Sacramento Business Journal: Construction Defect Litigation
This is an interesting article by Kelly Johnson from the Sacramento Business Journal that discusses the state of the construction defect litigation industry with regards to the key factors that are currently in play: the home buying slowdown, SB800, and the insurance industry.
California’s residential construction industry is approaching uncharted waters as a housing slump, tight liability insurance coverage and new laws for handling construction defect litigation all collide.
The collision makes an already challenging business environment fraught with even more danger. Some attorneys, especially those representing subcontractors, say they fear for their clients’ future.
“This is going to be a big problem,” said Blane Smith, an insurance-coverage attorney.
21 May 2008 | posted by SHCC Webmaster | Construction, Construction Defect, Construction and Law, Consulting, Experts, Litigation | Comments Off
Full Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Lower Court’s Holding in Garcia v. Brockway
“In a case that is being closely watched in the multi-family housing industry, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday released its opinion affirming the lower court’s holding that the 2-year statute of limitations for a private civil action alleging violation of the Fair Housing Act’s accessibility requirements for design and construction is triggered, i.e., the violation is complete, at the conclusion of the design and construction phase, which occurs on the date the last certificate of occupancy is issued.”
It seems that for the foreseeable future, accessibility claims under Fair Housing Act will be subject to a two year statute of limitations after all. This means that plaintiffs only have two years from the occupancy date to file a claim for such violations. This is quite favorable for developers, contractors and designers but may go against the intent of the Fair Housing Act, as illustrated by dissenting Circuit Court Judge, Hon. Judge Fisher:
“The majority erroneously treats a building’s improper design and construction as the event that triggers the Fair Housing Act’s (FHA) two-year statute of limitations. It does so by finding an ambiguity in the statute and then resolving that ambiguity contrary to the overall purpose and structure of the FHA and its legislative and judicial history.
“I believe instead that the most plausible reading of the statute is that the limitations period begins (at the earliest) when a disabled person actually experiences discrimination — either in attempting to buy or rent a noncompliant housing unit, in “testing” such a unit or upon moving in as a tenant.
In other words, Fisher feels that the two year statute should begin following discovery of such a violation. However the majority opinion from the Ninth Circuit felt that this two year statute should begin once the work is done. So what happens if a property is completed, but nobody moves in for two years? According to this decision, if there is a violation of the Fair Housing Act that creates a situation that is discriminatory, nothing happens at all.
Link to Article, Link to Post from Ninth Circuit Opinions Blog, Link to Opinion (PDF)
13 May 2008 | posted by SHCC Webmaster | Construction, Construction Defect, Construction and Law, Design, Experts, General, Inspections, Litigation | Comments Off
The 50 Major Engineering Failures 1977-2007
A fascinating list of the most significant engineering failures over the last three decades compiled by Muhammed Abduh at the Integrity Engineering Blog.
11 May 2008 | posted by SHCC Webmaster | Construction, Construction Defect, Experts, General | Comments Off
Creative Home Engineering – One of a Kind
This doesn’t have much to do with construction defects, but it is interesting nonetheless. Creative Home Engineering creates secret passageways, and they do it with style. Below is a quote from an older article that appeared in Phoenix’s East Valley Tribune:
“After crossing the short hallway to the master suite, she shows off her bedroom, the beautiful master bathroom, the seethrough gas fireplace and connected patio space. Then she leads her guest up a short flight of stairs to the exercise room, with gorgeous views of the Red Mountains. Coming back down the stairs she pulls from her pocket what looks like a car door remote. She stands back, presses one of the buttons and says, ‘And this is the secret room.’
“The stair case begins to raise and below it is a another set of stairs, this one leading down to a small dark room the same size and shape as the exercise room above it.
“‘Watch your head,’ says Kircher as she crouchees slightly and makes her way down the stairs.”
Link to Creative Home Engineering website, Link to Creative Home Engineering Gallery, East Valley Tribune article, Link to CNBC video, from Gizmodo
1 May 2008 | posted by SHCC Webmaster | Construction, Design, General, Technology | Comments Off
Ghosts From The Boom
From the Las Vegas Business Press:
The number of local construction-defect lawsuits has risen alongside the valley’s population. And one reason for this may be the heavy regulatory burden assumed by the area’s building and safety officials who oversaw all the area development.
County officials say that at the height of the building boom some inspectors were doing as many as 70 inspections a day. In response to reports that county building inspectors were conducting as many as 120 inspections a day during 2004 and 2006, Clark County Director of Development Services Ron Lynn said those numbers never got higher than between 60 and 70.
This article seems to echo the sentiments of many outsiders to the construction defect industry – that it is the responsibility of the local building departments (i.e.: the government) to prevent construction defects by policing contractors. In order for such a situation to exist, the local official would have to be on site at all times, or at least on a daily basis, at every single project. Instead, officials perform periodic inspections at certain key points in the construction of a project. For this reason, it is almost unheard of to see successful legal action taken against building officials for construction defect claims. Although some forward-thinking developers employ third party consultants to maintain an active presence during construction, this is not commonplace, especially in the production housing segment. Those developers that have relied upon such quality control consultants, have very little exposure in terms of construction defect claims, as problems are corrected as they arise. Until this practice becomes more widespread, homeowners will continue to rely upon construction defect consultants, such as SHCC, Inc., to aid in resolving these issues.
