Court Resolves Disagreement on the Amount of the Deductible
December 02, 2025 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiAfter a windstorm caused damage to the insured’s building and repair materials, the court sided with the insured in determining the amount of the deductible. Semaho, Inc. v. AMCO Ins. Co., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 193521 (D. Colo. Sept. 30, 2025).
Semaho owned two commercial buildings insured under a policy issued by AMCO. The buildings were damaged in a windstorm and Semaho’s contractor stored the building materials for the repairs on one building’s roof.
A second windstorm then seriously damaged the building materials stored on the roof. Semaho submitted a claim for the lost building materials. Coverage was undisputed but the parties disagreed over which deductible should apply to Semaho’s claim. The key policy provision stated that the deductible should be calculated separately for the “building” and for certain categories of “personal property,” based on “the value(s) of the property that has sustained loss or damage.”
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
New LA Home Designs, Reimagined By Fire
January 13, 2026 —
Patrick Sisson - BloombergOne year after wildfires tore through neighborhoods in Los Angeles County, killing at least 31 people and destroying more than 10,000 buildings, architects and developers are rethinking what home looks like in LA, and how resilient residential architecture evolves.
Recovery from the costly disaster is a long way away. So far, hundreds of new homes have been submitted for permitting, but it’s a process
shaping out to be an uneven one, based on damage, insurance and wealth. Affected homeowners are grappling with the details of fire-resilient construction and landscaping techniques, along with some more fundamental questions about what their communities should look like.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Patrick Sisson, Bloomberg
Always Keep Your Time Limits in Mind—to Know When You Can Sue, and When You Can No Longer Be Sued (Law Note)
December 15, 2025 —
Melissa Dewey Brumback - Construction Law in North CarolinaAs the calendar year is getting a little long in the tooth, the subject of time becomes top of mind. Time, in litigation, can make or break your ability to sue (or be sued).
A recent blog post by blogger John Caravella
addressing statutes of limitations in New York (6 years) and Florida (5 years) brought to mind the issues that sometimes surprise folks working in North Carolina.
In North Carolina, the
statute of limitations is (generally) set at 3 years for breach of contract matter, including breaches of construction contracts. However, there are always exceptions. The
statute of repose in North Carolina for damages to real property is 6 years. What that means is that if there is a
‘latent defect’ that is not obvious right away, you may still have a claim beyond three years (but not beyond the 6 year repose limit).
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Melissa Dewey Brumback, Ragsdale LiggettMs. Brumback may be contacted at
mbrumback@rl-law.com
GRSM Attorneys Selected to 2025 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
January 06, 2026 —
Gordon Rees Scully MansukhaniSuper Lawyers® has released its 2025 attorney lists across various regions of the United States. This year, 189 Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani attorneys have been selected, with 60 named to Super Lawyers and 129 named to Rising Stars.
*For attorneys licensed to practice in New Jersey: No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Please visit the Super Lawyers Selection Process for a detailed description of the Super Lawyers and Rising Stars selection methodology.
GRSM Super Lawyers 2025
Northern California
Michael D. Bruno
David C. Capell
Lisa M. Cappelluti
Dion N. Cominos
Matthew S. Foy
Natalie Fujikawa
Marie Trimble Holvick
Michael A. Laurenson
Michael J. Pietrykowski
Andrew I. Port
Gina Stassi Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Under Construction – November 2025
January 06, 2026 —
Snell & WilmerLetter From the Editor
Welcome to the fall edition of Snell & Wilmer’s Under Construction Newsletter. As brisk autumn air sets in, it’s an ideal moment to shore up the basics — both in your projects and in your grasp of the continually shifting field of construction law.
In this newsletter, we explore a variety of topics related to current construction trends and legal news that may be relevant and helpful to you and your business. We have assembled a selection of articles that include discussions of state-specific issues including how Idaho’s Contractor Registration Act bars unregistering contractors from enforcing contracts or filing liens, though the state Supreme Court allows remedies for post-registration work if severable. This edition discusses how contractors can maximize cash flow and profits by substituting security for retainage on public projects. We also highlight the California Court of Appeals discussion and latest decision relating to subcontractor substitution protections under Public Contract Code §4107. We round out our newsletter summarizing how the Colorado Supreme Court clarified that the economic loss rule bars tort claims for purely economic harm arising from contracts — even when alleging willful and wanton misconduct.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Snell & Wilmer
Massachusetts Construction Industry Continues to Wait While Prompt Payment Law Is Put to the Test
March 31, 2026 —
Catherine Maronski - Construction Law ZoneEarlier this month, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) heard argument in J.C. Cannistraro, LLC v. Columbia Construction Co. et al., a dispute concerning the state’s Prompt Payment Act (PPA). Although a decision has yet to be issued, it could potentially pose widespread implications for high-value private construction projects moving forward – and perhaps backwards.
The PPA, G. L. c. 149, § 29E, enacted by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2010, has become a keystone in the construction industry. It was enacted to address, in part, downstream cash flow issues that tend to pervade construction projects by mandating a series of strict guidelines for submitting, and responding to, payment applications for private projects valued over $3,000,000. Amongst these requirements are set timeframes to respond to an application, as well as what must be contained in an application rejection. Critically, if an owner or upper-tier contractor fails to fully comply with all the statutory requirements in response to a proper payment application, the application is automatically “deemed to be approved” and payable. Significantly, however, this is not always the end of the line.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Catherine Maronski, Robinson ColeMs. Maronski may be contacted at
cmaronski@rc.com
Will the YIMBY ‘Holy Grail’ Deliver an LA Building Boom?
