According to Richard Korman at Engineering News-Record, construction attorneys are trying to limit discovery with contract language. The attorneys are hoping to eliminate email from discovery requests in an effort to reduce the cost of litigation. The article states that it is common for individuals on construction projects to send/receive upwards of 10,000 emails over the course of a large project.

Controlling costs can be much more difficult in defect cases involving insurance company attorneys, another attorney suggests. The insurers tend to use busy lawyers accustomed to spending whatever is necessary to win without regard to time or cost, he says.  “They are more inclined to delay and won’t even get around to looking at your case until four months are gone by, then won’t evaluate until eight months have gone by,” says the attorney. “The only thing that moves those attorneys is the impending trial date.”

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And any legal strategy, attorneys and insurance agents say, should take settling before trial into consideration because costs of a trial can exceed damage awards in successful lawsuits.

Dan Knise, chief executive of insurance broker Ames & Gough, says it’s important to have a plan because a firm involved in ltigation could get to a discovery phase and spend $300,000 to $400,000 “when you could have settled for $250,000. You have to have a budget and a strategy because sometimes defense costs more than a settlement.

American architect and Professor of Visionary Architecture at European Graduate School, Lebbeus Woods, has written a series of posts explaining why he chose architecture as a profession. Not only can he draw, but he also writes beautifully.

Below is an excerpt from part 2. Start with Part 1.

From the present, it’s easy to see the direction this is leading, but all those years ago it was by no means clear. The marriage of light and geometry does indeed find its consummation in architecture, but for me it did not come about so easily. At age eighteen I entered a fine school of engineering, then transferred to a fine school of architecture, finishing there when I was twenty-four. After ten or so years of working in corporate offices, learning what it meant to build—and leading a rather turbulent life—I went out on my own. Throughout all this time, I continued to make paintings, hoping that in this way I would give worthy form to the questions that had beset me since the days I confronted the easel in the living room of my mother’s house—but never doing so. It was not until I was thirty-eight that I began to put the pieces together in drawing my idea of what architecture could be, and made a total commitment. The turbulence, of course, has continued, sometimes on the paper and sometimes off, yet it was only then that I finally did become an architect.

An editorial at World Architecture News reports that The Department of Building and Housing in New Zealand has issued its report on the collapse of the CTV Building following the catastrophic earthquake last year. The firm responsible for the building’s initial structural design disputes the findings of the report claiming that it is “technically inadequate” and contains “highly questionable” assumptions.

The investigation found the following factors to be instrumental in the destruction of the CTV Building: Intense horizontal ground shaking; Lack of ductility in the columns, making them brittle; Asymmetrical layout of the sheer walls, making the building twist during the earthquake, placing extra strain on the columns. These structural inadequacies also failed to meet the building standards in place when the CTV Building was completed in 1986. Other potential factors mentioned in the report include low concrete strength in some of the critical columns and possible interaction of columns and concrete spandrel panels on the external face of the building making the columns less flexible.

I predict that more entrepreneurial expert firms will be pursuing similar tactics. To become designated as an expert witness in construction defect litigation, one needs to have a really solid background in actual construction. But in order to improve the quality of the built environment, veterans of construction defect litigation need to bring some of their knowledge back into the realm of active construction.

Local Orange County construction consulting firm, Gentosi (http://www.gentosi.com/), has expanded to bring new services to clients. The new arm of the business aims to provide construction project management to commercial, industrial, and other operations. In this type of role, a member of the Gentosi team would take on representation of a building project owner and be involved in not only the day to day operations of the construction, but also in early phases of the development, such as with building design, budget creation, and contractor bidding. This new advantage will be complemented by Gentosi’s over fifty years of providing existing construction expert witness services for legal situations and consulting services for owners and contractors.

I’m going to go out on a limb here – I don’t think that bridges are required to withstand the impact of a 312-foot freighter.

In the pictures, the 312-foot Delta Mariner idles, still partially in the bridge’s path, and clearly looks much too large to fit beneath the aging Eggner Ferry Bridge, which crosses the Kentucky Lake Reservoir.