27 April 2008 | posted by SHCC Webmaster | Construction, Construction Defect, Construction and Law, Consulting, Experts, Inspections, Litigation | Comments Off
Taming the Billable Beast
The ABA Journal has an article in the February 2008 issue by David Gialanella, discussing the billable hour alternatives employed by some innovative law firms.
The billable hour is the dandelion of law practice: pervasive and not so popular.
So, when seeking to avoid the neg ative effects of a system that provides the profits for many a firm, there can be as many approaches as there are landscapers in the phone book.
Three law firms were among those changing the billable equation last year in hopes of reducing associate and client dissatisfaction. Each took a different approach, and though it’s still early, each firm’s leaders like the current results.
In summary, the concepts largely relate to reducing requirements for first-year attorneys, not billing clients for work by first-year attorneys, and flat-fee billing. This last concept is not discussed at much length in the article, but is worth exploring further.
The Shepard Law Group, an employment law firm out of Boston, ditched billable hours completely in favor of flat fees. They call this “Up-Front Pricing” on their website, explaining that for the client, “You will always know how much our work is going to cost before we do it.” As they also state, “you don’t pay for our time — you pay for the work we do and the value you receive.” What a concept.
23 April 2008 | posted by SHCC Webmaster | Business, Construction and Law, Consulting, Experts, General, Litigation | Comments Off
Case Seen As ‘Groundbreaking’
“A case heard last week by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals involving a North Las Vegas apartment complex has potential for ‘groundbreaking’ ramifications, a local attorney for one of the defendants said Monday.
“An organization for disabled citizens has sued multiple defendants who had any part in designing and building Craig Ranch Villas, formerly the Villas at Rancho del Norte, in 1997 for violations of the Fair Housing Act, alleging inadequate sidewalk ramps for wheelchairs, lack of accessible building entrances and undersized interior doorways, among other things.
“The case has been incorporated into a lawsuit from Idaho (Garcia v. Brockway) and is being followed nationally by major multifamily and fair housing organizations, said Bill Curran of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll. The Las Vegas law firm is representing Michael Turk, one of the principal builders who has since sold his majority interest in the property and moved to California.
“The outcome of the court’s ruling will determine the statute of limitations for violations of the Fair Housing Act for all multifamily apartments and condos built after 1991, Curran said.”
This case may have a significant affect on the world of construction defect litigation, as pointed out later in the article. The major point behind this ruling is not whether or not accessibility should be a consideration in multifamily construction, but whether or not there should be a statute of limitations regarding accessibility claims.
19 April 2008 | posted by SHCC Webmaster | Construction, Construction Defect, Construction and Law, Litigation | Comments Off
Philippe Starck Tells Magazine Design Is Dead
From the AFP:
Renowned French designer Philippe Starck says he is fed up with his job and plans to retire in two years, in an interview published in a German weekly on Thursday.
“I was a producer of materiality and I am ashamed of this fact,” Starck told Die Zeit weekly newspaper.
“Everything I designed was unnecessary.
“I will definitely give up in two years’ time. I want to do something else, but I don’t know what yet. I want to find a new way of expressing myself …design is a dreadful form of expression.”
Starck, who is known for his interior design of hotels and Eurostar trains and mass consumption objects ranging from chairs to tooth brushes and lemon juice squeezers, went on to say that he believed that design on the whole was dead.
“In future there will be no more designers. The designers of the future will be the personal coach, the gym trainer, the diet consultant,” he said.
Starck said the only objects that he still felt attached to were “a pillow perhaps and a good mattress.” But the thing one needs most, he added, was the “ability to love”.
Link to Article, from kottke.org
14 April 2008 | posted by SHCC Webmaster | Design, General | Comments Off
Worlds Largest Collection of Construction and Contractor Jokes
Weve gathered all the best construction jokes from all over for your amusement.
Here you will find construction worker jokes, architect jokes, engineer jokes, plumber jokes, funny worksite jokes, blonde construction worker jokes, project manager jokes, you name it, if its a joke about construction, here it is.
If you have a joke that isnt in here, send it in.
Please note – a lot of these jokes might be offensive to some people. The views of others do not reflect the views of SHCC, Inc. But some of these jokes are pretty funny. Enjoy at your own risk.
14 April 2008 | posted by SHCC Webmaster | Construction, General | Comments Off
“Big Dig” Settlement Reached
The lawsuit over the controversial public works project, the Big Dig, has concluded with a settlement. The project has been plagued by construction defects resulting in damage and in one case, the loss of a human life.
The two companies that managed the design and construction of the costly Big Dig project here will pay more than $400 million in an agreement with the government over leaky tunnels and a fatal ceiling collapse.
State and federal officials said Wednesday that the companies, the Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation and Parsons Brinckerhoff, had acknowledged oversight failures and agreed to pay the state and federal governments $407 million. Several smaller companies will pay an additional $51 million, they said.
Michael J. Sullivan, the United States attorney in Boston, called the agreement “evidence of our commitment to vigorously investigate and prosecute those who have perpetrated a fraud on American taxpayers.” The Big Dig, long considered the nation’s most complex highway project, has cost about $15 billion over nearly two decades.
24 January 2008 | posted by SHCC Webmaster | Business, Construction, Construction Defect, Construction and Law, Litigation | Comments Off
