FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

No Friday Night Lights at $60 Million Texas Stadium: Muni Credit

March 26, 2014 — Darrell Preston and Aaron Kuriloff – Bloomberg
Pervasive cracking has shuttered the $60 million home of a high-school football championship team in Texas after less than two years. Investors in the tax-free bonds that paid for the stadium are unscathed. Taxpayers in Allen Independent School District north of Dallas and the $29 billion Texas Permanent School Fund, a state bond insurer, are responsible for $119 million of debt that paid for the venue and other facilities, leading officials to find a new site for graduation and possibly games after closing 18,000-seat Eagle Stadium last month. The development suggests the fund, created in 1854 to help pay for education, shouldn’t be used for stadiums, said Colby Harlow, president of hedge fund Harlow Capital Management. The Permanent Fund has top credit ratings and secures about $55 billion of bonds, according to the Texas Education Agency. The pool has at times reached the limit of debt it can back, preventing districts from accessing it. The guarantee is still a boon to bondholders. Mr. Merelman may be contacted at smerelman@bloomberg.net; Mr. Sillup may be contacted at msillup@bloomberg.net Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Darrell Preston and Aaron Kuriloff, Bloomberg

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Foundation Differences Across the U.S.

October 15, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing analyzed data from the Survey of Construction (SOC) to demonstrate the differences in foundations built across the nation. For instance, “about 30 percent of new single-family homes started in 2013 have a full or partial basement, 54 percent are built on slabs, and 15 percent have a crawl space. The remaining share, including homes built on stilts or pilings, accounted for about 1 percent of homes started in 2013.” Climate is the deciding factor in what type of foundations are used, Eye on Housing reported. “In colder regions where codes require foundations to be deep the marginal cost of providing a full or partial basement is not that great. So basements are the most common type of foundation in the colder climate divisions.” The warm climate area of the West South Central division are primarily built on slabs. However, “the other two divisions that make up the South region – the East South Central and South Atlantic –are still largely built on slabs but crawl spaces are also common.” Read the court decision
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Actual Cost Value Includes Depreciation of Repair Labor Costs

November 07, 2022 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court granted the insurer's motion to dismiss after determining that benefits paid for actual cost value (ACV) did not include repair or replacement labor costs. Shahan v. Allstate Vehicle & Prop. Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135488 (W.D. La. July 29, 2022). Hurricane Laura damaged the insured's home. She filed a claim with Allstate under her homeowners policy. Allstate issued payment. The insured filed suit alleging Allstate wrongfully withheld amounts by depreciating labor when calculating the ACV of the damaged property. Allstate moved to dismiss. The policy was a replacement cost policy where the insured would receive the actual cash value of her insured property when it was damaged or destroyed by a covered peril. ACV was calculated by taking the repair/replacment which included both material and labor, and then deducting for depreciation. If no repairs or replacements were made, the insured was paid the ACV. If repairs or replacement was done, Allstate reimbursed the insured for the depreciation deduction. The insured challenged Allstate's refusal to pay 100% of the future labor costs, without any depreciation, even if the insured did not replace or repair the damaged property. 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

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Beverly Hills Voters Reject Plan for Enclave's Tallest Building

November 10, 2016 — James Nash – Bloomberg
A costly battle over development in Beverly Hills, California, ended with voters rejecting a hotel owner’s proposal to combine two planned condominium towers into a single building that would have loomed over the wealthy Southern California enclave. With 44 percent in support and 56 percent against, Beverly Hills voters turned down plans by Beny Alagem, who owns the Beverly Hilton and is building an adjacent 170-room Waldorf Astoria, to develop a single 26-story tower next to the hotels, instead of eight- and 18-story buildings that were approved by the city council and a voter referendum in 2008. Alagem’s plan sets aside the remaining 1.7 acres (0.7 hectares) for a public park and gardens. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of James Nash, Bloomberg

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Courthouse Reporter Series: Nebraska Court of Appeals Vacates Arbitration Award for Misconduct

