Source: http://www.lexology.com, May 20, 2015 By: Amy B. Briggs, Donna M. Carlton, Christine Spinella Davis, David B. Killalea, Stephen T. Raptis and Robert H. Shulman, Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP Why it matters: Do personal injuries resulting from lead-based paint fall under a pollution exclusion in a commercial general liability policy? According to a decision from […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, June 12, 2015 By: Laura J. Stipanowich, Smith Currie & Hancock Alternative project delivery methods, such as design-build, are increasingly prevalent in the modern construction industry. Occasionally, the design-build team consists of a constructor that, pursuant to a prime contract with the project owner, is the “single point of responsibility” for both design […]

Source: Los Angeles Times, June 11, 2015 http://fpn.advisen.com Cleaning up the thousands of gallons of crude oil that fouled Refugio State Beach on May 19 has cost more than $60 million, officials said Wednesday, and the figure is expected to grow as the cleanup continues. Cleanup costs hit a peak of about $3 million per […]

Source: http://www.wect.com, June 9, 2015 State officials are ordering Duke Energy to stop the continued spread of coal ash contamination in the groundwater near its Sutton Steam Plant in Wilmington. Duke Energy received a notice of regulatory requirement Tuesday after recent tests showed high levels of boron in monitoring wells and three water-supply wells about […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, June 10, 2015 By: Hunton & Williams LLP The United States District Court of the Southern District of Florida in National Union Fire Ins. Co. v. Florida Crystals Corp., et al., No. 14-81134-CIV-COHN/VALLE (S.D. Fla. May 11, 2015) denied an insurer’s motion for summary judgment that it had no duty to defend an […]

Source: Jersey Journal (NJ), June 10, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Residents in the southwest section of Jersey City who filed a class-action lawsuit against Honeywell over chromium contamination on their properties would receive roughly $2,000 each in a $10 million settlement. Honeywell will put $10 million into a pool for homeowners who participate in the […]

Source: http://www.mlive.com, June 9, 2015 By: Alex Mitchell Enbridge Energy will pay an additional $4 million to fund multiple restoration projects along the Kalamazoo River as part of a “natural resource damage” settlement the company reached with tribal, state and federal officials over the 2010 oil spill that sent 800,000 gallons of oil into the Talmadge Creek and Kalamazoo […]

Source: http://www.philly.com, June 9, 2015 By: Michael E. Kraft The Obama administration recently announced the first major federal regulations of hydraulic fracturing, which take effect this month. Fracking has been praised for contributing to a massive increase in production of oil and natural gas, reducing the nation’s reliance on imported oil and fostering increased use […]

Source: http://www.constructionbusinessowner.com, June 2015 By: Kathy Wells With the economy on the upswing, a higher quantity of new projects and numerous changes in the industry, contractors are faced with a volume of new potential risk factors that, if ignored, could greatly affect their businesses Construction Business Owner sat down with risk management professional Steven Davis, […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, June 8, 2015 By: Brian A. Wolf, Smith Currie & Hancock Your insurance policy may not cover the costs of an expensive Chapter 558 construction defect process. Florida’s construction defect statute, Chapter 558, requires an owner to notify contractors of all alleged construction defects. After the notice is sent, the contractor notifies all […]

Source: http://www.propertycasualty360.com, June 8, 2015 By: Phil Gusman Number of projects has increased, but a talent shortage impacts risk profiles at all levels. When discussing current trends in the construction-insurance marketplace, experts agree on one thing: The greatest concern is a shortage in skilled labor to meet the growing demand in projects. “This is probably […]

Source: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com, June 4, 2015 By: Eric Dietrich Between multiple lawsuits and an expensive cleanup project, the city of Bozeman’s leaky former landfill off Story Mill Road is an expensive liability for taxpayers, totaling almost $2.2 million in costs and counting since 2012, according to a financial document released this week. However, the issue shouldn’t […]