Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (10/23/24) – Construction Backlog Rebounds, Real Estate Sustainability Grows, and Split Incentive Gap Remains Building Decarbonizing Barrier
November 18, 2024 —
Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogIn our latest roundup, construction output decreased, office utilization unchanged, September apartment starts fell 15% from a year ago as developers pulled permits, and more!
- Developers pulled permits for a seasonally adjusted rate of 398,000 apartments in buildings with five units or more, a 17.4% YOY drop and a 10.8% decrease compared to August 2024. (Leslie Shaver, Multifamily Dive)
- Construction input prices decreased 0.9% in September due to dips in two of three energy subcategories, reflecting the trend of overall material price stabilization over the past 12 months. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive)
- Thanks in part to the Federal Reserve’s lowering of the interest rate, construction backlog rebounded in September after slumping at the end of the summer. (Joe Bousquin, Construction Dive)
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Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team
David Uchida Joins Kahana Feld’s Los Angeles Office as Partner
December 31, 2024 —
Linda Carter - Kahana FeldKahana Feld is pleased to announce that David M. Uchida recently joined the firm as a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles Office. He is a member of the firm’s General Liability group.
A client-focused and seasoned litigator, David has defended product manufacturers and suppliers in complex toxic tort and environmental litigation. David also has extensive experience defending clients in alleged asbestos, benzene, and silica exposure claims.
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Linda Carter, Kahana FeldMs. Carter may be contacted at
lcarter@kahanafeld.com
Contractor Suffolk's Hospital Project Is on Critical List After Steward Health Care Bankruptcy
January 14, 2025 —
Richard Korman - Engineering News-RecordBefore it was hit by troubles that now threaten to kill it, a new hospital being built by Suffolk Construction in Norwood, Mass., was shaping up as a tale of recovery. The existing hospital on the site had been forced to shut most local operations since a devastating rainfall and flood in 2020.
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Richard Korman, ENR
Court Upholds $68M Jury Award Over 2021 Fatal Fall in Philadelphia
January 28, 2025 —
Richard Korman - Engineering News-RecordA Pennsylvania Supreme Court judge has reaffirmed a $68.5-million jury verdict in a wrongful death case brought by the wife and child of an immigrant siding-installation worker who fell to his death while working on a small Philadelphia apartment project in late 2021.
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Richard Korman, Engineering News-Record
EPA Looks to Reduce Embodied Carbon in Materials With $160M in Grants
August 19, 2024 —
James Leggate - Engineering News-RecordThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that construction materials used for buildings and built infrastructure account for more than 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The agency now hopes to boost adoption of materials with lower embodied emissions by offering $160 million in grants to better track and ultimately reduce climate pollution associated with those materials.
Reprinted courtesy of
James Leggate, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Leggate may be contacted at leggatej@enr.com
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Staffing Company Not Entitled to Make a Claim Against a Payment Bond and Attorneys’ Fees on State Public Works Payment Bonds
August 12, 2024 —
Garret Murai - California Construction Law BlogIt’s not quite Baskin Robbin’s “31 Flavors” but the panoply of statutory construction payment remedies available to contractors, subcontractor and material suppliers in California, from mechanics liens to stop payment notices to payment bond claims, can be tempting to reach for when you are not paid. However, some flavors are more readily available than others, as a staffing agency discovered in
K & S Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. The Western Surety Company, Case Nos. C096705 and C097987 (January 2, 2024).
The K & S Staffing Case
The California Department of Transportation awarded VSS International, Inc. two public works construction contracts for road maintenance. Each involved an expenditure of over $25,000 and VSSI obtained a payment bond from Western Surety Company.
Titan DVBE Inc. was a subcontractor on both projects. For most years, Titan employed its own workers. However, when it learned that its insurance carrier would no longer be offering workers’ compensation insurance in California it switched to K & S Staffing Solutions, Inc. to fulfill its staffing needs.
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Garret Murai, Nomos LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@nomosllp.com
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
“It Just Didn’t Add Up!”
November 05, 2024 —
Daniel Lund III - LexologyOverturning arbitration awards in court is difficult. One of the few bases for a challenge to an award (under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. 10(a)(4), as well as most state arbitration laws) is where the arbitrator is alleged to have “exceeded [his/her] powers” afforded the arbitrator by whatever rules and agreements are in place for the arbitration. Obviously, this places a burden on the arbitrator to “color within the lines” when serving as arbitrator and issuing rulings in the case.
“After extensive discovery and a 10-day hearing, the Tribunal rendered a 142-page” award, whereupon the parties both sought to have the arbitrators correct what the parties agreed was an error in the award – increasing the award by $47,710. One of the parties, however, went further, urging that the arbitrators “erroneously included damages for claims related to production revenue” that occurred before a certain date. According to the court, that party was urging that “the Tribunal erred by factoring into its award damages related to Claims 2 and 3, which the Tribunal never substantially addressed.”
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Daniel Lund III, PhelpsMr. Lund may be contacted at
daniel.lund@phelps.com
