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Construction Law

Construction Litigation Law Blog

From the Construction Litigation Group at Stark & Stark

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Last Entry: November 22, 2010 at 16:37:28

New Jersey Supreme Court Reverses Appellate Division in Seminal Economic Loss Rule Case

Posted on November 22, 2010
On Monday, November 15th, 2010, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in the controversial case of Dean v. Barrett Homes, Inc., 406 N.J. Super. 453 (App. Div. 2009), cert. granted, 200 N.J. 207, 976 (2009). The contested issue in Dean was whether the economic loss doctrine, a judicial construct which bars recovery in tort for damage a product causes only to itself, applied to bar a homeowner?s tort claim for a defective exterior finishing system installed on their home during construction...

Appellate Division Reverses Trial Judge?s Order in Consumer Fraud Act Claims

Posted on October 05, 2010
In a Per Curiam decision, the Appellate Division recently reversed a Trial Judge?s order dismissing several Consumer Fraud Act (?CFA?) claims against the developer of a condominium development and the general contractor for allegedly having filed false affidavits of title in the course of selling several units...

Stark & Stark Attorneys Obtain $1,200,000 Settlement for Bergen County Condominium in Construction Defect Case

Posted on July 16, 2010
Stark & Stark attorneys, Mark M. Wiechnik, David J. Byrne and Thomas J. Pryor have obtained a $1.2 million settlement for a condominium located in Bergen County, New Jersey after experiencing roof leaks, window deficiencies and other construction related issues...

Miami Judge Certifies Chinese Drywall Class Action

Posted on June 01, 2010
Last week, a Miami judge ruled that a lawsuit filed on behalf of homeowners in the wake of the Chinese drywall disaster can proceed as a class action. The case, currently involving 152 homes in Miami-Dade County, Florida, marks the first state class action approved in the country...

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Stark & Stark Shareholders Present Seminar at 2010 New Jersey Cooperator Expo

Posted on May 14, 2010
Donald B. Brenner, Chair of Stark & Stark's Construction Litigation Group, presented a seminar at the 2010 New Jersey Cooperator Expo. The expo was held in Secaucus, New Jersey on May 5, 2010. Mr. Brenner presented a seminar entitled, Legal and Legislative Update: Important Decisions, New Laws, and how they Impact Your HOA, Condo...

Judge Rules in Favor of Homeowners in Chinese Drywall Case

Posted on April 21, 2010
U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon in the first "bellwether" trial in the Multidistrict Litigation proceedings for homes containing Chinese drywall ruled that the defective drywall attacks and severely damages copper and silver components of homes where the drywall is installed...

Louisiana Judge States Policy Exclusions Used to Deny Chinese Drywall Insurance Clams Don?t Apply

Posted on April 08, 2010
Lloyd Medley, chief judge of Orleans Parish Civil District Court, stated that the policy exclusions that insurers have commonly been using to deny claims for drywall damage don't apply. Medley told Audubon Insurance Co. that the three items in its policy that the company had used to deny the homeowners insurance claim that New Orleans residents Simon and Rebecca Finger had made did not apply...

Update on Chinese drywall Remediation Trial in New Orleans

Posted on March 10, 2010
U.S. District Court Judge Eldon E. Fallon is expected to issue a detailed ruling shortly, laying out the scope of remediation he thinks is necessary. However, during the trial, two key points were brought to everyone?s attention which presents a problem for the region's largest affected builder, Lennar: - the damage to insulated electrical wiring, and - the apparent ineffectiveness of vacuuming alone to remove residual drywall particles Lennar started remediating homes last year, stating that it knew what needed to be fixed and how they will go about fixing the problem...

Judicial Doctrine Trumps Plain Language of NJPLA - Third Circuit Predicts Expansion of Economic Loss Rule in New Jersey

Posted on February 26, 2010
Stark & Stark recently joined forces with the consumer advocacy group, Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings (HADD), to file an amicus curiae brief urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to uphold a homeowner?s right to pursue tort remedies against manufacturers of defective building components in Dean v...

Federal Agencies Set Criteria for Chinese Drywall Diagnosis

Posted on February 17, 2010
Federal agencies recently released a new set of criteria to help members and inspectors determine whether recent renovations or construction definitively has defective Chinese drywall. Calling it a "preliminary" protocol, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) outlined standards for homes built from 2001-2008, for the first time acknowledging a wider range of possible homes may be affected than the earlier estimates of 2004-2007...

Stark & Stark Joins Consumer Advocacy Group and Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, to Urge New Jersey Supreme Court to Uphold Homeowner Tort Remedies Against Manufacturers of Defective Building Components

Posted on December 21, 2009
The law firm of Stark & Stark, P.C. has joined forces with the consumer advocacy group, Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings (HADD), to file an amicus curiae (?friend of the court?) brief urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to uphold a homeowner?s right to pursue tort remedies against manufacturers of defective building components...

Stark & Stark's New Website

Posted on December 17, 2009
Stark & Stark is pleased to announce the launch of its newly designed website at www.stark-stark.com. The design of the new site is intended to make it easier for visitors to access information, find attorney biographies, and research information on the many services Stark & Stark offers...

Corrosion Linked To Chinese Drywall

Posted on November 30, 2009
A recent article on CBS reports that the federal government has found a "strong association" between defective Chinese drywall and corrosion of pipes and wires in homes where the drywall has been found. This confirmation supports complaints made by thousands of homeowners throughout the United States over the last year...

Chinese Drywall Manufacturer Offers to Streamline Lawsuits in Federal Court

Posted on November 04, 2009
An article online this week states that Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd., one of the leading defendants in a consolidated federal court lawsuit against drywall manufacturers in China, offered homeowners who sign up for he omnibus class action by December 2, 2009 and show proof that their homes were built with KPT drywall won't have to pay $15,000 to serve the company in China through the Hague Convention, according to an order issued Monday by United States District Court Judge Eldon Fallon...

