Law Brief®: David Pfeffer and Richard Schoenstein Discuss the Legal Implications of Infrastructure Collapses
The grace period for claims that would have been viable under Florida’s 10-year statute of repose, but were no longer viable after Florida shortened the statute of repose to 7 years, is quickly approaching its expiration. On...more
AN OVERVIEW OF THE CAUSES OF ROOF FAILURE - Collapses of wood-framed roofs are frequently reported in North America, ranging from simple agricultural roofs to complex roofs in industrial buildings. Controllable factors...more
The Benefits of Collaboration - In today’s construction industry, it is no secret that there is always increasing pressure to speed up schedules and to keep costs down. One key factor that can help achieve these goals is to...more
A recent win by a team of Bradley construction attorneys highlighted the role emergency arbitration proceedings can play in a dispute subject to an arbitration agreement. The ongoing case involves the design and construction...more
The Texas Legislature recently passed a new law concerning owner-furnished designs for construction projects, thereby overturning more than 100 years of precedent in Texas previously holding that contractors bore the risk of...more
In September 2021, the Washington Supreme Court issued its decision in Lake Hills Investments, LLC v. Rushforth Construction Co., Inc., 198 Wash.2d 209 (2021). This case is significant because it establishes a comparative...more
Generally, the implied warranty of the adequacy of the plans and specifications, also known as the Spearin Doctrine, allocates risk to the owner for any defect in the design of the project. This influential federal decision...more
The Supreme Court of Utah recently found that an incorrect pre-construction geotechnical engineering report is a “defective design.” Thus, actions arising from an incorrect geotechnical report are appropriately governed by...more
As of September 1, 2021, in a change to Texas caselaw that had been in place for over a century, Texas contractors now have protection in certain circumstances from liability for defective plans and specifications provided to...more
On the latest Law Brief® episode, David Pfeffer, Partner and Chair of the Construction Practice, joins Host Richard Schoenstein to discuss the legal implications of building collapses, and more common partial collapses. David...more
The offshore wind sector continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, particularly in Europe, and increasingly in Asia and North America. The construction phase of any project is vulnerable to delay. That is particularly the...more
Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Spearin, 248 U.S. 132 (1918), virtually all construction risk was borne by the contractor, except for (i) express carve-outs set forth in a contract or (ii)...more
Sometimes you “do” bad things. Sometimes you “look like” you do bad things. Just look at the difference between Bad-boy Jack and my youngest daughter, Haven, who just “looks like” she’s up to no good. In the world of...more
DAK Americas Mississippi, Inc. v. Jedson Engineering, Inc. et al, No. 1:18cv31-HSO-JCG, 2019 BL 208838 (S.D. Miss. June 6, 2019) - This dispute arose out of the design and construction of a concrete storage slab at DAK’s...more
Claims Arising Out of a Deficiency or Negligence in the Design, Planning, Construction and General Administration of Improvements to Real Property Among Those Affected. In Stearns v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, the...more
In a decision of great importance to property owners, developers, architects, engineers, and contractors, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) this morning ruled that the state’s six-year statute of repose, M.G.L....more
Charlotte Student Hous. DST v. Choate Constr. Co., 2018 NCBC LEXIS 88 (N.C. Super. Ct. Aug. 24, 2018). This case arose from the construction of a student apartment complex known as Arcadia. The plaintiffs, Arcadia’s...more
Insurance carriers and policyholders often argue about the scope of policy provisions. Generally, policyholders take an expansive view of insuring agreements, while carriers often construe them more narrowly. But not all...more
In Prestress Services Industries of TN, LLC v. W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co., 280 F.Supp.3d 908 (N.D. Miss. 2017), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi faced a “rather interesting...more
City of Whiting v. Whitney, Bailey, Cox & Magnani, LLC, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44943 (N.D. Ind. Mar. 20, 2018) - The City of Whiting, Indiana (the “City”) undertook a 26-acre lakefront development project. It hired an...more
Meridian Eng’g Co. v. United States, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 7024 (Fed. Cir., Mar. 20, 2018) - Meridian Engineering Company (“Meridian”) was hired by the United States (“Government”) to construct flood control structures on...more
WTE-S&S AG Enters., LLC v. GHD, Inc., 2017 Bankr. LEXIS 2343 (Bankr. N. D. Ill. August 18, 2017) - This breach of contract dispute arises out of a contract to design and build a cow-manure digester on a farm in Wisconsin. ...more
Our readers may recall that Public Act No. 15-28 was signed by the Governor back in 2015, subjecting the State of Connecticut and its political subdivisions to a statute of limitations for asserting actions and claims arising...more
In a recent Missouri appellate decision, the court recognized and reaffirmed the Spearin Doctrine which provides that an owner impliedly warrants the adequacy of plans and specifications it provides to a contractor. In Penzel...more
Although the federal courts have followed the Spearin doctrine since 1918, it took Missouri just shy of a century to come on board. Under U.S. v. Spearin, it was held that when a government entity includes detailed...more