Anaheim California Building Consultant Directory

ASCE Statement on Devastating Impacts of Hurricane Helene

October 07, 2024 — Marsia Geldert-Murphey, P.E., President - American Society of Civil Engineers
WASHINGTON, DC. – We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life across six states, in addition to the immeasurable damages caused by Hurricane Helene throughout the Southeast this past week. Hundreds of communities are without power. Citizens cannot move safely from one place to another. And in its wake, the storm has left many without drinking water and sewage services. As civil engineers, our first priority when we design and build the structures that connect us is the public's safety and well-being; we are heartbroken to see so many lives lost or upended by Hurricane Helene. As someone who has experienced losing everything in a catastrophic flood event, I have seen first-hand the need for making communities more resilient, and the consequences of failing to do so. Although hurricanes have consistently been a threat in the U.S., particularly in the Southeast, extreme weather events and 500-year floods are increasing in regularity and our aging infrastructure systems were not built to withstand storms of this magnitude. Total prevention of loss of life or property damage can never be guaranteed, but Helene is a reminder of the importance of widespread adoption of up-to-date, modern building codes and standards. We are thankful for the hard work of first responders, the military, and other organizations working around the clock to save lives and meet the immediate needs of people affected by this storm. As communities begin the long recovery process, civil engineers will be there to help communities rebuild the roads, bridges, dams, water systems, and other infrastructure damaged or destroyed by the storm. ABOUT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 160,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation's infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel.

Celebrating Dave McLain’s Recognition in the Best Lawyers in America® 2025

September 16, 2024 — Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
We are thrilled to announce that David M. McLain, a founding partner of Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC, has been recognized in the prestigious publication, The Best Lawyers in America® 2025. David has earned this honor for his outstanding work in Construction Law and Litigation – Construction. For over two decades, David has been a leading figure in the field of construction law. His dedication to providing exceptional legal services to developers, general contractors, and other construction professionals has set him apart as a trusted advisor and advocate in the Colorado construction industry. His inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 is a testament to his hard work, legal acumen, and the respect he has garnered from his peers. About The Best Lawyers in America® The Best Lawyers in America® is one of the oldest and most esteemed peer-review publications in the legal profession. Each year, lawyers are nominated and evaluated by their peers based on their professional expertise and achievements. Only a select few receive this honor, making it a significant recognition of excellence in the legal field. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC

California Supreme Court Finds Vertical Exhaustion Applies to First-Level Excess Policies

August 26, 2024 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Addressing issues left open in its seminal decision in Montrose, the California Supreme Court found that the language in the first-level excess policies meant that the insured could access the policies upon exhaustion of the directly underlying policies purchased for the same policy period. Truck Ins. Exchange v. Kaiser Cement & Gypsum Corp., 2024 Cal. LEXIS 3271 (Cal. June 17, 2024). From 1944 through the 1970's, Kaiser manufactured asbestos-containing products at numerous different facilities. By 2004, more than 24,000 claimants had filed product liability claims against Kaiser alleging that they had suffered bodily injury as a result of exposure to Kaiser's asbestos products. Kaiser tendered these claims to Truck, one of several primary insurers that had issued CGL policies to Kaiser. In 2001, Truck initiated this coverage action to determine its indemnity and defense obligations to Kaiser. Truck later amended its complaint to add a cause of action for contribution against several of Kaiser's excess insurers. The issue presently before the court was whether Truck was entitled to contribution from various coinsurers that issued first-level excess policies to Kaiser during the period in question. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

BKV Barnett, LLC v. Electric Drilling Technologies, LLC: Analyzing the Impact of Colorado’s Anti-Indemnification Statute

December 23, 2024 — David M. McLain – Colorado Construction Litigation Blog
In the recent case of BKV Barnett, LLC v. Electric Drilling Technologies, LLC, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado dealt with significant legal issues concerning indemnification and insurance obligations in construction agreements. The ruling, handed down on September 26, 2024, serves as a crucial reminder of the limitations imposed by Colorado’s Anti-Indemnification Statute, C.R.S. § 13-21-111.5, and its implications for contracts in the construction industry. This case arose from a Master Service Contract (“MSC”) between BKV Barnett, LLC (“BKV”) and Electric Drilling Technologies, LLC (“EDT”), in which EDT provided electrical services and equipment to an oil and gas lease wellsite in Texas. Following a lightning strike in early 2022 that damaged electrical infrastructure at the site, EDT dispatched Turn Key Utility Construction to repair the damage. During the repair work, an arc flash occurred, causing significant injuries to one of Turn Key’s employees, Matthew Lara, leading to a personal injury lawsuit filed by Lara in Dallas County, Texas. BKV sought indemnification, defense, and additional insured status from EDT under the terms of their MSC, which EDT contested. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David McLain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell
Mr. McLain may be contacted at mclain@hhmrlaw.com

