Why Being Climate ‘Positive’ Is the Buzzy New Goal of Green Building
December 10, 2024 —
Olivia Rudgard - BloombergThe three buildings, dotted around Norway, couldn’t look more different: a soaring timber-and-concrete obelisk in Porsgrunn; a squat, two-story Montessori school on the edge of a forest in Drøbak; and a concrete and glass wedge-shaped office in Trondheim, just a few hundred miles from the edge of the
Arctic Circle. But they share a distinctive feature. Each has a roof perfectly tilted to squeeze out every possible drop of solar energy.
They are called
Powerhouses, and the initiative behind them claims they are all “energy positive”: The upfront energy “cost” of each building, and that of later demolition and disposal, is expected to be made back over the building’s lifetime. Powerhouses sometimes draw from the grid, especially in winter, but in the long Nordic summer days they give back many times over, overspilling excess solar energy into surrounding homes and businesses.
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Olivia Rudgard, Bloomberg
Dispute Over Amount Insured Owes Public Adjuster Resolved
January 14, 2025 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiThe court addressed a dispute over fees that the insureds allegedly owed the public adjuster. Public' Adjuster's, LLC v. Mark Gottesdiener & Co., et al., 2024 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2352 (Conn. Super. Ct. Nov. 6. 2024).
The insureds owned an apartment building that was substantially damaged by a fire. The building was insured by Quincy Mutual Group. The insureds signed a Public Adjuster Employment Contract with The Public's Adjuster, LLC (Adjuster). The contract authorized Adjuster to negotiate the reimbursable damages with Quincy on the insureds' behalf. Adjuster was to recover 8 1/2% of any amounts received by the insureds.
Because of the extent of the fire damage, the work of negotiating a settlement with Quincy proved to be complex. Adjuster meticulously prepared several detained written estimates to by submitted to Quincy.
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Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Not a Waiver for All: Maryland Declines to Apply Subrogation Waiver to Subcontractors
September 23, 2024 —
Gus Sara - The Subrogation StrategistIn Lithko Contr., LLC v. XL Ins. Am. Inc., No. 31, Sept. Term, 2023, 2024 Md. LEXIS 256, the Supreme Court of Maryland considered whether a tenant who contracted for the construction of a large warehouse facility waived its insurer’s rights to subrogation against subcontractors when it agreed to waive subrogation against the general contractor. The court ultimately decided that the unambiguous language of the subrogation waiver in the development agreement between the parties did not extend to subcontractors. The court also held that the tenant’s requirement that subcontracts include a subrogation waiver did not, in this case, impose a project-wide waiver on all parties. The court, however, found that the requirement that the subcontracts include a similar, but not identical, waiver provision rendered the subcontract’s waiver clauses ambiguous and remanded the case to the lower court to determine if the parties to the development agreement – i.e., Duke Baltimore LLC (“Duke”) and Amazon.com.dedc, LLC (“Amazon”) – intended that the waiver clause in the subcontracts covered claims against subcontractors.
This case involved roof and structural damage to a warehouse in Baltimore, Maryland that Duke owned. In March 2014, Amazon entered into a development agreement with Duke for the construction of the warehouse. Amazon also agreed to subsequently lease the warehouse from Duke. Although Amazon essentially owned and/or developed the project, the development agreement identified Duke as “Landlord” and Amazon as “Tenant.”
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Gus Sara, White and WilliamsMr. Sara may be contacted at
sarag@whiteandwilliams.com
Case Dispositive Motion for Summary Judgment Granted for BWB&O’s Client in Wrongful Death Case!
November 18, 2024 —
Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLPCongratulations to San Diego Partner JohnPaul Salem on his recent MSJ victory in a wrongful death case!
Plaintiffs, the family of a pedestrian who was struck and killed by a train at a San Diego trolley station when he walked onto the tracks while warning lights and bells were active, filed suit for (i) dangerous condition of public property; and (ii) negligence arising out of the accident. Plaintiffs alleged BWB&O’s Client had created a dangerous condition and failed to warn of the alleged danger.
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Dolores Montoya, Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
What You Need to Know to Protect the Project Against Defect Claims
October 28, 2024 —
Scott L. Baker - Los Angeles Litigation BlogIf a property owner claims there is a construction defect, that not only brings the project’s integrity into question but also your business’s reputation. So, how can you take steps to prevent these claims from causing such damage?
Here are three things to know before beginning a project to effectively protect it and
manage construction defect claims.
1. Documentation is key
California and Los Angeles County require certain permits and documents in order for a construction project to move forward. Los Angeles County
will also conduct plan checks to ensure everything is up to code. Detailed documentation will be important while making your plans.
However, keeping notes throughout every step of the project will also be essential. Documenting all aspects of the project helps you:
- Stay updated and aware of the project’s progress
- Proactively catch and handle issues that could result in disputes
- Create a record of evidence that can help manage defect claims
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Scott L. Baker, Baker & AssociatesMr. Baker may be contacted at
slb@bakerslaw.com
Second Circuit Affirms Win for General Contractor on No Damages for Delay Provision
September 02, 2024 —
Bill Wilson - Construction Law ZoneIn NASDI, LLC v. Skanska Koch Inc. Kiewit Infrastructure Co. (JV), 2024 WL 1270188 (2d Cir. Mar. 26, 2024), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court’s grant of summary judgment dismissing a subcontractor’s delay claim against a general contractor on a public project in New York state. The Court enforced a typical no-damages-for-delay provision to bar the subcontractor’s breach of contract claim. The no-damages-for-delay provision in the subcontract at issue provided:
NO DAMAGE FOR DELAY. Except as otherwise provided …, Subcontractor agrees that it shall have no Claim against Contractor for any loss or damage it may sustain through delay, disruption, suspension, stoppage, interference, interruption, compression, or acceleration of Subcontractor’s Work (‘Delay Damages’) caused or directed by Contractor for any reason, and that all such Claims shall be fully compensated for by Contractor’s granting Subcontractor such time extensions as it is entitled to as a result of any of the foregoing.
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Bill Wilson, Robinson & Cole LLPMr. Wilson may be contacted at
wwilson@rc.com
With Trump's Tariff Talk, Time to Negotiate for Escalation Clauses in Construction Contracts
December 17, 2024 —
Richard Korman - Engineering News-RecordRemember 2019? That’s when contractors faced sudden material price surges from tariffs during then-President Donald Trump’s first term in office. How about 2021? That's when contractors saw new price surges and long delivery delays because of Covid-19.
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Richard Korman, ENRMr. Korman may be contacted at
kormanr@enr.com
"On Second Thought"
October 28, 2024 —
Daniel Lund III - LexologyRehearing requests are seldom granted by courts, and when they are, there’s usually something uniquely compelling in the request and the granting.
So is the case in a matter involv
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