The cargo vessel was carrying space rocket parts for the United Launch Alliance, intended for a vehicle that was scheduled to be shot into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Wreck: The cargo ship Delta Mariner slammed into the bridge spanning the Kentucky Lake in southwestern Kentucky Friday, causing the bridge to collapse

Following the embarrassing saga involving bond contracts for improvements at Southwestern College leading to numerous allegations of criminal activity, the school’s board has begun the process of terminating contracts. The contracts in place involve Seville Construction Services and BCA Architects.

On Jan. 11, the board voted to place those contracts on hold while it continued its internal investigation into bid discrepancies, and the Southwestern College Foundation, an auxiliary nonprofit aimed at providing student scholarships.

The governing board voted unanimously in closed session Wednesday to begin the legal steps for terminating a $2.8 million contract with Seville Construction Services and a $5.3 million with BCA Architects involving Proposition R projects approved by voters in 2008.

The bulk of the funds have already been paid to the contractors.

ASHRAE’s president, Ron Jarnagin, announced the culmination of the organization’s rebranding, which includes a new logo, a new tagline, a new website and increased focus on global reach. In addition, ASHRAE prepared a video that tells the organization’s story.

First, and most visible, is a refreshening of the ASHRAE logo. Market research showed us that the logo had a dated brand presence (the logo was created in 1959 to recognize the merger between The American Society of Refrigerating Engineers and the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers) and that we needed a more modern look that fully reflects the evolving structure of the Society and our aspirations. Along with this logo, we have created an ASHRAE Logo Guide document to ensure that we maintain a consistent brand image.

In addition, we have created a tagline to help explain to outside audiences the expanded role of ASHRAE in the world around us. “Shaping Tomorrow’s Built Environment Today” presents ASHRAE as the dynamic and innovative Society it is today and promises our members, the industry and the world that whatever the future brings in the built community, ASHRAE will be at the forefront for research and guidance.

Lastly, we are doing business as “ASHRAE” vs. using our full legal name of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. Use of ASHRAE reflects our global membership and that our services will continue evolving globally.

Adjacent mid-rise buildings collapsed following an explosion, with at least two reported fatalaties. A few months ago, an explosion caused by a gas leak in a restaurant resulted in the death of three people.

Two buildings collapsed in downtown Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, in the latest incident highlighting the failure of authorities to improve the city’s infrastructure amid preparations to host soccer’s World Cup and the Olympics.

Dante Autullo, of Orland Park, IL, was constructing a shed when his nail gun misfired. He thought that the nail grazed his skull. After feeling nauseous following a nap, he decided to visit the hospital whereupon he learned the truth of his nearly fatal injury.

( Christ Medical Center & Hope Children’s Hospital / Associated Press ) – This photo provided by Christ Medical Center & Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn,, Ill. on Friday, Jan. 20, 2012 shows an X-ray of a nail embedded in Dante Autullo’s brain. Autullo unknowingly shot a nail into his skull, and posted a picture of the X-ray on Facebook during his ambulance ride between hospitals for surgery.

My father accidentally shot himself in the wrist when his nail gun misfired. He instinctively pulled the nail out before any swelling began. Emergency personnel and doctors were amazed, as the nail merely pushed aside the bones in his wrist without severing any major blood vessels or nerve tissue. Nail guns are dangerous, kids.

While San Diego topped the list both in the number of installations and generating capacity, the city was fell short in terms of number of installations per resident.

The report was published by Environment California and is available for download.

San Diego has 4,507 rooftop systems that have been installed, compared to a little over 4,000 in runner-up Los Angeles, a city with a much larger population, according to the report by Environment California.

San Jose, San Francisco and Fresno rounded-out the top five.

Within San Diego County, Escondido ranked 17th with 709 systems, Poway was 26th with 544 and El Cajon was 28th with 533.

In generating capacity, San Diego was tops with 36,775 kilowatts that are tied to the electrical grid, just ahead of Los Angeles. Poway ranked 41st, Escondido was 48th and Chula Vista 50th.

The Western Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health is trying to prevent further injuries and fatalities due to roofing falls, as work continues repairing tornado damage. OSHA requires fall protection for any work beginning at six feet off the ground.

Nineteen-year-old James Ivanov of Agawam died Jan. 11 at the scene of a tornado-damaged building in West Springfield’s Merrick section after falling four stories from the roof to the basement. He was working with a crew reframing the house at Union and George streets next door to 687 Union St. where a woman died in the June 1 tornado shielding her daughter.