Viva La France! 2024 Summer Olympics Construction Features Sustainable Design, Including, Simply Not Building at All

August 26, 2024 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
If you’re like me and many others you’ve probably been watching the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. We were in Paris last year and we passed the construction site of the Aquatics Centre, one of only three new permanent facilities that was constructed for this year’s Olympics. On a side note, Parisian Uber drivers are some of the most aggressive drivers I’ve seen, replete with honking, hand gestures, and cursing at other drivers and pedestrians in, of course, French. Putain! In recent history, Olympic construction costs have skyrocketed, often vastly exceeding the planned budgets of the host cities, and, in recent years, has caused even some host city hopefuls to reconsider whether to even throwing their hats in the ring. The 2020/2021Summer Olympics in Tokyo, for example, had an original budget of $7.5 billion. The actual cost was over $13 billion and, depending on what beans you count, may have been over twice that! Paris seeks to change all of this. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Challenging a Termination for Default

September 23, 2024 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
No contractor wants to be terminated for default. It is the harshest contractual recourse. It is a recourse that has implications, particularly in the public sector. However, a party needs to be in a position to support the basis of the termination for default, and the terminated party, in most instances, should not be in a position to imply accept the basis of the default. This applies regardless of the project. In the federal context: “When a contractor challenges a default termination, the government bears the burden of establishing the validity of the termination.” Sergent’s Mechanical Systems, Inc. v. U.S., 2024 WL 4048175, *7 (Fed.Cl. 2024) (internal quotation and citation omitted). Once the government establishes the default, “the contractor bears the burden of establishing that the default was excused by fault of the government.” Id. at *8 (internal quotation and citation omitted). Relevant considerations as to whether the contractor is in default include the contractor’s failure to meet contract specifications or the required schedule. Sergent’s Mechanical Systems, supra, at *8. “[T]here is ‘a requirement that the contractor give reasonable assurances of performance in response to a validly issued cure notice.” Id. (internal quotation and citation omitted). Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Delays and Suspension of the Work Under Fixed Price Government Contract

July 22, 2024 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Here is an interesting fact pattern and case decided by the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals dealing with (1) force majeure type events and epidemics (Covid-19); (2) suspension of the work; and (3) delays. These are three topics important to all contractors including federal contractors. In Lusk Mechanical Contractors, Inc. v General Services Administration, 2024 WL 1953697, CBCA 7759 (CBCA 2024), a contractor entered into a fixed price contract with the government to repair, replace, and modernize site and building systems at a federal building. The contractor commenced work right before Covid-19. When Covid-19 hit, the government issued the contractor a two-week suspension of work notice on March 27, 2020. The suspension of work allowed off-site administrative work to continue but suspended on-site physical work. The government extended the suspension of work three more times. The contractor could resume work on the exterior on June 1, 2020, but was not permitted to resume work on the interior until July 20, 2020. On the same date that the contractor was able to commence interior work, it submitted a modification for delay caused by the suspension – 64 days for the time period the entire site shutdown, and 51 days for the interior work shutdown. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (10/1/24) – Hybrid Work Technologies, AI in Construction and the Market for Office Buildings

November 05, 2024 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, commercial mortgage bond market in trouble, commercial real estate investments, pressure on mortgage REITs, and more!

Short-term issues facing U.S. commercial real estate have made it an investment opportunity and values have bottomed out. (CNBC)
As organizations report plans to shake up their real estate portfolios, the flight to quality spurs interest in space planning, amenities and hybrid work technologies. (Joe Burns, Facilities Dive)
The conversation about AI’s potential benefits and risks has been a common refrain in construction recently. (Matthew Thibault, Construction Dive)

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

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