Unknown Conditions Cause Waterproofer to ask For Change Order, Gets Fired Instead

School board dismisses subcontractor on new EHS project

Filed by Lisa Roberson November 20th, 2010 in Top Stories.

ELYRIA — Elyria Schools and the contractor hired to do waterproofing on the Washington Building are at odds over how the work should be completed, and the board has elected to find a contractor to do the work the way it wants.
At a special board meeting Friday morning, three of the five board members voted to hire a new contractor to do work being disputed by Cleveland-based Baumann Enterprise. Board members Kathryn Karpus and Ginny Hawes were absent from the 8 a.m. meeting.
Through attorney T.J. Weyls, Baumann declined to comment.
Baumann was hired in early spring to do demolition and excavating work on the project. The original contract totaled more than $717,000 and included waterproofing the foundation of the Washington building, which was constructed in 1894.
Since then, Baumann has completed nearly 90 percent of the scope of its work, including knocking down the technical building, old gymnasium and smoke stack.
However, according to Steve Friedman, the board’s construction attorney, when it was time to start the waterproofing in late August, Baumann took the position that there was an unforeseen condition at the Washington building, and it needed additional compensation to complete the job.

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Condo Association Maintenance Staff Work Fails, Causes Flood Into Lower Unit, Association Won't Pay To Fix The damage

BOTHELL, Wash. -- It wasn't a storm, but a stranger's mistake that left Kyle Dickenson's condo in ruins.

Late last month, water leaked into Dickenson's place in Cambria Hills from an outside source, causing massive damage. And now he's left wondering if anyone will help.

In what's left of his home, furniture and personal items are in complete disarray. The first-floor condo unit suffered water damage.

"I have no bathroom to use. There's dry wall dust all over the place. There's exposed carpet nails. They're exposed electrical wires throughout the walls," he said.

Dickenson says the leak came after some building maintenance was performed upstairs. He was told the news when he got home that night.

"The maintenance manager informed me that when they were hooking up the hose to the washer outlet on the third floor, it wasn't hooked up properly, which caused a flood," he said.

According to the Cambria Hills Condo Association, three units suffered damage. And while Dickenson doesn't have home owners insurance, he wonders why he should pay for something that's not his fault.
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From The Denver Post-Deck collapse/water intrusion issues lead to suit, Denver condo-complex HOA wins judgment for defects.

The 40 Madison Homeowners Association in Cherry Creek has been awarded a $4 million judgment in Denver District Court to pay for construction defects at the 27-unit condominium complex.
The judgment, which will be paid by Madison Garden LLC, J&N Management and Len Goldberg, addresses construction defects involving water damage that resulted from improperly installed windows, roofs, decks and stucco. Several of the decks collapsed because of water intrusion and structural problems.
The homeowners association was represented by Chris Rhody of the McKenzie, Rhody & Hearn law firm.


Read more: Denver condo-complex HOA wins judgment for defects. - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_16643300#ixzz15z8G9fVD

Re-Blog From the Chico Tribune/Inman News-Discovery rule could apply in contractor-error case

Saw this on The Chicago Tribune pages today...


Discovery rule could apply in contractor-error case

By Benny L. Kass, Inman News

November 12, 2010

Q. We built a vacation home in 1989. We recently discovered that the contractor made some serious errors in construction. Evidently, he used poor flashing and waterproofing techniques. We hired another contractor recently to assess the situation. The result was that we had to tear down and rebuild a significant part of the home at great cost.
We contacted the original contractor, who has told us that he has no liability and that the statute of limitations will prevent us from recovering any of our costs from him. Our insurance company says that because the damage was due to contractor error and is long-term damage, it has no responsibility either.
Is the original contractor correct in that he is protected from any action we might take against him? Any other suggestions you might have would be much appreciated. If I have no way to recover some of the cost from the contractor or the insurance company, do you know if I can at least claim this as a casualty loss when I file my tax returns this year?

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Re-Blogged From The Critical Path-Resolving Construction Defect Cases: Are Arbitration Provisions in CC&R's Enforceable?

Saw this blog post by Ron White of Ron White Mediation...passing it on for our readers edification...

Resolving Construction Defect Cases: Are Arbitration Provisions in CC&R's Enforceable?

In construction defect cases there is often a dispute within the dispute: should the case be prosecuted in a court of law or proceed under the terms and conditions of an arbitration provision? There are rational reasons for selecting arbitration over a court or jury trial. Many believe that arbitrations are more cost effective than jury trials, for example. However, parties who arbitrate their disputes give up the constitutional right to a jury trial and their appellate rights are generally restricted, among other things.
Real estate developers often prefer arbitration over jury trials for various reasons, not the least of which is the belief that they would fair better in front of an experienced construction law arbitrator than they would in front of 12 jurors who probably have little or no understanding of the construction industry.

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Lack of Fall Protection Gets Contractor Big Fines

2010 - 11/08/2010 - Woburn, Mass., contractor faces nearly $87,000 in fines from US Labor Department's OSHA for fall hazards at Burlington, Mass., jobsite

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