We have blogged in the past about the arbitration vs. litigation debate. One of the issues with arbitration is that arbitrators are not constrained by statutory and case law and a trial that is governed by established rules of evidence. This has led to a perception that arbitration often leads to decisions where the arbitrator... Continue Reading →
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled on March 4th that copyright owners must wait for registration before pursuing infringement claims in court. The decision settles a circuit court split wherein certain courts had previously held that merely applying for registration was enough to satisfy the statutory prerequisite for a lawsuit. Although the opinion will have... Continue Reading →
In previous posts earlier this year and last year, we detailed the ongoing disputes between Millennium Partners, the developer of the Millennium Tower in San Francisco, and the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (Transbay), which built the recently opened Transbay Transit Center next to the tower. Millennium Partners contends that construction of the Transit Center weakened... Continue Reading →
Last year, I reported on the claims swirling around the 58-story Millennium Tower in San Francisco that has sunk about 17 inches and tilted 14 inches to the west and 6 inches to the north since it opened in 2009. Not much has changed in a year; litigation is still on-going and the parties are... Continue Reading →
The Role of a Peer Reviewer By now, many of you are probably familiar with the litigation swirling around the Millennium Tower, San Francisco’s $350 million, 58-story condominium building. When it opened in 2008, it was touted as the most luxurious tower in San Francisco, attracting wealthy purchasers from tech millionaires, venture capitalists, and local... Continue Reading →
In Schinnerer's land surveyors program, houses and townhouses are the project type with the most claims in terms of frequency (35.8%) and severity (33.3%), followed closely by land and site development (30.6% frequency / 26.9% severity). The problem areas (those areas that cause claims during the course of the surveyor providing professional services) that create... Continue Reading →
Does it really matter if your professional services agreement only requires your firm to carry professional liability insurance with a per-claim limit of $1,000,000? It may. The appropriate language for stating the limits of professional liability coverage under a policy is “per-claim with an aggregate limit.” No U.S. professional liability policy provides unlimited coverage during... Continue Reading →
If you want to minimize disputes with your clients and reduce the likelihood of litigation, avoid these “seven deadly sins” that represent the biggest sources of risk: Failure to carefully choose your clients and your projects. Client selection can help minimize the chances of a claim, especially since 62% of claims against design professionals in... Continue Reading →
In an age of rising benefit costs and other constraints on the operations of professional service firms, some firms are turning to a range of tactics to reclassify workers to take them off the formal payroll and, therefore, lower their costs and administrative burdens. However, doing so may subject the employer to state and federal... Continue Reading →
For those people whose homes and lives were affected by Hurricane Katrina, the toll was heavy. Unfortunately, some of those people were sideswiped again when faulty drywall manufactured in China was installed in rebuilt homes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Virginia, Alabama, and Texas. Chemicals in the drywall produced a strong odor in the homes and... Continue Reading →
