Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Homeowners Must Comply with Arbitration over Construction Defects

January 06, 2012 — CDJ STAFF

The California Court of Appeals has upheld a decision by the Superior Court of Kern County that homeowners must comply with arbitration procedures in their construction defect claim. The California Court of Appeals ruled on December 14 in the case of Baeza v. Superior Court of Kern County, denying the plaintiff’s petition that the trial court vacate its order.

The plaintiffs in the case are homeowners in various developments built by Castle & Cook. The homes were sold with a contract that provided for “nonadversarial prelitigation procedures, including mediation, and judicial reference.” The homeowners made defect claims and argued that Castle & Cooke failed to comply with statutory disclosure requirements and that some of the contracts violate related statutes.

The appeals court found that there was no ground for appeal of the lower court’s order to continue with prelitigation procedures. The court noted that the plaintiffs could not seek a review of the mediation until a judgment was issued, but that then the issue would be moot. The court felt that there were issues presented that needed clarification, and so they reviewed this case. This was cleared for publication.

The court considered the intent of the legislature in passing the Right to Repair Act, noting that “under the statutory scheme, the builder has the option of contracting for an alternative nonadversarial prelitigation procedure,” as established in Chapter 4. The court noted that Chapter 4 “contains no specifics regarding what provisions the alternative nonadversarial contractual provisions may or must include.”

The plaintiffs contended that the builder was in violation of the standards set out in Section 912, however the court responded that these sections set out one set of procedures, but they concluded that “if the Legislature had intended the section 912 disclosure provisions…it could have made the requirements applicable to all builders by locating them in a section outside Chapter 4.”

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Embattled SNC-Lavalin Files Ethics Appeal, Realigns Structure

May 01, 2019 — Debra K. Rubin - Engineering News-Record
Even as Montreal design-build giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. faces corporate bribery charges on old Libya contracts, the firm now seeks, in an April 4 federal court appeal, to reverse Canadian prosecutors’ 2018 rejection of a negotiated settlement. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Debra K. Rubin, ENR
Ms. Rubin may be contacted at rubind@enr.com

Avoid a Derailed Settlement in Construction

March 28, 2022 — Patrick Barthet - Construction Executive
More and more construction cases are settling because lawyers know juries can prove to be unpredictable. The litigation process, as well as any actual trial, can be stressful, expensive and quite lengthy. Settlements are, for the most part, private while suits are public. Current reports find more than 90% of civil cases filed in state circuit courts are disposed of before trial. When that doesn't happen, things could go very poorly, as the case below illustrates. The Case Adam was seriously injured in a collision with a dump truck owned by Bang and driven by Tomas. While suit by Adam against Bang and Tomas was pending, Adam suggested they settle by having Bang pay him. Upon receipt of the offer, Bang's lawyer reached out confirming that his client was okay with the settlement amount but wished to add that the settlement also include the satisfaction of a lien filed by Adam's workers' compensation carrier. Adam's attorney refused that additional request, but that didn't stop Bang's lawyer. Based on the fact that Adam had agreed to the settlement amount, the lawyer filed a boiler plate notice of acceptance of settlement and had Bang issue a settlement check payable to Adam in the amount Adam had requested. Adam remained unwilling to compromise. He continued to resist the modified terms, which added satisfaction of the worker’s compensation lien. Bang then filed a motion to enforce settlement, arguing that since there was agreement on the settlement amount, Adam was required to do the deal. Reprinted courtesy of Patrick Barthet, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Mr. Barthet may be contacted at pbarthet@barthet.com

Arbitration Provisions Are Challenging To Circumvent

May 13, 2019 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Arbitration provisions are enforceable and they are becoming more challenging to circumvent, especially if one of the parties to the arbitration agreement wants to arbitrate a dispute versus litigate a dispute. Remember this when agreeing to an arbitration provision as the forum for dispute resolution in your contract. There is not a one-size-fits-all model when it comes to arbitration provisions and how they are drafted. But, there is a very strong public policy in favor of honoring a contractual arbitration provision because this is what the parties agreed to as the forum to resolve their disputes. By way of example, in Austin Commercial, L.P. v. L.M.C.C. Specialty Contractors, Inc., 44 Fla.L.Weekly D925a (Fla. 2d DCA 2019), a subcontractor and prime contactor entered into a consultant agreement that contained the following arbitration provision:

Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the breach thereof shall be subject to the dispute resolution procedures, if any, set out in the Prime Contract between [Prime Contractor] and the [Owner]. Should the Prime Contract contain no specific requirement for the resolution of disputes or should the [Owner] not be involved in the dispute, any such controversy or claim shall be resolved by arbitration pursuant to the Construction Industry Rules of the American Arbitration Association then prevailing, and judgment upon the award by the Arbitrator(s) shall be entered in any Court having jurisdiction thereof.

