.3 percent to a 1.02 million annualized rate from a 957,000 pace in August as multifamily and single-family projects advanced, the Commerce Department reported today in Washington. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary sentiment index for October increased to 86.4, the strongest since July 2007, another report showed. Gains in residential construction will help underpin the economic expansion as the recent drop in mortgage rates lifts home sales and gives builders reason to take on more projects. Other figures showing factory production rebounded last month and claims for jobless benefits dropped last week to the lowest level in 14 years added to evidence the turbulence in global markets has yet to depress the world’s largest economy. Ms. Jamrisko may be contacted at mjamrisko@bloomberg.net; Ms. Trubow may be contacted at dtrubow@bloomberg.net Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michelle Jamrisko and Danielle Trubow, Bloomberg

HP Unveils Cheaper, 3-D Printing System to Spur Sales

November 05, 2014 — Jack Clark - Bloomberg
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) unveiled a new 3-D-capable computer and speedier 3-D printer technology as it prepares to spin off its personal-computer and printer businesses into a stand-alone company. The company today introduced Sprout, an $1,899 computer that lets people scan and manipulate 2-D and 3-D objects. It will be available early next month online and in some U.S. stores. Hewlett-Packard also said new 3-D printer technology will make the process cheaper and faster than competitors. The Palo Alto, California-based company is betting that 3-D technology will help revitalize sales and spur growth in the printer industry. More than 2.3 million 3-D printers will ship in 2018, up from about 108000 this year, according to researcher Gartner Inc. Earlier this month, Hewlett-Packard said it would split into two companies by late 2015, with one focused on corporate hardware services and the other -- dubbed HP Inc. -- on PCs and printers. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jack Clark, Bloomberg
Mr. Clark may be contacted at jclark185@bloomberg.net

Commercial Construction Lenders Rejoice: The Pennsylvania Legislature Provides a Statutory fix for the “Kessler” Decision

July 16, 2014 — Thomas C. Rogers – White and Williams LLP
In May 2012, the Pennsylvania Superior Court rendered its now infamous “Kessler” decision. The Kessler decision resulted in fundamental changes in the operation of the Pennsylvania Mechanics Lien Act as it applied to construction loans where the visible commencement of work on the project commenced before the recordation of the construction loan’s open-end mortgage. Essentially, the Kessler decision held that if the visible commence of work on the project began prior to the recording of the open-end mortgage and any loan advances were made other than for what are commonly considered “hard construction” costs, then any unpaid contractors and subcontractors who later filed mechanics’ liens would have their liens take priority over the lien of all of the construction loan advances. Subsequent to the Kessler decision, both the lending and title insurance communities in Pennsylvania have struggled mightily to structure deals around the problems created by Kessler and to provide lenders with title insurance coverage for construction loans when work commenced before the recordation of the open-end mortgage. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Thomas C. Rogers, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Rogers may be contacted at rogerst@whiteandwilliams.com

NTSB Issues 'Urgent' Recommendations After Mass. Pipeline Explosions

November 28, 2018 — Tom Ichniowski – Engineering News-Record
The National Transportation Safety Board has issued urgent safety recommendations in the wake of September’s natural-gas explosions and fires in the Merrimack Valley area of Massachusetts that killed one person and resulted in at least 21 others, including two firefighters, going to the hospital. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tom Ichniowski, ENR
Mr. Ichniowski may be contacted at ichniowskit@enr.com

That’s What I have Insurance For, Right?

December 31, 2014 — Craig Martin – Construction Contractor Advisor
Ah, the age old question, What does my insurance really cover? A federal court in Georgia recently weighed in on this issue in Standard Contractors, Inc. v. National Trust Insurance Company, and ruled that a contractor’s commercial general liability insurer did not have to pay for damage caused by a subcontractor. Standard Contractors was hired to renovate the pool on an army base. Standard hired a subcontractor to for design and installation work. The subcontractor’s work was subpar in that the subcontractor omitted a number of parts, installed the wrong parts, and caused more than $400,000 in damage to the pool. Standard submitted a claim to its insurer seeking coverage for the loss under its commercial general liability policy. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Craig Martin, Lamson, Dugan and Murray, LLP
Mr. Martin may be contacted at cmartin@ldmlaw.com

CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES