A dispute between a Michigan construction company and an Ohio school district over unpaid work and delays has come to an end. The Ohio Court of Claims approved a $979,000 settlement from the school district; just over half of the $1.7 million Synergy Group claimed the Reynoldsburg school system owed it. The school district claimed that Synergy’s delays on the project caused it to have additional expenses both with subcontractors and legal fees.

Edward Salanga, a partner at Quarles & Brady with a practice that includes representing lenders and contractors in property and construction-related disputes, including construction defect claims, has been named the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group Chair in the firm’s Phoenix office.

Phoenix Business Journal reports that court has affirmed the $13.6 million settlement in the Sun City Grand construction defect case. The settlement was the result of arbitration. Del Webb Corp, the home builder, plans on appealing the court ruling, noting that the payout in attorney and expert fees is almost as much as the homeowners are getting. Initially, the homeowners claimed $50 million in damages and were offered $2 million.

U.S. Senators. Bill Nelson, (D.-Fl), and Mary Landrieu, (D.-LA) have filed legislation for a recall and immediate ban on tainted building products from China, as more and more people around the country are reporting problems in their homes built with imported drywall.

The legislation presses the Consumer Product Safety Commission ( CPSC ) for a recall on Chinese-made drywall, based in part on findings by a Florida homebuilder and state officials who have confirmed the presence of sulfide gases in homes built with the drywall.

Congressman Robert Wexler, (D.-Fl), has filed similar legislation in the House. In addition, Wexler has urged Florida Governor Charlie Crist to declare a state of emergency in Florida over the product. This would allow homeowners to apply for federal loans to help repair their homes.

Nelson and Landrieu's legislation also asks the CPSC to work with federal testing labs and the Environmental Protection Agency to determine the level of hazard posed by certain chemicals and as yet unidentified organic compounds in the drywall.

In addition, the legislation calls on the commission to issue an interim ban on imports until it can create federal drywall safety standards so consumers are protected in the future.

Among other things, the drywall is linked to seeping sulfide gases that can corrode electrical wiring and components of air-conditioning and other household appliances.

The two lawmakers said they're hoping to jump-start a process for helping affected homeowners with the costs of repairs or replacement, which under their legislation would be the responsibility of the manufacturers.

The potential scope of the problem is big. Officials believe between 60,000 and 100,000 homes nationwide may contain tainted drywall. Nelson represents Florida, where an estimated 36,000 homes are believed to contain Chinese-made drywall. Landrieu represents Louisiana, where tons of the drywall was used in post-Hurricane Katrina construction. Besides Florida and Louisiana, problems also have been seen and reported in the press in Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi and California.

Nelson noted that during a recent three-to five-year period drywall from China arrived at ports around the country, including 60 million pounds in New Orleans and 27 million pounds in Mississippi - two areas hard hit by Hurricane Katrina.

"I believe you're going to see this is widespread," said Nelson, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee that oversees the CPSC. "Anytime you have mounting evidence of potentially toxic goods you have an obligation to act quickly to protect consumers."

On Feb. 13, Nelson wrote the CPSC and requested a federal investigation into the imported drywall. The CPSC launched an investigation two weeks later. Last week, a team of federal investigators was in southwest Florida inspecting the electrical systems of suspect homes.

A number of homeowners have filed lawsuits, and developers are suing the manufacturers of the drywall. Homeowner lawsuits contend the drywall has caused damage to the home, that the drywall itself must be replaced and, in some cases, that residents have suffered adverse health effects such as asthma as a result of exposure.

In the past, there has been at least one case involving widespread replacement of siding in numerous homes around the country. The siding, a concoction of wood scraps and resins, was installed on about 800,000 homes around the country from 1985 to 1995. It warped prematurely, rotted in wet weather and sprouted mushrooms and other fungus. The first complaints arose out of the use of the wood panels on roofs of houses in Florida.

About 67,000 homeowners lodged complaints and eventually the manufacturer paid 37,781 homeowners an average of $4,367 or a total of $165 million.

