Construction Defect Journal

This one-day event “will look at how shoreline development in Oregon is being impacted by changes in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), as well as state and local regulations.” The seminar will cover the “latest developments in laws and regulations controlling development in shoreline areas, including changes to the way that FEMA and other federal agencies are mapping floodplain areas, the evolving integration of the Endangered Species Act into the National Flood Insurance Program,...

Fourth Circuit Applies Hawaii Law to Invoke Duty to Defend Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the District Court, holding that under Hawaii law, the insurer had a duty to defend based upon deposition testimony providing facts not found in the underlying complaint. Koppers Performance Chemicals, Inc. v. Argonaut-Midwest Ins. Co., 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 15678 (4th Cir. June 27, 2024). Our post on the District Court's decision is here.

The California Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the insured's claim for full coverage after suffering from the phishing scam. Door Sys. v. CFC Underwriting Limited, 2024 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 3441 (Cal. Ct. App. June 3, 2024). Door Systems was a leading distributer of integrated fire doors and fire protection smoke curtains. It alleged that on January 20, 2021, someone impersonating its President sent electronic correspondence to one of its clients, X-Act Finish & Trim, Inc.

Homebuilder D.R. Horton Soars to Record on Strong Profit Margin Prashant Gopal - Bloomberg D.R. Horton Inc. shares soared to a record high after the homebuilder reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit margin and expectations for lower mortgage rates lifted investor optimism. The company’s gross margin for the quarter through June was 24%, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Drew Reading. That beat D.R. Horton’s earlier guidance and the consensus of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Addressing issues left open in its seminal decision in Montrose, the California Supreme Court found that the language in the first-level excess policies meant that the insured could access the policies upon exhaustion of the directly underlying policies purchased for the same policy period. Truck Ins. Exchange v. Kaiser Cement & Gypsum Corp., 2024 Cal. LEXIS 3271 (Cal. June 17, 2024). From 1944 through the 1970's, Kaiser manufactured asbestos-containing products at numerous different facilities.

Benefit of the Coblentz Agreement and Consent Judgment David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates If you are not familiar with the concept of what is commonly known as a Coblentz agreement relative to an insurance coverage dispute, review these prior postings (here and here and here).

The Final Frontier Opens Up New Business Opportunities for Private Contractors Jessica S. Allain - ConsensusDocs Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Defense (“DOD”) issued its Commercial Space Integration Strategy. While arguably still in the early stages of implementation, this policy shows a significant shift in creating new opportunities for contractors to work with and sell commercial solutions to DOD. This creates big opportunities for the construction industry.

A “Flood” of Uncertainty; Massachusetts SJC Finds Policy Term Ambiguous Michael S.

Wildfire Risk Harms California Home Values, San Francisco Fed Study Finds California’s wildfires are weighing on home prices more than in the past, and insurance availability does little to help in areas considered to be at higher risk, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco study.

The NAHB Professional Women in Building Week (PWB Week) showcases “the achievements of women across all facets of the industry and the efforts to promote, train, advance and add more women in the field.” The NAHBNow blog will provide “fresh news and content about women in building each day.” Each day of the PWB week will feature a different topic.