Source: https://www.stripes.com/, March 2, 2023 By: Heather Gann The Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB) is taking multiple chemical companies to federal court in South Carolina, accusing them of contaminating Birmingham’s drinking water supply — which was never disclosed to the public before now. And despite contending in the suit that water continues to be contaminated, […]

Source: https://watercollaborativedelivery.org/, February 27, 2023 By: John Coffin Design-build contracts continue to mature and evolve in many aspects, including terms related to liability. In the world of water infrastructure delivery, design-build most often pairs a contractor and a design firm. The well-established risk management tools for these entities—developed over decades of exposure in the design-bid-build […]

Source: Liberty Mutual Insurance Over the past 2 years, microplastics have been the subject of hundreds of articles and studies discussing their  prevalence and potential impact on the environment and all forms of life The extent to which microplastics might be  harmful is currently unclear but the science is continuing to develop Furthermore, while litigation […]

Source Liberty Mutual Insurance Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic less than 5 millimeters (mm) in length1 and are an increasing topic  of risk discussions due to their prevalence in the environment and negative impacts they potentially pose to the earth and its inhabitants. The term microplastics was first introduced to differentiate these […]

Source: https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/, February 28, 2023 By: Jared Weber The owners of Stamford’s historic lock factory — which may be headed for demolition — has filed a wide-ranging lawsuit claiming they were deceived into purchasing the property. Manhattan-based GAIA Real Estate has sued South End developer Building and Land Technology, the city of Stamford and multiple other entities […]

Source: https://www.businessinsurance.com/, February 28, 2023 By: Judy Greenwald An insurer can deny coverage based on a policy’s pollution exclusion even though it did not raise that issue in its original denial letter, a federal appeals court said Monday in affirming a lower court. Read more.

Source: https://www.mercurynews.com/, March 1, 2023 By: Gabriel Greschler A well-known Bay Area construction materials firm has unleashed harmful pollutants into Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek, threatening sensitive species of fish, frogs and salamanders, a newly filed lawsuit alleges. The Santa Clara County District Attorney claims that Graniterock, an over-century-old Watsonville-based corporation, has discharged stormwater from […]

Source: https://www.insurancejournal.com/, March 1, 2023 According to a new survey from specialty broker Ames & Gough, insurers of professional liability for architects and engineers are planning additional rate increases to keep pace with rising claims costs, a backlog of litigation, worker shortages, and supply chain disruptions. Fifteen of 16 insurers – a significant representation of […]

Source: https://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/, February 27, 2023 By: Joseph P. Smith The township is moving on two fronts to deal with reported contamination of its drinking water sources with chemical compounds found in fire suppression foams. Attorneys for the township filed a six-count lawsuit on Feb. 16 in Burlington County Superior Court against 29 companies, leaving room […]

Source: https://news.yahoo.com/, February 26, 2023 By: Michelle Mark Residents of Lincoln County are fed up with the black fungus covering their homes and cars. The stubborn “whiskey fungus” feeds on ethanol vapor from the Jack Daniel’s barrel houses. Locals are demanding an air-filtration system and an environmental-impact study. The sooty black mold smothers homes, porches, […]

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/, February 25, 2023 By: Carey Gillam Mike DeWine, the Ohio governor, recently lamented the toll taken on the residents of East Palestine after the toxic train derailment there, saying “no other community should have to go through this”. But such accidents are happening with striking regularity. A Guardian analysis of data collected by […]

Source: https://www.insurancejournal.com/, February 23, 2023 A Waltham-based construction contractor, Devens-based plumbing contractor, and Woburn-based demolition company will pay up to $325,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations of illegal asbestos work during a renovation project at Fitchburg State University (FSU) in the spring and summer of 2018, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said that […]