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 Ryan Eng’g, Inc. v. Mond Homeowners Ass’n, Inc., No. 14-23-00960-CV, 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 1681, the Court of Appeals of Texas (Court of Appeals) affirmed a trial court ruling denying the Motion to Dismiss of defendant Ryan...more
“Ensuing loss” provisions have long been the subject of nuanced arguments in insurance litigation. The provisions, which sometimes afford coverage for a “covered loss” stemming from an expressly excluded peril, serve as...more
Even though construction cases often involve colorful facts, legal opinions are often quite boring. When a judge writes a colorful opinion about an otherwise boring case, we tip our hat. This week we tip our hat to Judge...more
Must damages be based on the cost of repair at the time of the breach? What is the time of breach? A recent Florida appellate case might have the answer to these questions. Bandklayder Development, LLC v. Sabga introduces key...more
In American Fam. Ins. Co. v. NB Elec., Inc., No. A24-0377, 2025 Minn. App. LEXIS 12, the Court of Appeals of Minnesota (Court of Appeals) considered whether an insurer’s subrogation action was time barred under Minnesota’s...more
First Circuit Court of Appeals Rules That Standard Commercial General Liability Policy Excludes Coverage for Downstream Property Damage When General Contractor’s Scope of Work Covers Entire Building - It is well-accepted...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
On September 13, 2023, the Oregon Court of Appeals ("Court") addressed several arguments made by an insurer, Arrowood Indemnity Company ("Arrowood"), as to why it did not have a duty to defend, or why it should only defend...more
The scope of Bankruptcy Court jurisdiction has been the subject of numerous decisions, including multiple decisions by the United States Supreme Court since Bankruptcy Courts were created by the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978....more
In Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co. v. Carmichael, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, applying Alabama law, entered summary judgment ruling that Nationwide Fire Insurance Co. had no duty to...more
In Twigg v. Admiral Insurance Co.,[1] the Oregon Court of Appeals recently resolved an insurance coverage dispute arising out of a construction project. Two homeowners hired a contractor to build a new home. The homeowners...more
In a February 15, 2023 decision in Twigg v. Admiral Insurance Company, the Oregon Court of Appeals held that an insurance company was not required to indemnify its insured based on a claim for breach of a repair agreement...more
The rule of thumb in Washington state has been that contractors and developers cannot be held liable in negligence for construction defects.However, an unpublished decision filed December 12, 2022, by the Washington Court of...more
“Standing” is the legal term used to describe the requirement that a lawsuit be brought by the person(s) or entity(ies) having a right to bring the claim, generally referred to as the “real party in interest.” Lawsuits fail,...more
How final is a final arbitration award? In Escapes! To the Shores Condominium Association, Inc., et al. v. Hoar Construction, LLC, and Architectural Surfaces, Inc., the plaintiff condo association argued that an arbitration...more
In Ali Heidari v. Golden Bear Insurance, a California appeals court recently affirmed a lower court’s decision to deny relief under a CGL policy, where the policy excluded from coverage work performed by subcontractors under...more
In University of Massachusetts Building Authority v. Adams Plumbing & Heating, Inc., 2023 Mass. App. Unpub. LEXIS 28, 102 Mass. App. Ct. 1107, the Appeals Court of Massachusetts (Appeals Court) considered whether the lower...more
A novel question arose over the past few years in residential construction law as to whether minors were subject to the contractual provisions in their parents’ purchase or construction contract. The contract typically has a...more
In Cont’l Homes of Tex., L.P. v. Perez, No. 04-21-00396-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 7691, the Court of Appeals of Texas (Appellate Court) considered whether the lower court erred in refusing to enforce an arbitration clause in a...more
Most of the Florida homes in the path of Hurricane Ian lack flood insurance, posing a major challenge to rebuilding efforts, new data show. In the counties whose residents were told to evacuate, just 18.5 percent of homes...more
On April 18, 2022, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed an insured’s claim against its own property insurer for violation of the North Carolina’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (“UDTPA”) in a rare published...more
Does a former working-interest owner of a well bear continuing responsibility for a defective gas line despite having conveyed its ownership interest? The line was constructed by the former owner as operator of record, and it...more
In a recent case, the Florida Supreme Court held that an arbitration covenant contained in a developer’s original deed also bound the second owner. The case serves as a good reminder that, although a subsequent owner of...more
In a recent decision touching on many interesting issues, North Carolina’s Court of Appeals effectively determined that, in all but the most obvious cases, expert testimony is required to establish a failure to perform...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