Senate Bill 337 (Statutes of Repose) has passed out of the Nevada State Senate. The vote was held April 15th, there were 20 yeas, 0 nays, and 1 Senator not voting. The bill was immediately referred to the Nevada State Assembly, where it was read for the first time today and referred to the Committee on Judiciary. The bill's history and content can be found at http://www.leg.state.nv.us/75th2009/Reports/history.cfm?ID=930

Senate Bill 349 (NRS Chapter 40) has also passed out of the Nevada State Senate. The vote was held today, there were 19 yeas, 1 nay, and 1 Senator not voting. The bill has been referred to the Nevada State Assembly. The bill's history and content can be found at http://www.leg.state.nv.us/75th2009/Reports/history.cfm?ID=967

In American Home Assurance Co. v. BFC Construction Corp.,. No. 4323 (N.Y. App. Div. Feb. 22, 2011), the named insured tendered its defense of the underlying lawsuit to its insurer. An additional insured was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Read the full story.... Reprinted courtesy of CDCoverage.com

Insurance News Net and a variety of legal publications reported today that a construction litigation team of six partners, two counsel and seven associates will be joining Pillsbury in its Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC and New York offices. The group comprising 15 individuals have reportedly left the Howrey firm, and are joining the construction practice group at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Pillsbury Firm Chair Jim Rishwain, commented that “We are enthusiastic to have this team of market-leading professionals join Pillsbury, as these attorneys are remarkable for their breadth of litigation and arbitration experience combined with an unsurpassed focus on construction and infrastructure. Under John Heisse's leadership, as former co-head of Howrey's Construction Litigation group, the team received the 2010 Award for Excellence in Construction by Chambers USA,” According to press releases and the Pillsbury website, the team comprises a marquee group of litigators with an emphasis on resolving disputes for general construction and engineering, real estate and infrastructure projects and securing insurance coverage for those matters. The partners joining Pillsbury are John R. Heisse (San Francisco), David T. Dekker (DC), Robert B. Thum (Los Angeles), Jeffrey Gans (DC), Melissa Lesmes (DC), and Michael McNamara (DC). Heisse will reportedly serve as a leader of Pillsbury s Firmwide Construction Litigation team. In addition, the team will also include two counsel in Los Angeles, five associates in DC, one associate in San Francisco and one associate in New York. Other Howrey partners have joined Pillsbury in the recent past, specifically San Francisco IP litigation partner Duane Mathiowetz joined the firm on February 12, 2011.

The Sacramento Bee reported that hearings are underway in the matter of the September 9, 2010 San Bruno Pipeline explosion. The explosion destroyed 38 homes and resulted in eight fatalities. According to the Bee, the NTSB is near to reaching its conclusions relevant to the cause of the explosion. A ruptured segment of the pipeline was reportedly found to have 150 welding defects. Questions have arisen as to why the inspection process failed to identify the defects, and as well what are the risks that may arise from similar pipelines in the area and nationally. “I could not believe that their inspection during construction was so bad in San Bruno,” said Robert Eiber, a Columbus, Ohio, pipeline consultant. Read More...

“New York used to be known as a well-built city, but the last construction boom had so many problems, it’s really like being in Florida,” assistant New York State Attorney General Marissa Piesman said last night at a forum for frustrated co-op and condo owners.Piesman is reportedly very familiar with construction defect issues confronting owners and builders concerned with city’s construction boom of the recent past. According to an article written by Teri Karush Rogers, and published in Brick Underground NY (www.brickunderground.com) Piesman discussed the increasing difficulties in addressing complaints. “It used to be that a phone call from the Attorney General’s office would be sufficient but in the last two years since the economy tanked, it’s been hard to get sponsors to be responsive,” she noted.In light of a mounting number of construction defect complaints the office of the Attorney General reportedly favors mediation over litigation.“We’re more likely to get involved when there’s a systemic problem across a whole building rather than a problem affecting one individual,“ said Piesman.  The rise in the city’s construction defect claims includes established developers as well as smaller players drawn to the city’s recent real estate boom.In a recent New York Times article real estate attorney Steven D. Sladkus said, “During the real estate boom, everyone had to be in the development business. It was like playing Lotto you had to be in it to win it. I had a case, for example, where a small building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was put up and people paid top dollar for not-so-fantastic apartments. The developer was a baker.” When asked if the complaints mainly involved inexperienced developers, he also noted, that “We’re dealing with some larger developers, too.”

