“You love your home and then it turns on you,” The New York Times reports one homeowner said when he discovered the foundation of his home was cracking, crumbling and moving. Repairing unstable foundations costs homeowners around $4 billion a year and that cost often is not covered by insurance. Frequently, the shifting is the… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Construction Defects & Defective Construction
Subscribe to Construction Defects & Defective Construction RSS FeedNew Lead Paint Rules for Renovation of Homes Built Pre-1978
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Sick BuildingsOn April 21, new lead paint rules applicable to housing and certain child care schools and facilities built prior to 1978 go into effect. Lead exposure can cause brain damage; exposure prior to age six is especially dangerous. Contractors and owners can find the EPA’s regulations on lead paint in Title 40, Part 745 of… Continue Reading
Snow Damage in DC
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective ConstructionThe Virginia Real Estate and Land Use & Construction Law Blog reports that the recent blizzard in Washington caused a wave of roof collapses. Undoubtedly questions will be raised about the design and construction of some of these structures by owners and their property insurers. . Seeing photos of the damage reminds me again why I love… Continue Reading
Defective Pipe Installed by Mississippi Cities and Counties?
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective ConstructionState and local governments across the country may have to replace their water systems because of defective PVC pipes, according to a whistle-blower lawsuit filed in California against JM Eagle, one of the worlds largest pipe manufacturers, reports the New York Times. The whistle blower claims that the manufacturer fabricated test results. We will be monitoring… Continue Reading
Levee study says people died because of faulty design and construction
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction Law, Hurricane KatrinaThe breaches in the New Orleans levees during Katrina were caused by negligent design, construction and maintenance and parts of the system will still be flawed after current repairs are completed according to a just completed study reports the New York Times.
Visual timeline shows the levee failures that caused New Orleans to flood during hurricane Katrina
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Hurricane KatrinaThe Times-Picayune presents an amazing animated graphic showing the time line for the levee failures and flooding in New Orleans during Katrina.
Dangerous levels of formaldehyde in FEMA trailers caused by faulty construction?
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Hurricane KatrinaTests by the Sierra Club indicate many FEMA trailers in Mississippi and Louisiana have elevated levels of formaldehyde that are causing victims of Hurricane Katrina to become ill, reports the SunHerald.
Other states unlikely to sue lead paint manufacturers
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction Industry News, Construction LawPoint of Law Forum points to an article indicating other states are unlikely to follow Rhode Island’s lead.
Jury should not be allowed to interpret warranty against faulty materials and workmanship
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Contracts, Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction LawThe ContractsProf Blog summarizes an appellate decision holding the trial court erred in allowing the jury to decide the intent of an unambiguous one year warranty of materials and workmanship.
Do current building codes permit building a house of cards?
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction Industry News, Construction LawThat’s what the Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Terrorism-Resistant Buildings (TRB) of the International Code Council suggested at a recent Washington meeting reports ENR.com
Violation of gag order results in contemp finding in lead paint case
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction LawThe trial judge in the Rhode Island lead paint case cited the Rhode Island Attorney General for civil contempt and ordered him to pay a $5,000 fine reports the WSJ.com’s Law Blog.
What standards govern expert testimony in mold, sick building and defective construction cases?
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective ConstructionProfessor David Bernstien claims in a Point of Law Forum Post the federal rule governing expert evidence is stricter than Daubert and its progeny are; Blog 702 says Bernstein doesn’t get it.
Drying out a wet wall cavity to remediate mold
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction LawMcGraw-Hill Construction provides an answer in its Ask the Experts feature.
Another report faults the Corps of Engineers
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction Law, Hurricane KatrinaA panel of engineers has concluded “[t]he corps did not follow its own procedures in monitoring the rate of subsiding and rising of water levels around the city…and based the design of the levee system on outdated information….” reports the New York Times(free subscription).
Petroski’s Maxims of Engineering Failure
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction LawToday’s New York Times (free subscription required)profiles Henry Petroski, a Duke Professor whose research focuses on the lessons to be learned from design and construction failures.
Modeling how New Orleans sank
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction Law, Hurricane KatrinaMcGraw Hill Construction reports on the Katrina levee failure analysis and rebuilding effort being led by the Corps of Engineers.
Texas Tech scientists prove black mold causes tissue damage?
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective ConstructionThat’s what KAMC28 news reports.
Physician’s mold causation testimony barred
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction LawBlog 702 reports on a recent federal appellate case affirming exclusion of a physician’s opinion that toxic mold caused plaintiifs’ respiratory illness.
Stigma damages allowed for defective construction
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction LawThe Washington Supreme Court joins the Mississippi Supreme Court in holding that damages for the diminished value of property as well as cost of repair damages may be recovered for construction defects.
$30 Million mold claim
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective ConstructionThe Clements “knew something was wrong the November day in 2003 they moved into the Airmont home, which they first saw in August and purchased for $430,000. The windows in the front of the house were so fogged up the Clements couldn’t see out of them…”
Do new mold and construction defect exclusions comply with renewal rule?
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction Law, InsuranceMarc Mayerson at the Insurance Scrawl discusses the “renewal rule.”
The Boston Scaffolding Collapse
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction LawDan Hawbacker compiles the stories at the Construction Law Blog. Link. Link. Link.
How the jury decided the lead paint manufacturers were liable
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective ConstructionThe public, lawyers and jurors see jurors as passive vessels for each sides stories and evidence. The recent jury verdict against lead paint manufacturers explodes that myth.
Wisconsin passes a right to cure law for home construction defects
Posted in Construction Defects & Defective ConstructionHere’s the story from the Wisconsin State Journal.
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