Contractors and owners obtain builders risk policies to protect themselves from risks associated with construction. But a lack of care in understanding and negotiating the provision of the construction agreement governing the builders-risk policy and the policy itself may lead the parties to expose themselves to needless and significant liability.
What owners and general contractors
If you think LEED certification of a building is a one-time deal, think again.
USGBC’s latest version of LEED (version 3) establishes several new changes to LEED certification. Two of those changes are particularly significant. First, USGBC now requires building owners to submit operational performance data on a recurring basis as part of the LEED
On July 14, 2009, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed HB 2434 passed in June by the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Although a chapter number has not yet been assigned to the new act, the law will go into effect for building defect claims that arise on or after January 1, 2010.
As addressed in prior Legal
Oregon HB 2434, passed by the House of Representatives on May 4, 2009 and by the Senate on June 22, 2009, is currently awaiting the Governor’s approval or veto. The bill would reduce from 10 years to six years the maximum time period during which an owner of a "large commercial building" could assert claims
The Portland Business Journal recently stated that Chinese drywall has been reported in Oregon. In addition, late last week the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) issued a status report on its investigation into the imported drywall. This report states that 5,503,694 sheets of Chinese drywall were imported into the United States during 2006
Puget Sound Business Journal reported this week that the Port of Seattle has announced that it will re-commence work on its 23-acre, $419 million dollar rental car facility at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The project was put on hold in December 2008 due to the anemic long-term bond market. According to the Port, it has now
It is well known that public property is not lienable in most states, including Washington. However, it has been generally assumed that under Washington’s mechanic’s lien statute (RCW 60.04), improvements constructed on public property are lienable. In Estate of Haselwood v. Bremerton Ice Arena, Inc., No. 80411-7 (June 25, 2009) the Supreme Court of Washington
In a case of first impression, the Second Appellate District Court of California recently considered whether an entity that provided construction management services to a private owner was required to be licensed under California’s Contractor’s State Licensing Law. (The Fifth Day, LLC v. Bolotin (2009) 172 Cal.App.4th 939.) The Court’s response was a surprising
On June 18, 2009 the Washington Supreme Court issued its decision in Cambridge Townhomes, et al. v. Pacific Star Roofing, Inc., et al., 81003-6. The decision touches on several issues of interest to the construction industry in Washington. In particular, the Court clarified the law about when a corporation may be held liable as
Our Sean Gay recently blogged here and here about recent complaints out of Florida and elsewhere concerning defective Chinese-manufactured drywall that emits noxious sulfur gas and has been linked to problems with electrical and air conditioning systems. The latest news is that several such claims have recently been consolidated into a single federal class action