In the world of property-casualty insurance, businesses and their advisers often deal with certificates of insurance. They are commonplace instruments that are accepted in the marketplace as reasonable assurance that certain objects or activities are covered by insurance. For example, when valuable equipment is stored in a warehouse until a construction project is ready to receive and install it, cautious owners often insist on seeing insurance certificates before paying for the merchandise in order to be assured that the property is protected against casualty losses. CONNOLLY When a contractor employs a subcontractor to perform part of the work of a

Who is responsible if a contractor damages the property adjacent to a construction project? In many instances, the contractor is responsible and must “indemnify” the project owner against any claims for such damage. However, a recent case decided by New York State’s highest court has highlighted important limitations of two standard contract provisions involving these types of claims. In the case, Watral & Sons, Inc. v. OC Riverhead 58 LLC, the Court found that a contractor was not responsible for “economic” damage that allegedly occurred at the property adjacent to a construction project as a result of the construction. ANGELILLO

The most important document determining a construction contractor’s legal rights and remedies is its contract.  The law gives contracting parties tremendous flexibility to craft their contract as they see fit and, generally, the courts will enforce a mutually-agreed contract according to its terms.  However, a recent case in Nassau County highlights that, in doing so, the law also allows parties to waive important legal rights as part of their agreement, including the right to claim certain monetary damages if the contract is breached.         ANGELILLO In the case, R & J Construction Corp. v. E.W. Howell Company, Inc., decided in

When a client hires an architect to design a project, the architectural firm is legally responsible for all of that work, even though they hire various consultants to help them with different aspects of the design. The consultants, in turn, are liable to the architect, not the client. They have “privity of contract” with the architect. The architect also has privity of contract with the client. The consultant has no real legal relationship with the client and generally all communications between the consultant and the client go through the architect. BERGER While the architect may spend many months negotiating a

As professional sports teams in dozens of markets around the nation built 63 new stadiums and arenas since 1990, the New York metropolitan area stuck to its aging facilities � until now. But the sudden surge of projects raises capacity questions. Related Links: The Stadium Specialists New York sports fans have been living in the past. While baseball fans across the country have been treated to trendy new stadiums over the last 15 years, Yankees and Mets fans have continued to watch paint peel at their aging, outdated ballparks. As state-of-the-art venues popped up around the National Football League, Jets

As sports fans in the New York City area have watched new stadiums and arenas pop up all over the country, they may not have known that many of the new baseball, football, and basketball venues – including major and minor league, as well as collegiate – were designed by Kansas City’s HOK Sport + Venue + Event. Related Links: Prime Time: New York Region Finally Kicks Off New Generation of Sports Facilities The architecture firm, which spun off in 1983 as a stand-alone affiliate of its parent firm, St. Louis-based Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, has dominated sports venue design

Like many large U.S. cities, Newark has spent the better part of the last 40 years struggling with unemployment, crime, and a flight of residents to the suburbs. The once-thriving metropolis mirrored the freefall that stalled similar-sized cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis. But Newark’s advantageous geographical position – near the heart of the greater New York City region and with one of the nation’s largest international ports – may give the city a leg up on the rest of the country’s struggling metropolitan areas that are attempting to revive themselves. In fact, the city of

New Jersey Department of Transportation recently broke ground on the second phase of a major replacement project on the Route 52 causeway near Atlantic City, improving a key link to the southern Jersey Shore tourist region. NJDOT spokesman Tim Greeley says  the $251 million project has been boosted by $70 million in AARA funds and will create 500 new construction jobs throughout its three-year duration. The project will replace two existing lift bridges at each end of the causeway with fixed spans, as well as make additional improvements to linking roads. The second phase will also eventually create a new

Construction employment in New York City is expected to drop by 8.3% this year, but, according to the most recent report from the New York Building Congress, that number represents a significant shift from last year’s doomsday prediction. The Building Congress’ annual Construction Outlook predicts that despite a 20% drop in construction spending for 2009 – down to $25.8 billion from $32.4 billion in 2008 – the number of jobs lost this year will top out around 11,000. A year ago, the same report anticipated the industry would lose 30,000 in 2009. “What we found in terms of employment was