Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Who Will Pay for San Francisco's $750 Million Tilting Tower?

February 02, 2017 — James Tarmy & Kartikay Mehrotra – Bloomberg
Nina Agabian, a retired director of research in global health science at the University of California, bought a 29th-floor apartment in San Francisco’s Millennium Tower in 2010. “It was supposed to be a wonderful building,” she said in January, sitting in a leather chair in the building’s vast, low-lit, owner's-club level. “For many of us, who left our business lives to start our older years, this had become a nice, comfortable place.” The building, which opened in 2008 and was touted as the most luxurious tower in San Francisco, became a beacon of the city’s burgeoning wealth, attracting tech millionaires, venture capitalists, and even the San Francisco 49ers retired quarterback Joe Montana. The 58-story tower's shine faded on May 10, 2016, when Agabian attended a homeowners association meeting and was informed that the building had sunk 16 inches into the earth and tilted over 15 inches at its tip and 2 inches at the base, according to suits filed by residents and the city of San Francisco. “You can imagine how distressed we were to know that, for one, our lifetime investment and savings are at risk,” she said. “And we have no idea whether or not there’s a fix to it, and if there is a fix to it, what it will entail.” Reprinted courtesy of James Tarmy, Bloomberg and Kartikay Mehrotra, Bloomberg Mr. Tarmy may be followed on Twitter @jstarmy Mr. Mehrotra may be followed on Twitter @kartikaym Read the court decision
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Remote Depositions in the Post-Covid-19 World

September 06, 2021 — Islam M. Ahmad - Wilke Fleury, LLP
Despite the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in California, many of the changes imposed on the legal industry by the pandemic will likely remain in effect for the foreseeable future. One major change for litigators has been conducting depositions remotely. This change takes an already intricate task and makes it further complex by adding a new dimension of factors to consider. It is imperative that litigators understand these factors to avoid giving their opposition an undue advantage and to maximize the utility of depositions. While we may disagree as to whether remote depositions are a welcome change, the fact of the matter is that lawyers must adapt to them and provide adequate legal representation. This article explores some of the challenges and opportunities presented by remote depositions.

The Deponent

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Reprinted courtesy of Islam M. Ahmad, Wilke Fleury, LLP
Mr. Ahmad may be contacted at iahmad@wilkefleury.com

Congratulations to Partners Nicole Whyte, Keith Bremer, Vik Nagpal, and Devin Gifford, and Associates Shelly Mosallaei and Melissa Youngpeter on Their Inclusion in 2024 Best Lawyers in America!

October 24, 2023 — Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP
Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP is proud to announce Partners Nicole Whyte, Keith Bremer, and Vik Nagpal have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2024 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America, and Partner Devin Gifford, and Associates Shelly Mosallaei and Melissa Youngpeter, are included in the Fourth Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch. Each person is being recognized for their diligent work in the areas of Family Law, Construction, and Real Estate Litigation. Best Lawyers is 100% based on peer evaluations and is the most respected peer-review publication in the history of the legal profession. Acknowledgment in both The Best Lawyers in America and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch edition is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, bestowed on a lawyer by his or her peers. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP

Toll Brothers to Acquire Shapell for $1.6 Billion

November 08, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Toll Brothers is purchasing the home-building business of Shapell Industries for $1.6 billion. This will increase Toll Brother’s presence in California, where it has been building homes since 1994. After the acquisition, Toll Brothers will have about 9,200 lots in California, while it currently has about 4,000. Toll Brothers is not purchasing the commercial development arm of Shapell. Read the court decision
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ASCE Statement on Passing of Senator Dianne Feinstein

October 02, 2023 — Maria Lehman, President – American Society of Civil Engineers
RESTON, Va. – ASCE joins Capitol Hill and the infrastructure community in mourning the loss of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). At 90 years old, Sen. Feinstein was the longest-tenured female senator in U.S. politics and an immensely influential voice in the U.S. Senate and her home state of California. A true pioneer in U.S. politics, Sen. Feinstein was the first female mayor of San Francisco and one of the first women elected to the U.S. Senate from California. During her three decades in the Senate, Sen. Feinstein was a staunch advocate for issues impacting the engineering profession and strongly supported the recent passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Sen. Feinstein was a champion for legislation to mitigate the impacts of climate change, a strong supporter of bills to improve drinking water for disadvantaged communities, and, in recent years, served as ASCE's key champion for both the reauthorization of the National Dam Safety Program and the 21st Century Dams Act. Sen. Feinstein consistently sought middle ground on issues that were pertinent to all Americans, a rare and admirable trait in our increasingly divisive political climate. ASCE will remember Sen. Feinstein for all that she accomplished on behalf of our nation's infrastructure, and we look forward to continuing her fight to ensure our infrastructure systems can withstand the impacts of increasingly severe weather events. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family. ABOUT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 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. Read the court decision
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Houston’s High Housing Demand due to Employment Growth

August 27, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to a Metrostudy survey, as published in Builder, “The quarterly starts rate in Houston rose 16% to 7,977, and was up 3.5% when compared to the second quarter of 2013. The annual starts rate increased 1%, to 28,990 over the previous quarter, and up 10% from the second quarter of 2013.” “Houston’s housing market continues to outperform. We are seeing strong pricing appreciation and low levels of inventory of finished product and vacant developed lots,” Scott Davis, Regional Director for Metrostudy’s Houston Market, told Builder. “After five and half years of strong job growth, the real challenge for builders in Houston’s new housing market is finding affordable lots in desirable locations.” Read the court decision
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Jury Awards 20 Million Verdict Against Bishop Abbey Homes

April 08, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
A Rockwall County, Texas “jury has awarded a $20.8 million verdict against a Dallas homebuilder for performing substandard work on a local family's home and refusing to accept responsibility,” according to a press release published in The Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit alleged that “the defendants were aware that the site of the Hales' future Highpoint Lake Estates home had significant foundation defects before construction began. The Hales said Mr. Halsey later promised that his company would take responsibility by fixing the structural defects that arose after construction, but he reneged and refused to repair the problems.” The award included “damages for the cost of repairs, lost value and additional penalties based on Mr. Halsey's actions and the defendants' ‘grossly negligent’ conduct, including violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The jury award includes attorneys' fees for the Hales' legal team.” Read the court decision
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Triable Issue of Fact Exists as to Insurer’s Obligation to Provide Coverage Under Occurrence Policy

March 08, 2021 — Valerie A. Moore & Kathleen E.M. Moriarty – Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
In Guastello v. AIG Specialty Ins. Co. (No. G057714. filed 2/19/21 ord. pub. 2/23/21), a California appeals court held that triable issues of material fact exist which precluded summary judgment for an insurer seeking to disclaim coverage on the basis that the “occurrence” pre-dated the policy period where a dispute exists as to the timing of the subject “occurrence.” In Guastello, a subcontractor built retaining walls from 2003 to 2004 for a housing development in Dana Point, California. In 2010, one of these retaining walls collapsed causing damage to a residential lot owned by Thomas Guastello. Reprinted courtesy of Valerie A. Moore, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP and Kathleen E.M. Moriarty, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP Ms. Moore may be contacted at vmoore@hbblaw.com Ms. Moriarty may be contacted at kemoriarty@hbblaw.com Read the court decision
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SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES