Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Texas Couple Claim Many Construction Defects in Home

October 08, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
A Galveston, Texas couple has claimed that their new home has “many” defects and are suing the seller. John Klein and Cheri Harmon-Klein state that they were told that the house was built in conformance with the International Residential Code and that the all hurricane damage had been repaired. Instead, they characterized the house as “unfit for human habitation.” The couple claims that the defects were not evident at inspection prior to their purchase. Read the court decision
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Traub Lieberman Partner Stephen Straus Wins Spoliation Motion in Favor of Defendant

June 05, 2023 — Stephen D. Straus - Traub Lieberman
Traub Lieberman Partner Steve Straus represented a refrigeration installation and service company in a subrogation action filed by a property insurer after paying a claim related to extensive water damage at premises on Long Island, New York. The premises owner purchased a refrigerator, which was sold without a hose to connect to the water source inside the premises. The defendant retailer retained Traub Lieberman’s client to install the refrigerator. Rather than complete the installation using a new water line, the installer used the existing line from the refrigerator that was being replaced. Approximately one week after installation, the owner’s son discovered water on the floor near the refrigerator, and significant water damage in the basement of the residence. The owner filed a claim with the insurer, which sent an investigator to the premises. The retailer also sent a technician to investigate and replace the water supply line. It was reportedly determined that the original line had failed, causing the water release. After the repair, the owner’s son took possession of the old water line, which he kept for a couple of years and then discarded. The insurer initiated a subrogation action against the retailer and the installation company, alleging that the water release was caused by the defendants’ failure to replace the water line when the new unit was installed. Plaintiff claimed that photographs of the old line established that it had been damaged or defective. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Stephen D. Straus, Traub Lieberman
Mr. Straus may be contacted at sstraus@tlsslaw.com

Agile Project Management in the Construction Industry

January 09, 2023 — Mohammad Saki - AEC Business
The linear workflows used in the construction industry, such as the RIBA plan of work, have a history of starting when the previous phases end. The stages in these workflows are often distinct and sequential, and it might be difficult or expensive to go back after a stage is finished. Design reviews are required in this method, which is also known as the “Waterfall,” and they must be completed before moving on to the next level. Cross-phase iterations are a rare symptom of problems, and the majority of design specifications will be locked early to prevent rework. Additionally, common planning and scheduling methods for the construction industry, like the Critical Path Method (CPM) and Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), lack the ability to represent feedback and iteration in projects because they only permit one-way progression. As a result, these processes have come under fire for being a linear paradigm that encourages a fragmented approach to project management, and the need for a more iterative procedure has increased. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Mohammad Saki, AEC Business

Construction Defects Are Not An Occurrence Under New York, New Jersey Law

June 18, 2014 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, determined there was no coverage for construction defects under New York or New Jersey law. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. Turner Constr. Co., 2014 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 3546 (N.Y. App. Div. May 15, 2014). The property owner retained Turner Construction to serve as the general contractor. Turner subcontracted with Permasteelisa North America Corporation to design and build the exterior wall, a "curtain wall," which consisted of granite and glass. A segment of the pipe rail system fell to the street from the eighth floor of the building. An investigation determined that more than 20% of the pipe rail connections surveyed did not conform to the building plans. Additional problems included inconsistencies in the method of rail attachment, bent brackets on the pipe rail system, cracked glass louvers, cracked glass panels, and water infiltration. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

On-Site Supersensing and the Future of Construction Automation – Discussion with Aviad Almagor

September 06, 2021 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
For this episode of WDBE Talks, we sat down with Aviad Almagor of Trimble Ltd. to discuss sensor technology in the modern built environment. Our conversation touched on the on-site implementation of robotics and AI-based solutions, the importance of data capture, and the challenges facing the sector today and in the years ahead. Aviad Almagor is the Division Vice President of Emerging Technologies with Trimble Ltd., a California-based hardware, software, and tech company that specializes in the development of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and recently collaborated with Boston Dynamics to automate construction processes. “AI in construction is a very exciting topic though the industry is traditionally not very well-equipped to adopt technology in a very effective way. AI is an enabling technology that can be used to support and augment work. This means we can automate processes; predict delays in schedule; cost changes; even design issues and prescribe and provide decision-makers with the right information to be efficient and to make the right choices for projects.” Aviad noted in our interview. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

Commentary: How to Limit COVID-19 Related Legal Claims

January 11, 2021 — Joshua Lindsay, Crowell & Moring & Meagan Bachman, Crowell & Moring - ENR
We are 10 months into the global pandemic. Given the magnitude of additional costs and upended expectations and risk-allocation, we foresee a wave of disputes coming soon. Whether it is large or small depends heavily on how well project team members handle the COVID-19 project impacts now. Reprinted courtesy of Joshua Lindsay, Crowell & Moring (ENR) and Meagan Bachman, Crowell & Moring (ENR) Ms. Bachman may be contacted at mbachman@crowell.com Mr. Lindsay may be contacted at joshlindsay@crowell.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Thank You for 14 Consecutive Years of Legal Elite Elections

December 29, 2020 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
Thanks to the Virginia legal community that has continued to elect me to the Virginia Business Legal Elite in the Construction Law Category for 14 years running. The 14 consecutive years of election to the Legal Elite in the Construction Category spans my time as a solo construction attorney. The fact that you all have continued to elect “100%” of the lawyers at The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PC for the last 10 years is most gratifying and only confirms that my decision to “go solo” over 10 years ago was a good one. To be included in this list of top construction attorneys is both humbling and gratifying. For the complete list of the Virginia construction lawyers that were elected along with me, see the 2020 Virginia Business Legal Elite in Construction Law. Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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When Employer’s Liability Coverage May Be Limited in New York

June 28, 2021 — Robert S. Nobel & Craig Rokuson - Traub Lieberman
New York recognizes that coverage under Workers’ Compensation (“WC”) and Employer’s Liability (“EL”) policies is generally unlimited. See Tully Const. Co. v. Illinois Nat. Ins. Co., 131 A.D.3d 598 (2d Dept. 2015); Oneida Ltd. v. Utica Mut. Ins. Co., 263 A.D.2d 825, 694 N.Y.S.2d 221 (3d Dept. 1999). However, there is case holding that EL coverage may be limited in certain instances, such as when the primary EL carrier is listed as scheduled underlying insurance on an excess policy. In Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Ins. Co. of State of Pennsylvania, 43 A.D.3d 666, 841 N.Y.S.2d 288 (1st Dept. 2007), an employee of General Industrial Service Corporation (“General”), a subcontractor on a construction project, sought to recover under New York’s Labor Law against the project’s owner and construction manager. Those defendants, in turn, brought a third-party action for indemnification against General. The employee’s personal injury claim was ultimately settled for $2.5 million. After the settlement, the excess insurer, Liberty, filed suit against the primary employer’s liability insurers, The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania and American International Group of Companies (collectively, “AIG”), which had refused to participate in the defense or settlement of the underlying personal injury litigation. Although the issue of whether the plaintiff in the underling action had sustained a “grave injury” (necessary to support the common law indemnity claim against General and trigger coverage under the Employer’s Lability policy) had not yet been determined, the court held that “[i]n the event the existence of a grave injury is proven, AIG’s liability will be limited to $1 million.” Reprinted courtesy of Robert S. Nobel, Traub Lieberman and Craig Rokuson, Traub Lieberman Mr. Nobel may be contacted at rnobel@tlsslaw.com Mr. Rokuson may be contacted at crokuson@tlsslaw.com Read the court decision
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FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES