Archives for the 'Construction Defect' Category
Reconstruction Project Begins For Sandra Bullock
A construction defect trial concluded in Austin, TX involving Ms. Sandra Bullock and the builder of her large custom single-family home. The conclusion of the trial resulted in $7.8M in rewards (including, or in addition to attorney fees?) and the house was declared uninhabitable! That doesn’t happen very often. Unless the plaintiff is a renowned [...]
8 February 2007 | Construction, Construction Defect, Litigation | Comments Off
Warning – Kasdan Simonds Riley May Be In Your Neighborhood
This article came up on a recent search on Technorati for items tagged with “construction defect”. Apparently Kasdan Simonds, a well-known construction defect law firm representing primarily homeowners and HOAs, sent out marketing letters to a community up in the Valencia area. It is fairly old, but it certainly is an interesting read…
“BEWARE of these [...]
8 February 2007 | Construction, Construction Defect, Litigation | Comments Off
Respect For Competition May Increase Market Share
Garr Reynolds, author of the always inspiring Presentation Zen, provides some insight this week into a subject that is definitely relevant in the construction defect litigation industry. In his somewhat lengthy post, he analyzes the nature of competition in business through the vantage point of an American consultant living in Japan. He cites some recent [...]
23 January 2007 | Business, Construction, Construction Defect, Consulting, Experts, Litigation, Technology | Comments Off
The Connection Between Jazz and Construction Defect Investigation
Wynton Marsalis has long been renowned for his musical abilities, but he also was recently honored for his talents in leadership. The USA Today recently published an article consisting of a question & answer session with Marsalis regarding his thoughts on the connection between jazz and business leadership. Link to Article
I’ve (in my past history) [...]
21 January 2007 | Business, Construction, Construction Defect, Inspections, Litigation | Comments Off
New Roofing Law In California
Starting tomorrow (1/1/07), a new law takes effect in California that requires all roofing contractors to carry Worker’s Comp. Any contractor with an active C-39 license must comply with the new law “regardless of whether or not they have employees.”
Where this might really make an impact is on roofing consultants that are involved as experts [...]
31 December 2006 | Construction, Construction Defect, Consulting, Experts, Inspections, Litigation | Comments Off
Regarding Selection of Experts
No matter what side of the fence one is on in a construction defect lawsuit, the testimony of the construction experts and their supporting documentation plays a huge role in the outcome of the case. Donald Brenner from Stark & Stark addresses this issue:
A lot of careful thought has to be given to what claims [...]
21 December 2006 | Construction, Construction Defect, Consulting, Experts, Litigation | Comments Off
“Condo Transition” Is Different Than “Condo Conversion”
According to Donald Brenner, a condo “transition” is the turnover process in which the developer turns over common areas to the new homeowner/community association. This process is awkward at best and there are certainly some bumps along the road:
“Most of the time, the unit owners who now control the Board of Directors of the association [...]
20 December 2006 | Construction, Construction Defect, Consulting, Litigation | Comments Off
Consult Your Attorney Before Painting The House?
I’m not suggesting that your construction defect attorney is an accomplished designer (although, they may be)… but you still might want to get their advice before painting your home or doing any other upgrades/repairs. SHCC does not provide legal advice, but we know that discovery is an important part of any lawsuit. Basically, the defense [...]
15 December 2006 | Construction, Construction Defect, Consulting, Experts, Inspections, Litigation | Comments Off
Architects & Designers Still Aren’t Off The Hook
According to a recent decision, contractors may not be entirely responsible for bad design or bad specifications. At least when it involves federal construction contracts.
Michael Payne of Payne Hackenbracht & Sullivan provides some intelligent insight into the decision:
“The Court referred to one of the landmark cases in federal government contracting, Spearin v. U.S., where Justice [...]
1 December 2006 | Construction, Construction Defect, Consulting, Litigation | Comments Off
Good Contracts Make For Good Associations
“In particular, good contract drafting can help to minimize the impact of disputes between associations and their contractors.”
Suzanne Leff, a partner with Winzenburg, Leff, Purvis & Payne (Colorado), writes about the importance of good contracts between community associations and the contractors they hire. In summary, the better the contract is written and the more understanding [...]
10 September 2006 | Construction, Construction Defect, Consulting, Litigation | Comments Off
