Source: http://www.lexology.com, June 5, 2014 By: Gregory T. Hanson, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP On May 7, the California Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Beacon Residential Community Assn. v. Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill LLP, a case that will have a huge impact on design professional liability in California when third-party purchasers sue a designer alleging […]

Source: http://www.law.com, June 9, 2014 By: Barbara Reeves Neal and Kenneth C. Gibbs There is much that can go wrong in any large construction project:  improper installations, defective products, errors and omissions made by designers, unexpected site conditions—the list is long.  Insurance coverage or a performance bond often means the difference between compensating injured parties […]

Source: http://www.godanriver.com, June 8, 2014 If coal ash were a person, it would need a really good psychiatrist to treat a classic case of schizophrenia. Is this power-plant byproduct the “toxic sludge” so threatening to the state’s ground water, streams and lakes? Or is it the potentially beneficial substance Charlotte coal ash expert John Daniels […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, June 4, 2014 By: Jon M. Ludwig, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP Recent decisions made in the Las Vegas CityCenter complex litigation confirm that “contract is king” in assessing commercial design professionals’ liability for faulty plans and inspections. The main dispute in the litigation involves the alleged defective construction of Harmon Tower.  During […]

Source: http://www.sfgate.com, June 6, 2014 By: Randall Chase An engineer who first noticed that columns supporting a major interstate highway bridge in Delaware were tilting said he visited the site shortly after the bridge was closed and saw that they had shifted even farther. The account of geotechnical engineer Dave Charles in an interview Thursday with […]

Source: http://www.timesherald.com, June 4, 2014 By: Frank Otto Township residents voiced their frustrations and concerns with contaminated groundwater affecting their homes at Tuesday night’s board of supervisors meeting. The discussion began as part of a public hearing on an ordinance regarding 24 properties which were tapped by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to be […]

Source: http://www.insurancejournal.com, June 6, 2014 By: Chris Dolmetsch and Zain Shauk BP Plc, Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. are among two dozen U.S. refiners sued by Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell and accused of polluting the state’s groundwater with a gasoline additive. Sorrell filed the case Thursday in state court in Montpelier, the capital. […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, June 3, 2014 By: Patrick J. Kenny, Julie E. O’Keefe, Kevin Stolworthy, Laurence R. Tucker and Jonathan S. Wolff, Armstrong Teasdale LLP A recent federal appeals court ruling underscores the need for businesses using potentially irritating chemicals to check their insurance policies for “absolute pollution exception” clauses. These increasingly common clauses exclude coverage […]

Source: Chicago Tribune, June 4, 2014 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com For months, a company that stores giant mounds of petroleum coke on Chicago’s Southeast Side has maintained it had nothing to do with gritty clouds of dust blowing into surrounding neighborhoods or black residue staining the sides of nearby houses. But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency […]

Source: South Bend Tribune (IN), June 4, 2014 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com A group of residents and landlords who own property in a neighborhood near Goshen High School have accused a nearby plant of polluting the neighborhood, leaving a dangerous plume of carcinogens, under homes, businesses and the school, that contaminated air and drinking water for […]

Source: http://www.app.com, June 3, 2014 By: Nicholas Huba Seven years after shutting down a contaminated gas station on Route 88, state and ExxonMobil officials still are debating how to clean up the site. Benzene, a clear petroleum-based chemical that can be poisonous, was detected in September 2013 in soil samples and off-site ground water, according […]

Source: http://www.fredericknewspost.com, June 4, 2014 By: Danielle E. Gaines A multibillion-dollar lawsuit scheduled to go to trial this fall in Frederick County has been settled, according to attorneys. The suit was filed in 2010 on behalf of Monrovia families who said they were harmed by exposure to gasoline and related products leaked into groundwater from […]