Frequently, the shifting is the result of contractions and expansions triggered by soil drying out from lack of rain or being flooded by excessive rain.  Kate Murphy, writing for The New York Times, reports in “Shifting Soil Threatens Homes’ Foundations” that some experts believe these shifts are due to global warming.

But weather does not let builders, engineers and architects off the legal hook.  They are supposed to consider soil conditions and how that soil might expand and contract during dry and wet weather conditions in designing and building the foundations of homes and other buildings.

 A  Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) White Paper (PDF) labels one common scheme the "Builder Bailout." and describes it as follows: 

A builder bailout occurs when a builder, who has unsold units in a tract, subdivision, or condominium complex, employs various fraudulent schemes to sell the remaining properties. In stressed economic or financial conditions, a builder may be pressured to liquidate remaining inventory to cover financial obligations. To sell the remaining properties, the builder may use a variety of tools including, but not limited to, hidden down payment assistance or excessive seller concessions to elevate the sales price. As a result of the scheme, the unsuspecting financial institution is often left with a loan secured by inflated collateral value and the “real” loan-to-value is greater than 100 percent.

Here are some of the more prominent cases as reported by the Mortgage Fraud Blog:

Home Developer Charged With Unlawfully Selling Houses

Conviction in 18 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Home Builder Ordered to Pay Restitution Penalties

Home Builder Sentenced for Defrauding Mortgage Lenders

2 Mortgage Brokers Plead Guilty to Fraud

 Defendant Pleads Guilty in Mortgage Fraud Case

Real Estate Developer Pleads Guilty in 50 Million Bank Fraud Scheme

Contractors and owners can find the EPA’s regulations on lead paint in Title 40, Part 745 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Visit The Illinois Construction Law Blog for a great summary of these new rules.

( columnist Leonard Pitts). More on the "Demons of Stupidity" over at  The Louisiana Employment Law Blog.

State and local governments across the country may have to replace their water systems because of defective PVC pipes, according to a whistle-blower lawsuit filed in California against JM Eagle, one of the worlds largest pipe manufacturers, reports the New York Times.

The whistle blower claims that the manufacturer fabricated test results. We will be monitoring developments in this case.

The Court’s decision is a huge victory for all the major players in residential and commercial construction. The biggest winners may be homeowners, developers, schools and state and local agencies. The cost of remedying a construction defect and the diminished value of a building caused by a construction defect often greatly exceeds the original cost of construction. Absent insurance coverage, homebuilders and general contractors often do not have the wherewithal to indemnify the owner for these legitimate damages.

Of moment, the Supreme Court rejected the reasoning of a 2003 decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, ACS Construction Company v. CGU, which held that construction defects caused by a subcontractor’s negligence was not an occurrence because the hiring of the subcontractor to do the work was an intentional act not an accident. The Supreme Court concluded that the defective work would be considered accidental if it was the result of subcontractor negligence rather than intentional misconduct. Whether the defect was the result of an accident or intentional misconduct turns on the subcontractor’s conduct not the general contractor’s hiring decision.

Architex is the second Supreme Court decision in the last six months rejecting the Fifth Circuit’s interpretation of Mississippi insurance law. In October , the Supreme Court  held in Corban v. USAA Insurance Company (PDF), that the anti-concurrent causation clauses in a homeowners’ insurance policy  inapplicable when wind and water did not act in conjunction  in causing Katrina-related damages,rejecting a contrary Fifth Circuit decision.

Architech’s lead counsel was Dorsey R. Carson of Burr and Forman. Cheri Turnage Gatline of Burr and Forman also participated in oral argument.

Carson and his team bolstered the persuasiveness of their argument by persuading an incredibly impressive number of organizations to either file friend of the court briefs or to join in Architech’s brief. Most of the major contractor associations supported Architex: Associated General Contractors of America; Associated General Contractors of Mississippi; Mississippi Asphalt Pavement Association, Inc.; Associated Builders and Contractors; Mississippi Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.; American Subcontractors; American Subcontractors Association of Mississippi. In addition, Architex’s position was supported by The Mississippi Insurance Department, the Mississippi Attorney General and the state agencies responsible for state and university construction projects.
 

Hat tip to Will Bardwell.