Key Lease Work Letter Issues When the Landlord Is Doing the Work
Law Brief®: David Pfeffer and Richard Schoenstein Discuss the Legal Implications of Infrastructure Collapses
Contractual Notice Requirements: Do You Really Need Them?
Construction Defects: Lessons Learned
California Court of Appeal Opens Doors for Construction Defect Claims Outside of the Right to Repair Act
In 2022, North Carolina was bustling with new construction projects, ranking as the sixth highest state for newly built homes. With so much building going on, construction defect claims are bound to pop up. These claims can...more
In a landmark decision, the Illinois Supreme Court has set forth a new legal framework to follow when analyzing coverage for construction defect claims under CGL policies. In Acuity v. M/I Homes of Chicago, LLC, 2023 IL...more
A recent decision by the Ohio First District Court of Appeals holds the discovery rule does not apply to construction defect claims against design professionals. Generally, the discovery rule means that the applicable statute...more
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals recently reversed, in part, and affirmed, in part, a lower court decision regarding dismissal of contractual indemnity and implied indemnity claims. WW Consultants was the design...more
In Brown v. City of Oil City, No. 6 WAP 2022, 2023 Pa. LEXIS 681 (2023), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (Supreme Court) recently held that a contractor can be liable for dangerous conditions it creates even if the hazard...more
On March 24, 2023, and April 13, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 837 and Senate Bill 360 into law, respectively. These new legislative amendments change Florida’s litigation landscape by shortening the statute...more
Construction defect cases often involve damage claims beyond simply the cost to repair the allegedly defective unit or component. These consequential damages may include damages for loss of use, expenses for mitigation and...more
Often times, both contract and tort claims co-exist in a subrogation matter and the line between the two can be blurred. This is especially true in the context of damages resulting from new home construction defect claims....more
In Thio Keng Thay v Sandy Island Pte Ltd [2019] SGHC 175 the High Court of Singapore confirmed that an employer may recover damages for rectifying defects even when it has done so in breach of a contractual defects...more
It is not uncommon for indemnitees to attempt to add language to indemnification provisions providing additional liability protections from the indemnitor. And courts and legislators are wary of language in indemnity...more
In Rural Mut. Ins. Co. v. Lester Bldgs., LLC 2019 WI 70, 2019 Wisc. LEXIS 272, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin considered whether a subrogation waiver clause in a construction contract between the defendant and the plaintiff’s...more
An Illinois appellate court recently addressed the scope of negligence liability for a slip and fall injury on a newly installed roof at the Chicago White Sox Stadium. In 2013, a maintenance employee slipped on the roof at...more
In its broadest sense, the "economic loss rule" prohibits recovery in tort for purely economic loss incurred under contract law. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary online defines tort as "a wrongful act other than breach of...more
Though many states require a contractor to hold a contract directly with a design professional to pursue a claim against a designer for design omissions or defects, a recent case confirms that, in Florida, contractual privity...more
McMillin Albany LLC v. Superior Court, No. S229762, 2018 Cal. LEXIS 211 (Jan. 18, 2018) - Several homeowners (“Plaintiffs”) brought suit against developer/general contractor McMillin Albany LLC (“McMillin”) for alleged...more
On January 18, 2018, in McMillin Albany LLC v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court published a closely followed decision resolving a lower court split interpreting California’s Right to Repair Act (S.B. 800, Civ....more
Alkemade v. Quanta Indem. Co., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 6896 (9th Cir. Apr. 20, 2017) - In 1994, Adrianus and Rachelle Alkemade (the “Alkemades”) bought a house from Meltebeke Built Paradise Homes (“Meltebeke”). The home was...more
In Gillotti v. Stewart (No. C075611, filed 4/26/17, publication order 5/18/17), the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District held that the Right to Repair Act, Civil Code section 895, et seq. (the “Act”)...more
Amberwood Dev., Inc. v. Swann’s Grading, Inc., No. 1 CA-CV 15-0786, 2017 Ariz. App. Unpub. LEXIS 207 (Ct. App. Feb. 23, 2017) - This case arose out of a housing development project, with Amberwood Development Inc....more
Relatively few people in the commercial construction industry are kept up at night by polyisobutylene (PIB) — the synthetic rubber sealant commonly used to provide a long term and durable moisture barrier for insulated glass...more
Recently, the Arizona Court of Appeals answered another lingering question of paramount importance to the construction industry – whether homebuilders and other construction industry professionals may be indefinitely subject...more
USA Walnut Creek, DST v. Terracon Consultants, Inc. f/k/a HBC Engineering, Inc., 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 1806 (Tex. App. 2015) - This cases arises out of the construction of a twelve building apartment complex in Austin...more
Lenders and contractors may want to take additional precautions before they take title to a newly constructed home through foreclosure (or deed in lieu of foreclosure) following a recent decision by the Colorado Supreme...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Court recently held in Wyman v. Ayer Properties, LLC, that the “economic loss rule is not applicable to the damage caused to the common areas of a condominium building as a result of the builder’s...more
Wyman v. Ayer Properties, LLC, 469 Mass. 64, 2014 Mass. LEXIS 524 (July 10, 2014) - The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the economic loss rule, which bars recovery of tort damages from the negligent supplier of...more