Facts: Insured, architect, was retained to design a new sanctuary, social hall, office space and community gathering area for a Synagogue project. The Congregation claimed that the building did not meet the objectives and functionality of the Congregation, the applicable building codes were not followed and there were ADA concerns. The building received numerous design […]

Facts: An employee at an automatic car wash was crushed by a truck when he jumped in front of it to try and stop it. The insured, civil engineer, designed a grading plan for a car wash over 16 years ago. The named insured acquired another firm and the predecessor firm was an additional insured […]

Facts: Insured served as the MEP for a 244 unit condo project, under 3 separate contracts. The insured was advised that condensation was forming on windows in several units. The HOA claimed damages in excess of $15,000,000. Claim against the insured: It was alleged that the units did not receive enough fresh air from the […]

Source: Construction Executive, May 2013 By: George H. DuBose The International Green Construction Code (IgCC) issued a year ago is a noble step forward for the design and construction community because it includes measures intended to create more efficient and higher performing buildings. However, the push toward green codification has some looming consequences that should […]

Read here about a study in Arkansas that found no contamination in drinking water wells resulting from hydraulic fracturing.  

Source: http://science.nbcnews.com, May 16, 2013 By: John Roach The current boom in U.S. natural gas production from glassy shale rock formations is poised to usher in an era of energy independence and could bridge the gap between today’s fossil-fuel age and a clean-energy future. But that future may be swamped in a legacy of wastewater, […]

Source: http://www.courierpress.com, May 15, 2013 By: Len Wells A compromise has been reached in the Illinois legislature on a bill that would regulate the practice of high volume, high pressure hydraulic fracturing in Illinois. If approved, proponents believe an oil boom will be unleashed in Southern Illinois as producers target the oil-rich New Albany Shale […]

Source: http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com, May 14, 2013 By: Daniel Weintraub California’s economy has been powered for decades by technology, trade and tourism — businesses and jobs mostly near the coast from San Diego to Los Angeles and around the San Francisco Bay Area. The state’s great inland valleys, while serving as a breadbasket for the world, have […]

Source: http://wyomingpublicmedia.org, May 10, 2013 By: Willow Belden Links to Sublette County water quality monitoring data Maps showing the locations of gas wells, water wells, and other hydrologic data Sublette County has been in the news a lot because of its air quality problems, which largely stem from natural gas production. But there’s another issue […]

Source: http://www.mondaq.com, May 13, 2013 By: Vicki Harding, Pepper Hamilton LLP Route 21 Associates of Belleville, Inc. v. MHC, Inc., 46 B.R. 75 (S.D.N.Y. 2012 – A company (Route 21) bought property from the debtor (MHC) in the mid-1980s that turned out to be contaminated. After the debtor filed bankruptcy in 2009, Route 21 attempted […]

Source: http://www.environmentalleader.com, May 13, 2013 A landfill in Roxbury, New Jersey, has received hundreds of complaints from nearby residents of a stench like rotten eggs, and a bill has been filed by Sen. Anthony Bucco that would force the landfill to shut down. The Fenimore Landfill, owned by Strategic Environmental Partners, had been closed since […]

Read here about a diesel fuel leak in Indianapolis that continues to be cleaned up.