Source: https://www.wpri.com/, August 16, 2024 By: Eli Sherman, Tim White Rhode Island has filed a lawsuit against 13 companies over the failure of the Washington Bridge, alleging they failed to identify and address “worsening structural issues” that ultimately resulted in its abrupt closure last December. The allegations of breach of contract, fiduciary duty and negligence […]

Source: https://www.jdsupra.com/, August 12, 2024 By: Frantz Ward LLP Most of us involved in the construction industry are familiar with the Design-Build model of project delivery, and how it differs from the “standard” Design-Bid-Build model. But increasingly certain industries are embracing a slightly different model – the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction delivery model, or EPC […]

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/, August 11, 2024 By: Shannon Pettypiece After five decades working as a teacher and school administrator, Janet Stone envisioned a relaxing retirement in her condo overlooking Florida’s Atlantic coast. Instead, she’s gone back to work teaching preschoolers with disabilities and living with her son in Las Vegas to pay off a $100,000 bill […]

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/, August 9, 2024 By: Tom Perkins Toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” that leach from landfills into groundwater are among the major pollution sources in the US, and remain a problem for which officials have yet to find an effective solution. Now new research has identified another route in which PFAS may escape landfills and threaten the environment at […]

Source: Professional Underwriters Agency (PUA) A civil engineering firm that provided professional services for a highway improvement project was named as a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit concerning a fatal motor vehicle accident that occurred on the highway. While the civil  engineering firm’s liability was vigorously contested, following discovery and as the matter approached […]

Source: https://insideclimatenews.org/, August 6, 2024 By: Martha Pskowski A dozen people huddle around a 10-foot deep hole in the parched West Texas soil. The group falls silent in anticipation as well-control specialist Hawk Dunlap, in a red jumpsuit, scrapes at the soil with a shovel. A lawyer in a hardhat peers down and trains his […]

Source: Professional Underwriters Agency (PUA) An interior designer specified vinyl wallcoverings on a hotel project in accordance with the brand’s specifications. Due to  alleged design and construction defects, the internal building air was more humid than anticipated,  moisture was  trapped behind the wallcoverings and mold formed. The interior designer was named as a defendant in […]

Source: https://www.epa.gov/, August 6, 2024 Today, Aug. 6, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the emergency suspension of all registrations of the pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA or Dacthal) under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). This is the first time in almost 40 years EPA has taken this type of emergency action, […]

Source: Professional Underwriters Agency (PUA) A landscape architect was retained by a high-net-worth client to design the  grounds of a multi-million dollar vacation  residence. The landscape architect’s services included the conceptual design of a swimming pool and surrounding hardscape, which involved the selection of stone and tiling to be used in the project to match […]

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/, August 8, 2024 By: Stephen Sorace Sixteen workers were hospitalized on Wednesday morning after “improperly mixed pool chemicals” created a hazardous reaction at the grand opening of Great Wolf Lodge in Texas, officials said. Webster city officials said in a statement that a third-party contractor caused the leak in an isolated building separate […]

Source: Professional Underwriters Agency (PUA) A claim was made against an architect for significant settlement at a project more than two years after completion. The settlement appears  to be a result of improper and insufficient geotechnical design and testing. While the architect did not retain the geotechnical engineer, the  owner alleged that the architectural and […]

Source: https://www.lexology.com/, August 1, 2024 By: Ahlia Bethea and Elizabeth Knauer, Sive Paget & Riesel PC 2024 has already been a banner year for the regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at the federal level; unsurprisingly, these efforts are eliciting legal challenges from regulated entities. CERCLA On April 19, 2024, the EPA issued a final […]