Seattle Washington Building Consultant Directory

Beth Cook Expands Insurance Litigation Team at Payne & Fears

September 30, 2024 — Beth A. Cook - Payne & Fears
Beth Cook has joined Payne & Fears LLP as Counsel in the firm’s Insurance Litigation Group. With 18 years of legal experience, Beth brings a wealth of knowledge to her practice, focusing on insurance coverage and litigation. “We are excited to welcome Beth to P&F! She brings a great deal of experience to our Insurance Litigation Group as we continue to grow the practice group,” said Sarah Odia, the group’s co-chair. “We look forward to working with Beth and welcome her fresh perspectives.” Get to Know Beth What activities do you enjoy outside of work? Travel, sporting events, movies, craft breweries, and wineries. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Beth A. Cook, Payne & Fears
Ms. Cook may be contacted at bac@paynefears.com

Traub Lieberman Attorneys Recognized in the 2025 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®

September 09, 2024 — Traub Lieberman
Traub Lieberman is pleased to announce that five Partners have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. In addition, seven attorneys have been included in the 2025 Best Lawyers®: Ones to Watch list. These recognitions include attorneys from the firm’s Hawthorne, NY; Chicago, IL; Palm Beach Gardens, FL; and St. Petersburg, FL offices. 2025 Best Lawyers® Hawthorne, NY

Lisa L. Shrewsberry – Commercial Litigation

Chicago, IL

Brian C. Bassett – Insurance Law

Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Rina Clemens – Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants

St. Petersburg, FL

Lauren S. Curtis – Insurance Law
Scot E. Samis – Appellate Practice

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Traub Lieberman

OSHA Finalizes PPE Fitting Requirement for Construction Workers

December 31, 2024 — Jonathan H. Schaefer - Construction Law Zone
On December 11, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it finalized a revision to the personal protective equipment (PPE) standard for the construction industry. The final rule adds specific language to the existing standard requiring employers to provide properly fitting PPE for construction industry workers. This change aligns the construction industry with the standards in place for the general industry. According to OSHA, many types of PPE must properly fit workers. Improperly sized PPE can ineffectively protect workers, creating new hazards for them, such as oversized gloves or protective clothing being caught in machinery and discouraging use because of discomfort or poor fit. OSHA stated that the longstanding issue with improperly fitting PPE particularly impacted women, as well as physically smaller or larger workers. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Jonathan H. Schaefer, Robinson+Cole
Mr. Schaefer may be contacted at jschaefer@rc.com

Extreme Heat, Smoke Should Get US Disaster Label, Groups Say

July 15, 2024 — Jennifer A Dlouhy - Bloomberg
Activists are petitioning the US government to formally classify extreme heat and wildfire smoke as major disasters, as soaring temperatures threaten to set records across much of the country. In a petition filed with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, they seek to unlock new funding to help communities address such events before they strike, with money for air filters that strip out smoke and rooftop solar systems that can supply electricity when demand overwhelms power grids. Climate change has made fatal heat waves more intense and frequent, while hotter, drier conditions stoke the risk of fires that can blanket the US in toxic smoke. An estimated 2,300 people in the US died from heat-related illness in 2023, the hottest year on record. And heavy smoke from wildfires in Canada last year traveled as far south as Georgia, prompting people to shelter inside and canceling flights in some of the largest US cities. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Jennifer A Dlouhy, Bloomberg

Chicago Cubs Agree to Make Wrigley Field ADA Improvements to Settle Feds' Lawsuit

December 03, 2024 — James Leggate - Engineering News-Record
Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs have entered into a settlement with the U.S. Dept. of Justice over renovations to Wrigley Field, federal and Cubs officials announced Oct. 31. As part of the settlement, the team agreed to update Wrigley Field with more accessibility options for people with disabilities. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of James Leggate, ENR
Mr. Leggate may be contacted at leggatej@enr.com

Deadline Nears for “Green Performance Bond” Implementation

December 03, 2024 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
For this weeks Guest Post Friday at Musings, we welcome Surety Bonds.com, a leading online surety provider. SuretyBonds.com specializes in educating current and prospective business owners about local surety requirements. To keep up with surety bond trends, follow and Surety Bonds Insider blog and @suretybond on Twitter. Professionals who work in the construction industry know the laws that regulate the market change constantly. Unfortunately, even government agencies are flawed, which means they sometimes establish nonsensical, arbitrary regulations that leave construction professionals even more confused as to how they’re expected to do their jobs. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (6/18/24) – Cannabis’ Effect on Real Estate, AI’s Capabilities for Fund Managers and CRE’s Exposure on Large Banks

July 15, 2024 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, hotel-to-apartment conversions take big leap, state governments pass squatting legislation, US regional banks risk having debt ratings downgraded, and more!

Reclassifying cannabis as a lower-risk substance could bring significant changes to the real estate sector associated with cannabis. (Margaret Jackson, Yahoo)
More than 60 of the largest banks in the country are at increased risk of failure due to their commercial real estate (CRE) exposures. (Florida Atlantic University).
As extreme weather grows in frequency and intensity, the nation’s patchwork of building codes have not kept up with modern conditions and if something goes wrong, contractors are not off the hook if they simply build to code. (Julie Strupp, Construction Dive)

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

Lawsuit Gives Teeth to Massachusetts Pay Law

September 16, 2024 — Joseph Barra - Robinson+Cole
“The Massachusetts Legislature passed the state’s Prompt Pay Act 14 years ago to improve the downstream flow of money on most large-scale private construction projects. While the act established detailed protocols for administering applications for payment and other important construction phase processes, several questions about its interpretation and impact remained unanswered. Over the years, I watched as a significant portion of the Massachusetts design and construction community either ignored the law’s exacting requirements or were unaware of their applicability. The first indication of how the act would be interpreted came in 2022, when the state appeals court decided Tocci Building Corp. v. IRIV Partners LLC. In that case, the court strictly construed the act. It held that an owner (and its agent) who failed to promptly advise the project’s general contractor of specific factual and legal reasons why it was withholding payment, coupled with a failure to certify that funds were being withheld in good faith, violated the law—making the contractor liable for the unpaid funds. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Joseph Barra, Robinson+Cole
Mr. Barra may be contacted at jbarra@rc.com

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