Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Additional Insured Not Entitled to Reimbursement of Defense Costs Paid by Other Insurers

October 21, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
Con Edison ("Con Ed") was unsuccessful in arguing for defense costs that had already been paid by other insurers. Consol. Edison Co. of N.Y. v. Lexington Ins. Co., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121573 (S.D. N.Y. Sept. 9, 2015). Team, Inc. was under contract with Con Ed to provide repairs to the steam system running below the streets of New York City. The contract required Team to indemnify Con Ed for all claims resulting from personal injury or property damage connected to Team's work. Team also obtained a CGL policy naming Con Ed as an additional insured. The policy was to provide primary coverage. Any insured was responsible for the first $250,000 of costs for investigation and/or defense. On July 1, 2007, a steam distribution main, on which Team had finished working, ruptured, creating a huge crater and sending steam and debris, including asbestos insulation, into the surrounding area. The rupture caused substantial damage to nearby buildings, vehicles and underground infrastructure. It also caused personal injury, including two individuals in a tow truck that fell into the crater and a woman who suffered a fatal heart attack while running from the explosion. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Shaken? Stirred? A Primer on License Bond Claims in California

July 14, 2016 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
Shaken? Stirred? A bit hot under the tuxedo collar perhaps? Maybe it’s time for a martini. Or two. When your project’s a mess, your contractor isn’t returning your calls, and you don’t have a license to kill it’s only natural that you would want to go after that other license: the contractor’s license bond. However, except for smaller claims, or situations where you discover that the contractor is or might be judgment-proof, going after a contractor’s license bond isn’t necessarily the panacea many might hope it to be. Read on to learn why. What is a license bond? First, a license bond is not insurance. While insurance is typically limited to property damage and personal injury, a license bond covers a contractor’s violation of the Contractors State License Law. All California contractors are required to have on file a license bond (or, alternative, such as a cash deposit) with the California Contractors State License Board (“CSLB”). Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@wendel.com

Texas Shortens Its Statute of Repose To 6 Years, With Limitations

October 02, 2023 — Jason Daniel Feld & Roni Most - Kahana Feld
Effective June 9, 2023, Texas has shortened its statute of repose from the existing 10-year statute for builders of new homes to 6-years under specific conditions. The significantly shorter statute of repose bars suits against construction contractors of detached one-and two-family homes and townhomes, filed six years after the substantial completion of such homes, where the contractor also furnished a written warranty in compliance with the statute. Notably, projects including apartments, mixed-use, and hotels are not covered by the new law. It is also noted that a grey area in the law exists as to whether condominiums will be covered by the statute. The statute of repose strictly bars the filing of any action, claim or arbitration demand regardless of when the injury was actually discovered (latent defects) and is separate and distinct from any applicable statute of limitations. The New Texas Statute of Repose Law Under the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.009, persons who construct or repair improvements to real property cannot be sued for defective or unsafe conditions of the property or deficiencies in the construction or repair of the improvement later than 10 years after substantial completion of the improvement, except in certain narrow circumstances. This statute is known as the “statute of repose.” The statute applies not only to suits for construction defects, but also personal injury, wrongful death, contribution, and indemnity. Reprinted courtesy of Jason Daniel Feld, Kahana Feld and Roni Most, Kahana Feld Mr. Feld may be contacted at jfeld@kahanafeld.com Mr. Most may be contacted at rmost@kahanafeld.com Read the court decision
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How Are You Dealing with Material Delays / Supply Chain Impacts?

June 07, 2021 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
In a prior article I discussed a material escalation provision in your construction contract to account for the volatility of the material price market. While including such a provision may not have been much of a forethought before, it is now! What about concerns with the actual supply chain that impacts the availability of and the lead time of materials? How are you addressing this concern in your construction contract? The pandemic has raised awareness to this issue as certain material availability has been impacted by the pandemic. As a result, parties in construction have tried to forecast those materials where delivery issues may occur including those materials with longer than expected lead times. But equally important is how this issue is being addressed in your construction contract including how you want to negotiate this risk in future construction contracts. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

User Interface With a Building – Interview with Esa Halmetoja of Senate Properties

September 14, 2017 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
Architect Mies van der Rohe once said that, “An office is a machine for working in.” From a maintenance person’s point of view that might be true. For a user, an office should offer a productive working environment. A pilot project, led by Esa Halmetoja of Senate Properties, is trying to find out how a digital twin of a building would serve both the needs of the maintenance worker and the office worker. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at info@aepartners.fi

Why Federal and State Agencies are Considering Converting from a “Gallons Consumed” to a “Road Usage” Tax – And What are the Risks to the Consumer?

August 26, 2015 — Roger Hughes – California Construction Law Blog
“‘We’re going to have to find another way to finance the upkeep of the roads,’ Gov. Jerry Brown said earlier this year in rolling out his 2015 budget. Governor Brown gave no specifics, but last fall he signed a law that set up a commission to study a ‘road usage charge’ with a call to ‘establish a pilot program by Jan. 1, 2017…'” – San Jose Mercury News, January 27, 2015 This Change, It’s a Coming (Maybe) Many states and the federal government are seriously considering converting from a “gallons consumed” tax levy to a “miles driven” program for determining gasoline tax. There are several compelling reasons for such a change. First, our roads are falling apart while revenue from current highway taxes fall woefully short of our current and projected needs. In the meantime, the number of miles driven by all-electric cars that pay no gas tax, is increasing rapidly; and by hybrids that pay substantially reduced tax; and worse for the taxing authorities, by increasingly efficient gas-powered cars. All of this means rapidly dropping gas tax revenues. Seeing this trend, local, state and the federal governments are making a major push to convert from a consumption based tax to a “miles driven” tax. This a good thing for those of us that believe increased investment in our transportation infrastructure is of high national concern. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Roger Hughes, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Hughes may be contacted at rhughes@wendel.com

Check The Boxes Regarding Contractual Conditions Precedent to Payment

August 21, 2023 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Remember this: complying with contractual conditions precedent to payment is important. There is a reason why construction contracts include contractual conditions precedent to payment. The contract does not include this language for sh*ts and giggles. This language is included to establish what is required of the payee before payment becomes due. There may be conditions precedent to the payment of progress payments. There may be conditions precedent to the payment of final payment. Payment is not due until the conditions precedent have been satisfied. Do yourself a favor and consider this language in the construction contract, particularly if a dispute arises. If the condition precedent has not or cannot be satisfied, game plan as to the factual reason. The best thing to do is be prepared – check the boxes regarding conditions precedent to ensure you have considered this contractual language. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Like Water For Chocolate: Insurer Prevails Over Chocolatier In Hurricane Sandy Claim

November 08, 2017 — Afua S. Akoto - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Recently, a New Jersey Magistrate ruled that an insurer did not have to provide coverage for a chocolatier’s property damage and business interruption losses due to Hurricane Sandy. Madeline Chocolate Novelties Inc. (Madeline), a family-owned chocolatier in Queens Rockaway Beach, held a one-year all-risk policy with Great Northern Insurance (Great Northern). The policy contained a flood exclusion and a windstorm endorsement. When Hurricane Sandy hit in October 2012, Madeline suffered extensive damage and ceased operations during the ensuing holiday season. The chocolatier claimed $40 million in property damage and $13.5 million in business interruption losses and sought coverage under its policy. Great Northern paid just under $4 million and denied the remainder of the claim, citing the policy’s flood exclusion. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Afua S. Akoto, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Ms. Akoto may be contacted at asa@sdvlaw.com

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