Source: http://www.constructiondive.com, September 6, 2017 By: Mary Tyler March Dive Brief: Months after a spillway failure forced the temporary evacuation of 188,000 Sacramento, CA, area residents, independent safety experts say poor design and construction, as well as inadequate inspections, caused February’s collapse at the Oroville Dam, The Mercury News reported. Thin concrete, insufficient foundations and ill-placed […]

Source: https://www.lexology.com, September 18, 2017 By: Jeffrey S. Crowe and Jennifer Hoffman, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP Energy Insurance Mutual Limited v. Ace American Insurance Company, 14 Cal.App.5th 281 (2017); First Appellate District Court of Appeal, Division Four, Case No. A140656 (July 11, 2017). In Energy Insurance Mutual Limited v. Ace American Insurance Company, […]

Source: https://www.constructionrisk.com, September 2017 By: J. Kent Holland, Jr. Where a housing developer won a jury verdict for more than $9.5 million against a geotechnical engineer, the court applied the limitation of liability (LoL) clause in the geotech’s contract to cap the liability at $550,000. The developer attempted to avoid the LoL by arguing that […]

Source: http://www.businessinsurance.com, August 23, 2017 By: Judy Greenwald A federal appeals court has upheld Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Co. Inc.’s denial of an insurance claim for a claims-made policy by a construction firm because the claim was not submitted within the policy period, even though it was submitted during the policy’s subsequent renewal period. […]

Source: https://sourceable.net, September 12, 2017 By: Andrew Heaton Amid the Senate Inquiry Into Non-Conforming Building Products, issues associated with the use of materials which do not meet the requirements of the National Construction Code (NCC) have been the subject of considerable attention in recent years. Whether it’s faulty cables, exploding glass, roofing materials containing asbestos […]

Source: http://www.constructiondive.com, August 15, 2017 By: Kim Slowey This summer, the world looked on in disbelief as fire consumed the 24-story Grenfell Tower residential high-rise in London. The building burned for more than 24 hours before firefighters could extinguish it in full. Reports have confirmed approximately 80 fatalities so far, but that number could still […]

Source: http://www.enr.com, September 5, 2017 The doomed V.C. Summer nuclear project suffered from flawed construction plans, faulty designs, inadequate management of contractors, low worker morale and high turnover, according to a lengthy and long-secret report released Monday by S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s office. The report, completed by the Bechtel Corp. about 18 months before the […]

Source: http://www.jdsupra.com, August 14,2 017 In Energy Ins. Mutual Ltd. v. Ace American Ins. Co. (No. A140656, filed 7/11/17, ord. Pub. 8/10/17), a California appeals court found that a professional services exclusion barred coverage for wrongful death and other claims blamed on pipeline inspectors’ failure to identify and properly mark a gas pipeline that was […]

Source: https://www.lexology.com, August 8, 2017 By: Daniel McLennon, Smith Currie & Hancock A recent trend in design-build contracting, especially on large projects, is for the owner to incorporate a heightened standard of care for the design aspects of the building. Creeping into contracts is language requiring the project to perform according to unspecified expectations, such […]