November 18, 2024 — Brendan J. Witry - The Dispute Resolver
Vacating an arbitration award is often seen as an uphill battle. Indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court has stated that “courts may only vacate an arbitrator’s decision ‘only in very unusual circumstances.’” Oxford Health Plans, LLC v. Sutter, 569 U.S. 564, 568 (2013). The Federal Arbitration Act provides limited grounds to seek the vacatur of an arbitration award. In Lund-Ross Constructors v. Duke of Omaga, LLC, ___ N.W.3d ___, 33 Neb.App.73, the Nebraska Court of Appeals found that an arbitrator’s conduct warranted the partial vacatur of the award, which granted relief to a subcontractor who filed a counterclaim after the arbitration hearing had closed. Lund-Ross contracted with Duke of Omaha to build an apartment complex in Omaha. Lund-Ross, in turn, sub-contracted with A Raymond Plumbing. Following completion of the building, Owner withheld payment from Lund-Ross, who in turn, withheld payment from Raymond. Both Lund-Ross and Raymond filed mechanics liens and initiated suits; Raymond’s suit ultimately was dismissed for want of prosecution. Lund-Ross proceeded to arbitration with Owner, naming Raymond as a respondent. Raymond did not participate in the arbitration as a claimant at the time of the hearing. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Brendan J. Witry, Laurie & Brennan LLP
Mr. Witry may be contacted at bwitry@lauriebrennan.com

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Fifth Circuit Reverses Insurers’ Summary Judgment Award Based on "Your Work" Exclusion

November 18, 2011 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii

Application of the facts to the "your work" exclusion was the key to resolving coverage issued in Am. Home Assurance Co. v. Cat Tech L.L.C., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 21076 (5th Cir. Oct. 5, 2011).

Ergon Refining, Inc. hired Cat Tech L.L.C. to service a hydrotreating reactor. In January 2005, Cat Tech replaced certain parts in the reactor. After Cat Tech finished the job and left, Ergon noticed a high pressure drop in the reactor, forcing it to be shut down. Cat Tech returned in February 2005, removed, repaired and replaced the damaged parts, and loaded new parts. After completion, a second large pressure drop occurred during the reactor’s start-up process. The reactor was shut down until October 2005, when Ergon hired a different contractor to perform the repair work. Additional damage to the reactor was found.

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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii. Mr. Eyerly can be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

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Attorneys' Fees Awarded as Part of "Damages Because of Property Damage"

October 07, 2016 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The federal district court for the district of Hawaii found that an arbitrator's award of attorneys' fees was part of the "damages because of property damage" and covered under a CGL policy. Ass'n of Apt. Owners of the Moorings v. Dongbu Ins. Co., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110283 (Aug. 18, 2016 D. Haw). The Moorings AOAO was the named insured under the policy issued by Dongbu. Jo-Anne and Brent Braden, owners of a residential unit at the Moorings, filed a demand for arbitration against the AOAO. The Bradens alleged that the AOAO had failed to repair and maintain their lanai roof, which caused water damage to their unit. The arbitrator awarded the Bradens $6,103.49 in special damages, which was the amount they paid to repair their roof and interior damage. The arbitrator also awarded $85,644.30 in attorneys' fees and $8,515.91 in costs to the Bradens. 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

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Corrective Action Protest Grounds for GSA Schedule Federal Construction Contractors

September 09, 2024 — Marissa L. Downs - The Dispute Resolver
A contract awarded, protested, terminated, appealed, then reinstated. It’s no secret that federal construction procurements are plagued with uncertainty. From delays, constructive suspensions, compromised supply chains, the litigation-laden critical path method, and the mandate for all construction materials used in federally funded projects for infrastructure to be produced in the United States under the Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) (to name just a few traditional and emerging favorites), just one of these issues could fill the rest of anyone’s month with substantive research. To add one more, which is entirely unique to bid protests, federal contractors–including construction contractors–listed in a General Service Administration (GSA) Schedule may have new grounds to have a contract award reinstated that was terminated by a federal agency pending a GAO decision. GAO Protest An initial GAO protest filed by Deloitte & Touche LLP (Deloitte) argued that the National Geo-Spatial Intelligence Agency (Agency) wrongfully made an award to Kearney & Company, P.C. (Kearney) when the Agency: (1) improperly evaluated quotes; and (2) failed to conduct a proper best-value tradeoff analysis. At issue was a competed task order with Kearney under a GSA FSS multiple-award contract. Before the GAO issued an opinion, however, it held an unrecorded predictive-outcome conference with Deloitte and Kearney where the only mutual consensus was the likely ineligibility of all offerors for the relevant award. The Agency subsequently elected to take corrective action, terminating Kearney’s contract award for convenience, amending the solicitation to avoid issues (including undisputed issues) addressed in the GAO protest. After the Agency adopted their corrective action, the GAO protest was dismissed as academic and moot. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Marissa L. Downs, Laurie & Brennan, LLP
Ms. Downs may be contacted at mdowns@lauriebrennan.com

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