The Springfield office of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death, which has been ruled accidental. Mary E. Hoye, director of the office, has declined to say whether Ivanov was wearing a harness or taking other safety measures, citing the ongoing nature of her investigation, which may not wrap up for about a month.

However, Hoye would say that it is important to take such measures such as using a harness or guardrails to prevent falls.

Cited as an innovator in San Diego residential development, Curt Noland gained prominence and awards for San Elijo Hills and Aviara. I have fond memories walking every last mile of fencing at Aviara as part of a construction defect case years ago. What an amazing development. Noland passed away last week from cancer at just 55 years of age.

Mr. Noland worked as director of development in the 1990s for Aviara Land Associates and joined HomeFed in 1998 where he was vice president and senior development officer, managing entitlement, design, development and sale of several projects. “He was a skillful negotiator, but always valued honesty and integrity. In all the years that I knew Curt, I never saw him lose his temper or speak harshly to anyone,” said friend David Hymer of Luce Forward.

Named the Geisel house after university benefactor, Audrey Geisel (wife of the late Dr. Seuss), the home was originally designed by William Lumpkins.

Located on 7 acres in La Jolla Farms, Geisel House been closed since 2004 when it was deemed uninhabitable due to seismic and system deficiencies, including plumbing and electrical problems and the need for canyon edge slope stabilization.

The entire house renovation cost, estimated a $10.5 million, will be covered by gifts including $1.5 million from the UC Office of the President to complete the project from the Searles Fund, an endowment used to fund general purposes of the university which cannot be covered by state funds.

Noting the Geisel family has always been a friend and supporter of UCSD, Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said, “Preserving the architectural treasure that is Geisel House is so important, and we are most grateful for her generosity, and her friendship.”

ArchDaily’s Irina Vinnitskaya profiles the USGBC Center for Green Schools, which was championed by the Georgia chapter of the USGBC. By focusing on health, education and use of funds, the organization has developed best practices for creating better educational facilities.

From the economic standpoint, these high performance schools, though present a high up-front cost for construction, ultimately save $5 million dollars in operating costs over the life-time of the school.  The health and educational benefits speak for themselves.  These facilities have sustainable strategies comparable to LEED Certification and this provides a healthy environment through natural light, ventilation, thermal comfort and sound-proofing.  All of these components help children concentrate, be more attentive and feel more at ease in their environment.

Washington construction attorney, Paul Rosner discusses Chaussee v. Maryland Cas. Co.

On January 9, 2012, Washington Federal District Court Judge John Coughenour ruled that a $5.75 million covenant judgment settlement of a condominium construction defect lawsuit was unreasonable, that the reasonable settlement value of all of the plaintiff homeowners association’s claims was $1,921,525.70, and that the value of the association’s breach of fiduciary duty claim, the only potentially covered claim, was $300,000.

Scott Wolfe, Jr. writes at Zlien’s Construction Lien Blog:

Sending notice (or filing a mechanics lien without properly identifying the true owner) can be fatal to your notice or lien claim. While there are limited exceptions, most states are not very forgiving when a notice or lien mistakenly misidentifies the property owner. The entire point of preliminary notice requirements and the filing requirement of a mechanics lien is essentially to put the property owner on notice about your claim, and its impossible to provide this notice without knowing the actual property owner.

Ahlers & Cressman’s Bruce Cohen reports that the arbitration provision included in the Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) between homebuilder Quadrant Corporation and homeowners is enforceable.

In Townsend v. Quadrant Corp., several Quadrant homeowners and their children filed suit against the developer alleging “outrage, fraud, unfair business practices, misrepresentation and breach of warranty.” The homeowners alleged that Quadrant knowingly engaged in shoddy workmanship resulting in construction defects that caused personal injuries relating to “mold, pests and poisonous gasses.” Quadrant filed a motion to transfer the claims to arbitration relying upon the arbitration clause in the PSA.

Seismic trenching is underway at San Diego City College to map faults, impacting final decisions regarding building usage.

The final design of San Diego City College’s $80 million renovation of four existing buildings will be determined by seismic trenching meant to learn how far onto the campus two downtown earthquake faults extend.

The trenching already has scotched plans to remodel one 15,000-square foot building, which was to be transformed from classroom space into a bookstore, a student center and other uses. Excavation and analysis completed in the fall determined that one of the faults almost certainly extends under that structure, known as the M building.