Source: http://www.jdsupra.com, November 5, 2014 By: Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP Issues of privity and whether claims sound in breach of contract or negligence are common in construction defect cases involving architects and New York is no exception. Indeed, New York courts have long wrestled with architect liability and formulas for imposing or defeating […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, November 4, 2014 By: Daniel M. Krainin and Mackenzie S. Schoonmaker, Beveridge & Diamond PC In an opinion that may help clarify the jurisdictional and pleading requirements for plaintiffs seeking damages and injunctive relief for alleged injuries from vapor intrusion, the federal district court in Minnesota denied a Defendant’s motion to dismiss such […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, November 2, 2014 By: Carl A. Salisbury, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has gone back and forth, and back again, in deciding just what an exclusion in the standard Commercial General Liability policy means.  Fortunately for construction contractors and policyholders, the Court got it […]

Jury selection has begun for a trial on flawed casino tower in Las Vegas where work was halted in 2008. Read more here.

Source: http://www.lexology.com, October 31, 2014 By: Benjamin B. Hyden, Bricker & Eckler LLP Structural damage to a new building caused by a defective building pad may not be covered under a commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policy when the specific damage is the type of damage that a properly constructed building pad is expected to […]

Source: http://www.propertycasualty360.com, October 31, 2014 By: Jeff Slivka More projects are using IPDs to reduce errors and save money and time. But they don’t always fit with traditional professional liability insurance tools. In spite of fluctuations in the economy, there is good news for the commercial building industry. According to the Architecture Billing Index (ABI) […]

Read here about Wynn Resorts plans to clean up pollution at the site of a former chemical plant.

Source: http://www.lexology.com, October 29, 2014 By: Eliot R. Hudson, Carl H. Poedtke III and Stephen W. Schwab, DLA Piper LLP Casualty insurers normally do not expect to pay the cost of their insureds simply doing a good job.  Insurers typically view their contracts as assuming the risk of delineated consequences – damages – if the […]

Source: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com, October 25, 2014 By: Paul Srubas NCR Corp. continued to produce carbonless copy paper well after learning a chemical involved in the manufacturing process posed a long-term risk to human health and the vitality of the Fox River, a federal appellate court has found. The company knew long before area paper recyclers did […]

Source: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com, October 28, 2014 By: Ted Booker To foreclose on a tax-troubled North Main Street property in the village, Jefferson County soon will choose either to pay the state Department of Environmental Conservation about $160,000 for clearing it of contamination, or wait for the state to claw back that cost from the property owner. […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, October 23, 2014 By: Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP On October 20, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit unanimously affirmed the lower court’s ruling that the commercial liability insurance policies purchased by Headwaters Resources, Inc. contained unambiguous “pollution exclusion” provisions which excluded Headwaters’ demand that its […]

Source: http://www.jdsupra.com, October 24, 2014 By: Gilbert Lee, Sedgwick LLP In State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. McDermott, 2014 WL 5285335 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 15, 2014), a federal court recently held that an insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify its insured against an underlying construction defect lawsuit containing causes of action sounding […]