Local homebuilders, real estate agents and others are mounting a full-court press against out-of-area attorneys who solicit local homeowners to participate in construction-defect lawsuits.A group gathered before the Fresno City Council Thursday to detail the impact such lawsuits have had on industries including construction, manufacturing and real estate sales. They also asked the council to support legislation that would require attorneys who solicit such lawsuits to disclose possible drawbacks to their clients.Granville Homes has been the target of such lawsuits, which are lodged against homebuilders by buyers alleging their homes were built defectively. Granville President Darius Assemi told the Fresno City Council that attorneys who solicit these types of lawsuits often do so without giving the builder a chance to remedy the situation.“You wake up one morning, and there it is a lawsuit on your doorstep,” Assemi said.He added the result is that homebuilders are often hesitant to build for the entry-level housing market.Pat Redell, owner of Fresno window and patio door manufacturer Merzon Industries, said such lawsuits have contributed to him closing shop. In his 30-plus years in business, he told the council he has been named in more than 300 of these types of cases, which has taken its toll. He said he employed up to 200 people in the late ’80s. Now he employs zero and is looking to sell his equipment.He likened the lawsuits to &ldqu;a disease spawned in the Southern California area that can be directly tied to just a handful of law firms.”Read the full story

U.S. Senators. Bill Nelson, (D.-Fl), and Mary Landrieu, (D.-LA) have filed legislation for a recall and immediate ban on tainted building products from China, as more and more people around the country are reporting problems in their homes built with imported drywall.The legislation presses the Consumer Product Safety Commission ( CPSC ) for a recall on Chinese-made drywall, based in part on findings by a Florida homebuilder and state officials who have confirmed the presence of sulfide gases in homes built with the drywall.Congressman Robert Wexler, (D.-Fl), has filed similar legislation in the House. In addition, Wexler has urged Florida Governor Charlie Crist to declare a state of emergency in Florida over the product. This would allow homeowners to apply for federal loans to help repair their homes.Nelson and Landrieu’s legislation also asks the CPSC to work with federal testing labs and the Environmental Protection Agency to determine the level of hazard posed by certain chemicals and as yet unidentified organic compounds in the drywall.In addition, the legislation calls on the commission to issue an interim ban on imports until it can create federal drywall safety standards so consumers are protected in the future.Among other things, the drywall is linked to seeping sulfide gases that can corrode electrical wiring and components of air-conditioning and other household appliances.The two lawmakers said they’re hoping to jump-start a process for helping affected homeowners with the costs of repairs or replacement, which under their legislation would be the responsibility of the manufacturers.The potential scope of the problem is big. Officials believe between 60,000 and 100,000 homes nationwide may contain tainted drywall. Nelson represents Florida, where an estimated 36,000 homes are believed to contain Chinese-made drywall. Landrieu represents Louisiana, where tons of the drywall was used in post-Hurricane Katrina construction. Besides Florida and Louisiana, problems also have been seen and reported in the press in Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi and California.Nelson noted that during a recent three-to five-year period drywall from China arrived at ports around the country, including 60 million pounds in New Orleans and 27 million pounds in Mississippi — two areas hard hit by Hurricane Katrina.“I believe you’re going to see this is widespread," said Nelson, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee that oversees the CPSC. "Anytime you have mounting evidence of potentially toxic goods you have an obligation to act quickly to protect consumers.”On Feb. 13, Nelson wrote the CPSC and requested a federal investigation into the imported drywall. The CPSC launched an investigation two weeks later. Last week, a team of federal investigators was in southwest Florida inspecting the electrical systems of suspect homes.A number of homeowners have filed lawsuits, and developers are suing the manufacturers of the drywall. Homeowner lawsuits contend the drywall has caused damage to the home, that the drywall itself must be replaced and, in some cases, that residents have suffered adverse health effects such as asthma as a result of exposure.In the past, there has been at least one case involving widespread replacement of siding in numerous homes around the country. The siding, a concoction of wood scraps and resins, was installed on about 800,000 homes around the country from 1985 to 1995. It warped prematurely, rotted in wet weather and sprouted mushrooms and other fungus. The first complaints arose out of the use of the wood panels on roofs of houses in Florida.About 67,000 homeowners lodged complaints and eventually the manufacturer paid 37,781 homeowners an average of $4,367 or a total of $165 million.