Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Buy a House or Pay Off College? $1.2 Trillion Student Debt Heats Up in Capital

June 11, 2014 — Janet Lorin – Bloomberg
Jennifer Day spends 12 percent of her monthly take-home pay on debt that funded a master’s degree in urban and regional planning, money she’d rather be saving toward a home. “I spend $364 a month for student loans,” said Day, 33, who conducts market research for the hospitality industry at a consulting firm in New Orleans. “To me, that is a down payment or ultimately savings down the line.” Under legislation sponsored by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Day would save about $75 a month on her payments. The bill, which could come up for a vote on the Senate floor as soon as tomorrow, would let 25 million borrowers with federal and private loans refinance their balances at lower interest rates, according to Education Department estimates. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Janet Lorin, Bloomberg
Ms. Lorin may be contacted at jlorin@bloomberg.net

1 De Haro: A Case Study on Successful Cross-Laminated Timber Design and Construction in San Francisco

November 06, 2023 — Cait Horner, Adam J. Weaver & Allan C. Van Vliet - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
At the intersection of San Francisco’s SOMA, Potrero Hill and Showplace Square districts, a first-of-its-kind building offers an example of the potential widespread success of mass timber construction in the United States. 1 De Haro, a 134,000-square-foot, 4-story office and light industrial project built by Bay Area developer SKS Partners is not only the first cross-laminated timber (CLT) building in the San Francisco, it is also the first multistory mass timber building of its type to be fully executed in California and the first CLT project in the United States to be delivered via railways. We recently sat down with Yvonne Fisher and Lee Ishida of SKS to discuss the unique design process, marketing success and overall industry buzz surrounding one of their latest projects. Reprinted courtesy of Cait Horner, Pillsbury, Adam J. Weaver, Pillsbury and Allan C. Van Vliet, Pillsbury Ms. Horner may be contacted at cait.horner@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Weaver may be contacted at adam.weaver@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Van Vliet may be contacted at allan.vanvliet@pillsburylaw.com Read the court decision
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Construction Defects Checklist

July 18, 2018 — Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara
Construction defects have existed since humans first began building structures, and will continue to be an occurrence into the future. For builder developers, contractors, and subcontractors, the specter of construction defects is a constant worry. Construction defect litigation is commonplace and can occur years after the construction project has been completed. This opens up an ongoing channel of risk and liability for construction contractors and project managers that are at risk of litigation far after they have completed a project. In this article, we’ll provide a helpful construction defects checklist that outlines the key avenues of risk and areas where construction defects litigation is most often focused. This checklist can help project managers, contractors, and subcontractors anticipate areas of their projects that may need extra attention or focus in order to ensure that they adhere to relevant local and state construction ordinances. Gaining a greater understanding of what construction defects are can provide insight into how construction litigation can prove beneficial for structure owners or contractors who received substandard work. Many clients may not understand that they have an avenue to seek redress in cases where faulty workmanship may have resulted in economic damages or safety concerns in their home, building, or another construction project. Understanding the scope of what a construction defect is, and the areas that are most commonly litigated is helpful to understand when construction defect litigation is a viable option to pursue redress. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara

What to Do Before OSHA Comes Knocking

December 19, 2018 — Parker Rains - Construction Executive
Every year, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspects workplaces around the country for safety and occupational hazards. In 2017 alone, OSHA conducted 32,408 inspections – more than half of which were unprogrammed inspections. There are six reasons OSHA might come knocking on the door. They are (in order of priority):

imminent danger situations;
severe injuries and illnesses;
worker complaints;
referrals;
targeted inspections; and
follow-up inspections.

Reprinted courtesy of Parker Rains, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Mr. Rains may be contacted at prains@fbbins.com

Dealing with Abandoned Property After Foreclosure

April 10, 2019 — Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
California landlords must follow very specific steps before disposing of property that is clearly abandoned, left on real estate which has been the subject of court proceedings such as eviction or foreclosure, or otherwise left behind. Following the statutory procedures relating to abandoned property protects landlords from potential liability for an improper “conversion.” Former tenants/owners and others “reasonably believed” to be owners of the apparently abandoned personal property must be given proper written notice of the right to reclaim the abandoned property. The tenant is presumed to be the owner of any “records” remaining on the property. The California Code of Civil Procedure provides a template for such notice. The notice to be provided to former tenants/owners must be in “substantially” the same form provided in the California Code of Civil Procedure and must contain the following information:

A description of the abandoned property in a manner reasonably adequate to permit the owner of the property to identify it;
The location where the tenant can claim the property;
The time frame that the tenant has to claim the property. The date specified in the notice shall be a date not less than fifteen (15) days after the notice is personally delivered or, if mailed, not less than eighteen (18) days after the notice is deposited in the mail;
A statement that reasonable storage costs will be charged to the tenant/owner and the tenant/owner must pay those costs before claiming the property; and

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Reprinted courtesy of Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

Ceiling Collapse Attributed to Construction Defect

May 19, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

WSMV, Nashville reports that the ceiling collapse in a Franklin, Tennessee Kohl’s was attributed to a construction defect by fire officials. The officials noted that the ceiling was renovated at the time. No injuries were reported.

The report notes that “inspectors were supposed to look at the renovations next week, but fire officials said that will have to be delayed until another time.”

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Are Construction Defect Claims Covered Under CGL Policies?

January 27, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Courts have ruled differently as to whether a construction defect is or is not an “occurrence,” according to the publication Business Insurance. Four states—Colorado, Arkansas, Hawaii and South Carolina—have sought to remove ambiguity by passing statutes that define construction defect claims as occurrences. Colorado, the first state to create such a statue, passed H. B. 10-1394 in May 2010. The state legislature passed the statute “because of the complex and lengthy endorsements and exclusions facing construction professionals, according to the bill” reported Business Insurance. The article stated that “incongruous court decisions over whether construction defect claims are covered under CGL policies continue to drive uncertainty in coverage and increase litigation costs.” Read the court decision
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An Upward Trend in Commercial Construction?

March 28, 2012 — Melissa Brumback, Construction Law in North Carolina

Year-end economic indicators demonstrate that private commercial construction may be increasing in 2012, primarily as demand grows for new projects built in the United States.

According to an article in Businessweek, the Architecture Billings Index held at 52 in December, indicating a modest expansion in the market. The American Institute of Architects said that the commercial and industrial component of the number climbed to 54.1 in December, the highest in 10 months.

The monthly survey of U.S.-based architecture firms is one of the main indicators of nonresidential construction, and these numbers suggest that modest improvement may be on the horizon.

The information is confirmed by data from the Census Bureau that shows that spending on lodging, office, commercial and manufacturing buildings grew 8.2 percent in November to $9.2 billion from a year ago. These types of commercial and industrial projects are historically canaries in the mine and are usually the first part of the industry to improve as the economy expands.