The prime contract between the owner and prime contractor did not require arbitration. 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

Some Insurers Dismissed, Others Are Not in Claims for Faulty Workmanship

February 18, 2020 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The insured Developer survived a motion to dismiss by one of several carriers who were asked to defend against claims for faulty workmanship. East 111 Assoc. LLC v. RLI Ins. Co., 2019 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 5331 (Oct. 4, 2019). Developers sponsored a residential condominium project and sold all units. The owners subsequently sought damages for $881,450 for alleged design and construction defects, and asserting causes of action for, among other things, breach of contract, specific performance and negligence. The underlying action settled for $350,000. Developers sought coverage from its insurers. The Developers sued the carriers for a declaratory judgment that they were entitled to a defense. Developers had a CGL policy issued by Mt. Hawley. Developers were also additional insureds in policies issued to subcontractors by James River, Admiral and Selective. The insurers moved to dismiss. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Carroll Brock of Larchmont Homes Dies at Age 88

November 05, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Homebuilder Carroll Brock, "whose family-owned company built thousands of Larchmont Homes in the Sacramento region, died Oct. 31 of natural causes in his sleep, his son Steve said," according to the obituary in the Sacramento Bee. "Under Mr. Brock, who was named Sacramento general manager in 1967, Larchmont Homes built nearly 15,000 houses in more than 30 subdivisions of modest ranch-style homes aimed mostly at first-time buyers." Mr. Brock served on the board of the National Association of Home Builders, was past president of the North State Building Industry Association, and had been appointed to the California state Board Standards Commission. Furthermore, he was inducted into the California Building Industry Association Hall of Fame in 1991. Mr. Brock served the community through his work in the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Commission as well as the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. He volunteered his time to the Salvation Army as well as offering construction assistance and expertise to the Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church. “My dad was a humble leader,” his son told the Sacramento Bee. “As successful as he was at building homes, he felt just as strongly about serving others.” Read the court decision
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BofA Said to Near Mortgage Deal for Up to $17 Billion

August 06, 2014 — Tom Schoenberg – Bloomberg
Bank of America Corp. is nearing a $16 billion to $17 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department to resolve probes into sales of mortgage-backed bonds in the run-up to the financial crisis, a person familiar with the matter said. Under the proposed terms, the bank would pay about $9 billion in cash and the rest in consumer relief to settle federal and state claims, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. Details of the proposed accord, such as the relief and a statement of facts, are still being negotiated, the person said. The outlines of the deal were reached last week after a phone call between Attorney General Eric Holder and Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan, the person said. During the July 30 call, Holder said that the government was ready to file a lawsuit in New Jersey if the bank didn’t offer an amount closer to the department’s demand of about $17 billion, according to the person. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tom Schoenberg, Bloomberg
Mr. Schoenberg may be contacted at tschoenberg@bloomberg.net

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (08/30/23) – AI Predicts Home Prices, Construction’s Effect on the Economy, and Could Streamline Communications for Developers

October 17, 2023 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, SV invests in a new green “mega-city” outside San Francisco, refunds are given to investors in fraudulent real estate deal, homebuyers are losing purchasing power, and more!

With major tech companies like Google and Amazon laying off workers, those with computer science and related degrees are looking to construction as a place to start or restart their careers. (Zachary Phillips, Construction Dive)
Although Silicon Valley is the haven for most tech startups, Israel has become a place where those in construction innovation can find support and funding. (Matthew Thibault, Construction Dive)
For those who may be concerned about the future price of their home, it may be possible for AI to look at a house and predict its price with “striking accuracy.” (Jacob Zinkula, Business Insider)

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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

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