Chinese Drywall Update: Tenebaum Brings Little Relief To US After Trip to China

Posted on October 28, 2009
A recent report in the Wall Street Journal details the ongoing frustrations of US homeowners who have been affected by the defective Chinese drywall epidemic. Homeowners were hopeful that Inez Tenebaum, Chair of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, would bring relief back to the US after a recent visit to China...

Insurance Companies Deny Claims, Drop Policies

Posted on October 16, 2009
I found an article on line this week which reports that in the wake of the defective Chinese drywall epidemic, insurance Companies have started to deny claims, and even worse, refusing to renew entire policies. Thousands of homeowners nationwide have been affected by the defective building materials are now finding little assistance...

Chinese Drywall: The Next EIFS?

Posted on September 15, 2009
Though the final number has yet to be determined, recent reports state that the total cost of damages from Chinese drywall could reach $25 billion. Most reports place the final number somewhere between $15 and $25 billion, while others state that after repairs and litigation costs, the $25 billion mark could be surpassed...

Chinese Drywall Found in Las Vegas

Posted on September 04, 2009
A recent report states that the Chinese drywall problem has moved west. Homeowners in Las Vegas, Nevada have found instances of Chinese drywall in their homes, and have filed a class action lawsuit. The suit states that the drywall is causing health problems for homeowners in two Las Vegas neighborhoods...

Tax Rebate for Homeowners With Chinese Drywall

Posted on September 01, 2009
For those who have found that their homes were constructed or remodeled in recent years with defective drywall imported from China, relief may be on the way. But it may not be as easy to get as some may think. Though State and Federal government officials have been working to determine how to distribute a tax rebate to those homeowners affected by the Chinese drywall epidemic, it is not an open and shut case for those who want to receive funds...

Consumer Products Safety Commission States Chinese Drywall is Not Radioactive

Posted on August 26, 2009
After conducting tests on 21 samples of Chinese drywall, the Consumer Products Safety Commission reported that there was no presence of radioactive phosphogypsum in the drywall samples. Earlier this year reports claimed that the defective drywall imported from China was made with phosphogypsum, which contains radioactive properties...

New Testing Methods Being Used to Check for Chinese Drywall

Posted on August 24, 2009
Centek Laboratories, LLC has been in conversations with the Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, and North Carolina State Health Departments to discuss the laboratory?s ability to provide testing options for residents who believe their homes were built with defective Chinese drywall...

Chinese Drywall Victims Form Group, Target White House for Help

Posted on August 19, 2009
Last week, Port St. Lucie homeowner, Tirzah Pestenski, called the White House and invited Presidnet Obama over so he could witness firsthand the devastating effects defective Chinese drywall has had on her home. Pestenski is part of a small group of homeowners who have begun making calls to the White House asking for assistance to the growing Chinese drywall epidemic...

New Bill Focused on Chinese Drywall Manufactures Enters Senate

Posted on August 17, 2009
A new Bill introduced recently into the senate could make it easier for homeowners with defective Chinese drywall to take the manufacturer to court. The Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2009 attempts to make it easier to bring foreign companies before an American court...

Consumer Product Safety Commission Creates Drywall Information Website

Posted on August 10, 2009
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently set up a website to keep consumers, drywall manufacturers, builders and others aware of its investigation into the latest problematic Chinese drywall. The CPSC's Drywall Information Center offers updates on the investigation, help for homeowners trying to determine if their drywall is making them sick, where drywall problems have been reported and other related information...

WCI Communities Announces 200 Homes Built With Defective Chinese Drywall

Posted on August 07, 2009
WCI Communities, based in Bonita Springs, Florida, has confirmed that they built at least 200 homes with the potentially dangerous defective Chinese drywall. WCI Communities recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and anticipates facing roughly $40 million in claims related to the defective drywall...

Consumer Product Safety Commission Head Visits Asia to Discuss Tighter Regulations

Posted on August 05, 2009
Inez Tenenbaum, head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), left last week on a trip to Asia which will focus on notifying and warning major exporters that tough regulations will be coming soon. These warnings come in the wake of thousands of American homes constructed with defective Chinese drywall being deemed dangerous to homeowners...

Status of Multidistrict Litigation Involving Chinese Drywall Cases

Posted on August 03, 2009
Judge Eldon E. Fallon, who is overseeing the combined litigation of defective Chinese Drywall cases in New Orleans, has advised attorneys that trials could start as soon as six months from now. The court is also scheduled to set agreed-upon guidelines for inspecting the affected homes...

Consumer Product Safety Commission Urges Congress for Assitance with Chinese Drywall Crisis

Posted on July 29, 2009
Last week, after increased scrutiny surrounding the Chinese drywall crisis, the Consumer Product Safety Commission sent a letter to select members of Congress outlining their process for investigating the source, severity and pervasiveness of the defective Chinese drywall problem...

Virginia Residents Affected by Chinese Drywall May Qualify for Tax Deduction

Posted on July 24, 2009
Virginia homeowners affected by the defective Chinese drywall crisis may qualify for special tax deductions. According to Virginia Senator, Jim Webb, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has declared residents in the Hampton Roads area whose homes have been severely damaged by Chinese Drywall able to qualify for the special tax deductions...

American Association for Justice Releases Time Line of Chinese Drywall Crisis

Posted on July 21, 2009
The American Association for Justice has released a time line of key events in the Chinese drywall crisis. The time line begins with the major hurricanes in 2004 and 2005, including Hurricane Katrina, coupled with a nationwide housing boom which spurred a demand for drywall...

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