Anaheim California Building Consultant Directory

Regional US Airports Are Back After Years of Decay

September 23, 2024 — Lebawit Lily Girma - Bloomberg
The ski resorts near Gunnison and Crested Butte, Colorado, are so close to Aspen, you’d think the area wouldn’t need its own airport. Their glitzier neighbor is just 48 miles north as the crow flies, though that’s roughly 150 miles by road. But people flocking to Crested Butte’s laid back town, extreme ski slopes and epic mountain biking have a new reason to bypass farther-away Aspen: the destination’s gleaming new airport, which debuted in January 2023. Not only is the Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport terminal easy to get across quickly, at just 40,000 square feet, it's also heated and cooled with geothermal energy and uses triple glazed windows to keep travelers warm in a town known to be one of the coldest places in the US. And Crested Butte isn’t the only small town airport receiving an upgrade. All across the US, at least a dozen small and medium-size facilities are being renovated and, in some cases, entirely rebuilt—typically on budgets that stretch eight and nine figures. That contradicts a long-held belief among aviation industry pros that these regional facilities were destined to gather dust and die out. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Lebawit Lily Girma, Bloomberg

New York Construction Practice Team Obtains Summary Judgment and Dismissal of Labor Law Claims

October 01, 2024 — Lewis Brisbois Newsroom
New York, N.Y. (August 23, 2024) – In Trujillo-Cruz v. City of New York, et al., New York Partner Inderjit Dhami, a member of New York Partner Meghan A. Cavalieri’s Construction Practice Team, recently obtained summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff's Labor Law §240(1), §241(6) and §200 claims dismissing the entire case against national developer and construction company clients. The plaintiff alleged to have sustained injuries as the result of a construction site accident occurring on July 11, 2018, while in the scope of his employment as a laborer in connection with the construction/renovation of a residential apartment building in Brooklyn, New York. Specifically, the plaintiff alleged that he was injured when he was coming down from a ladder and fell on a 2”x 4”, causing him disabling injuries. The plaintiffs’ counsel articulated a $3 million settlement demand. Labor Law §240(1) imposes absolute liability on a defendant where an injured worker engaged in the performance of covered construction work establishes that a safety device proved inadequate to shield him from elevation-related harm, and that the defendant’s failure to provide an adequate safety device proximately caused the injuries alleged. The plaintiff first testified that he stepped on the 2” x 4” after he came down off of the ladder, but his counsel then prompted him to recalibrate his testimony by asking whether the accident arose when he was coming down the ladder or after he had come down off of the ladder. The plaintiff changed his testimony, alleging that the accident arose as he was coming down the ladder and that he remained partially on the ladder when he stepped on the piece of formwork and fell. Inderjit argued that the plaintiff’s reframing of his deposition testimony was immaterial for purposes of the Labor Law § 240 (1) analysis. Irrespective of whether the plaintiff was on solid ground or had one foot on the ladder at the time of the occurrence, his Labor Law § 240 (1) claim was unavailing in that the accident did not arise as a result of the type of extraordinary elevation-related peril protected by Labor Law § 240 (1). Justice Maslow agreed and dismissed the plaintiff’s Labor Law § 240 (1) claims. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

Snooze You Lose? Enforcement of Notice and Timing Provisions

November 11, 2024 — Cornelius F. "Lee" Banta, Jr. - ConsensusDocs
Deadlines are an inescapable part of the construction industry. Bid deadlines. Submittal deadlines. Material delivery deadlines. Substantial completion. Final completion. And so, inevitably, fighting about deadlines becomes a necessary byproduct. Was the deadline really a deadline? Was the schedule slippage on the critical path? Should there be an equitable extension to the date of substantial completion? Given the amount of attention and concern conferred on deadlines, those drafting construction contracts naturally seek to clarify which deadlines really matter with the inclusion of notice and timing provisions. A contract’s change order and claims procedures are often a key friction point for those drafting and administering the contract. Should there be a requirement for prior written notice of a claim for cost/time relief? How much advance notice? Who should the request be sent to? Is a specific form of notice required? What are the consequences of failing to provide timely notice? A practitioner should pay careful attention to negotiating these terms on the front end, because rest assured, these contract provisions will garner scrutiny when a change order dispute boils over. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Cornelius F. "Lee" Banta, Jr., Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Mr. Banta may be contacted at lbanta@pecklaw.com