December 08, 2025 —
Patrick Sisson - BloombergWhen California Governor Gavin Newsom signed State Bill 79 into law on Oct. 10, supporters of the pro-housing “Yes In My Backyard” movement celebrated a legislative victory that had been called a YIMBY “
holy grail.” By legalizing multistory apartments near transit stops in the state’s most urbanized counties — and crucially, in areas formerly zoned for single-family homes — SB 79 was hailed as a huge step toward closing
California’s longstanding affordable housing gap.
Along with recent reform of the state’s
infamous project-delaying environmental review law, CEQA, SB 79 boosters like the advocacy group
California YIMBY say that the legislation can unlock the promised goal of “
Buffalo-Area Roof Collapses Threaten Lives, Businesses After Historic SnowfallSeveral Wilke Fleury Attorneys Featured in Sacramento Magazine 2022 Top Lawyers!Illusory Insurance Coverage: Real or Unreal?Choose the Right Option: How Facilitative and Evaluative Approaches Can Both Have a Role in Mediation Hawaii Appellate Court Finds Agent May Be Liable for Failing to Submit ClaimOther Colorado Cities Looking to Mirror Lakewood’s Construction Defect OrdinanceWhen it Comes to Trials, it’s Like a Box of Chocolates. Sometimes You Get the Icky Cream Filled One Tokyo Tackles Flood Control as Typhoons Swamp SubwaysNew York Restrictions on Flow Through Provision in SubcontractsAvoiding Lender Liability for Credit-Related Actions in CaliforniaTen Firm Members Recognized as Super Lawyers or Rising StarsExtrinsic Evidence, or Eight Corners? Texas Court Sheds Light on Determining the Duty to DefendNo Coverage For Construction Defects When Complaint Alleges Contractual DamagesTown Sues over Defective Work on Sewer LinesDefeating the Ten-Year Statute of Repose For Latent Construction DefectsFHFA’s Watt Says Debt Cuts Possible for Underwater HomeownersKentucky Court Upholds Arbitration Award, Denies AppealSafe Commercial Asbestos-Removal PracticesInsurers' Motion to Knock Out Bad Faith, Negligent Misrepresentation Claims in Construction Defect Case DeniedRebuilding After the 2025 Southern California FiresDo Not Forfeit Coverage Under Your Property Insurance PolicyBrooklyn Atlantic Yards Yields Dueling Suits on TowerTexas res judicata and co-insurer defense costs contributionRebuilding the West: Construction Considerations After the Smoke ClearsCongratulations to Haight Attorneys Selected for the 2026 Edition of Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers: Ones to WatchNew Jersey Court Adopts Continuous Trigger for Construction Defect ClaimsTrends in Project Delivery Methods in ConstructionGeorgia Gov. Kemp Signs Sweeping Tort Reform Legislation into Law“For What It’s Worth”Million-Dollar U.S. Housing Loans Surge to Record LevelBe Sure to Bring Up Any Mechanic’s Lien Defenses Early and OftenIndemnity Payment to Insured Satisfies SIRYear in Review: Top Insurance Cases of 2024Anatomy of an Indemnity ProvisionOwners and Contractors are Liable for Injuries Caused by their Independent Contractors under the “Peculiar Risk Doctrine”San Francisco Museum Nears $610 Million Fundraising GoalAnother Way a Mechanic’s Lien Protects YouResidential Contractors, Be Sure to Have these Clauses in Your ContractsGuidance for Construction Leaders: How Is the Americans With Disabilities Act Applied During the Pandemic?Pandemic Magnifies Financial Risk in Construction: What Executives Can Do to Speed up Customer PaymentsChutes and Ladders...and Contracts.Port Authority Approves Subsidies for 2 World Trade ProjectJury Convicts Ciminelli, State Official in Bid-Rig CaseCongratulations 2019 DE, NJ and PA Super Lawyers and Rising StarsCalifornia Contractors: New CSLB Procedure Requires Non-California Corporations to Associate All Officers with Their Contractor’s LicenseHP Unveils Cheaper, 3-D Printing System to Spur SalesNo Coverage for Counterclaim Arising from Insured's Faulty WorkmanshipExclusions Bar Coverage for Damage Caused by Chinese DrywallEffective October 1, 2019, Florida General Contractors Have a Statutory Right to Recovery of Attorney Fees Against a Defaulted Subcontractor’s SuretyRecent Amendments and Caselaw Affecting the Construction Industry in Texas Weed Property Owner Gets Smoked Under Insurance PolicyOn to Year Thirteen for BlogGlobal Insurer Agrees to Pay COVID-19 Business Interruption ClaimsThe Golden State Commits to Going Green – Why Contractors Will be in High Demand to Build the State’s InfrastructureCritical Updates in Builders Risk Claim Recovery: Staying Ahead of the "Satisfactory State" Argument and Getting the Most Out of LEG 3Macron Visits Notre Dame 2 Years After Devastating FireAlaska Civil Engineers Give the State's Infrastructure a "C-" GradeSales of New U.S. Homes Slump to Lowest Level Since NovemberThe Great Fallacy: If Builders Would Just Build It Right There Would Be No Construction Defect LitigationUnlicensed Contractors Caught in a Sting OperationNewmeyer & Dillion Attorneys Selected to Best Lawyers in America© Orange County and as Attorneys of the Year 2018Court Rules Cook County Misspent $243M in Transportation FundsBest Lawyers Honors Hundreds of Lewis Brisbois Attorneys, Names Four Partners ‘Lawyers of the Year’Statutory Bad Faith and an Insured’s 60 Day Notice to CureU.S. Department of Justice Settles against Days InnFarewell Capsule Tower, Tokyo’s Oddest BuildingTrial Victory in San Mateo County!