Blog Completes Seventeenth Year

January 07, 2025 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Insurance Law Hawaii reaches the end of its seventeenth year this month. We began posting long ago, in December 2007. We seek to keep readers apprised of developments in insurance-related cases from Hawaii and across the country. Coverage issues surrounding the Maui fires have been top of mind this year. We will continue posting on important coverage developments in the next year. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Toolbox Talk Series Recap - Undocumented Change Work

October 15, 2024 — Douglas J. Mackin - The Dispute Resolver
In the August 29, 2024 edition of Division 1's Toolbox Talk Series, Don Rea presented on the causes of undocumented change order work and what actions parties to a construction project can take to protect themselves, which compliments and reinforces some of the key points from the May 30, 2024 Toolbox Talk on maximizing profits while experiencing changes during project performance. Article 7 of AIA A201 General Conditions covers (i) change orders, (ii) constructive change directives, and (iii) “minor changes.” Work that falls outside the scope of the construction contract will often fit into one of these three categories. Rea’s presentation focused on the fact that, regardless of which category applies, proper documentation of the change work is vital. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Douglas J. Mackin, Cozen O’Connor
Mr. Mackin may be contacted at dmackin@cozen.com

AI in Construction: What Does It Mean for Our Contractors?

December 17, 2024 — Patrick Scarpati - Construction Executive
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the construction industry by enhancing efficiency, safety and decision-making throughout the project lifecycle. AI in construction involves the application of advanced technologies like machine learning, computer vision and data analytics to various construction processes. Through AI, machines can learn and imitate human cognitive functions. The possibilities may sound endless, but as an industry traditionally looking from the outside in at technology, we must first step back to educate ourselves on the basics. This paper is meant to function as a starting point in your journey to understand AI and its potential impact on the construction industry. By reading through definitions, construction use cases and considerations, the reader should walk away with a base level of knowledge to ensure they can actively participate in future conversations on AI in construction. Reprinted courtesy of Patrick Scarpati, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

Stop Losing Proposal Competitions

December 10, 2024 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
For this week’s Guest Post Friday here at Musings, we welcome back Matt Handal. Matt (@matthandal) provides proposal writing strategies that actually work at www.howtowritetheproposal.com. He is the author of Proposal Development Secrets, contributing editor of SMPS Marketer, and co-author of the Marketing Handbook for the Design & Construction Professional. His latest experiment is on business letters. It’s frustrating. You’re a great designer or contractor. Clients love you. The problem is you spend hours producing great proposals, but keep losing. Not only that, most of the time you don’t even get short listed. To make matters worse, the clients keep choosing firms you know you’re better than. So they get the contract and you’re left scrambling for work. Even though these firms frustrate you, imagine what it’s like to be them. They’re not the best, or most qualified firm, yet they walk away with the contract. They are not scrambling for work. They’ve got a healthy backlog. Imagine how it must feel to be them. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

Real Case, Real Lessons: Understanding Builders’ Risk Insurance Limits

August 12, 2024 — David McLain - Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
In the recent case of 5333 Mattress King LLC v. Hanover Insurance Company, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado provided significant insights into the limits of builders’ risk insurance policies. Mattress King LLC, a warehouse owner, faced a substantial loss when a subcontractor drove a crane over and damaged the warehouse’s concrete floor slab during construction. Despite having a builders’ risk insurance policy with Hanover Insurance Company, coverage was denied, leading to litigation. Applicable Policy Provisions The policy in question was a Commercial Marine/Commercial Lines Builders’ Risk insurance policy. Builders’ risk insurance is designed to cover direct physical loss to covered property during construction unless the loss is excluded or limited by the policy. Key exclusions of the policy at issue included losses caused by faulty, inadequate, or defective:

Planning, zoning, surveying, or development
Design, specifications, workmanship, repair, construction, renovation, remodeling, grading, or compaction
Materials used in construction or renovation
Maintenance of the covered property

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David McLain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
Mr. McLain may be contacted at mclain@hhmrlaw.com

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