Richard Korman/ENR Maria Leo, right, mother of crane operator Donald Leo, who died in the 2008 tower crane accident, and attorney Bernadette Panzella, criticize acquittal of crane owner James Lomma outside Manhattan courtroom. Richard Korman/ENR James Lomma, left, leaving the defense table minutes after his acquittal in state court in Manhattan on manslaughter charges. Related Links: Acquittals in Ground Zero Fire Trial Acquitted Master Rigger Seeks Return of License Lomma Employee Plea Deal 2010 Tudor Van Hampton Blog on Lomma Case In six terse sentences following two months of testimony and technical detail, a state court judge in Manhattan cleared
Schooldesign.com Building that had been planned for lot at community college in Chula Vista, Calif. A community college in southern California hired an at-risk construction manager in 2010 to build a new multiuse building but that company based its proposed fee on a higher construction cost than its top competitor, and no one is sure exactly why.The contract was awarded to the construction manager whose price proposal was based on the higher amount, $59 million, according to a review report released last month. The runner-up based its fee proposal on an estimated construction cost of $55 million.Sometimes proposals where price
Related Links: TV News Report One Day After Lightning Strike on the Revel Project TV News Report on the Day of the Lightning Strike at the Revel Two workers injured last September by a lighting strike while building an Atlantic City casino resort, and the widow of a third worker who was killed, filed a lawsuit April 4 against contractors and others involved with the project.Dennis Lamond and Joe Forcinito, the workers, and Carmen Bradley, the widow of Bryan Bradley, filed a lawsuit in state court in Atlantic City against Tishman Construction Corp. and Network Construction Co., Pleasantville, N.J.Network Construction
Office of Councillor Steve Desroches The Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge in Ottawa is designed with three arched trusses. Related Links: Receivership Legal Documents on the Grant Thornton website Project photo on website of Councillor Steve Desroches, Gloucester-South Nepean When a Canadian bank pushed Concreate USL Ltd. into receivership March 16, dozens of projects in eastern Canada and the U.S. stopped dead or slowed down, leaving cities and subcontractors in limbo.The biggest is the Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge in Ottawa, for which Concreate USL Ltd., is the prime contractor. The receivership also applied to a related company, Triwest Construction, whose parent, Triwest Capital Partners, had
Trained as an accountant, Ed Littleton started his career with Arthur Andersen & Co. After a stint at an industrial contractor, he joined the big brokerage Willis, where he held various positions. Later, he became vice president of risk management for Skanska and then construction practice leader for Wachovia Insurance Services, Atlanta. With Balfour Beatty, where he has worked since 2006, Littleton is based in Dallas. We talked with him about his career, the trust between a client and a broker, and how Balfour Beatty manages its risks.What is your background, and how did you begin working as a risk
Are capital-intensive subcontractors with substantial fabricating operations the most likely not to make it through to the end of the construction recession?That’s a question prime contractors could ask in light of the latest major subcontractor default.Austin Industries, the big commercial and industrial contactor, says of its four projects on which Trainor Glass Co. was serving as a subcontractor, three were nearly completed and are running on schedule and the fourth is in a very early stage and is unlikely to be affected.Based in Farmers Branch, Texas, Trainor Glass shut its doors at nine locations where it had operations Feb. 22
Related Links: Arena Subcontractor's 'Untimely' Default Delays Enclosure Are capital-intensive subcontractors with substantial fabricating operations the most likely not to make it through to the end of the construction recession?That’s a question prime contractors could ask in light of the latest major subcontractor default.Austin Industries, the big commercial and industrial contactor, says of its four projects on which Trainor Glass Co. was serving as a subcontractor, three were nearly completed and are running on schedule and the fourth is in a very early stage and is unlikely to be affected.Based in Farmers Branch, Texas, Trainor Glass shut its doors at
Rendering courtesy of HNTB Subcontracting goal program compliance on the North Avenue Bridge, shown in rendering, are the subject of a continuing federal investigation. The prime contractor on a Chicago bridge project shuttled its employees to woman-owned steel and concrete subcontractors hired to comply with government hiring goal programs, and later rehired the same workers in 2006 and 2007, federal prosecutors charge.As part of the charges made last month against Elizabeth Perino, 57, the owner of two companies accused of serving as an illegal “pass-through” to help prime contractors fulfill subcontracting requirements for woman-owned businesses (WBEs) and disadvantaged businesses (DBEs)
Related Links: Marsh's Surety Report Arch Insurance Groups surety practice XL Surety Group Berkley Surety Group Surety capacity was increasing at the start of 2012, says Marsh Inc., the big brokerage.Driven by new and expanded surety underwriting firms, new underwriting approaches and increased limits from existing sureties, the trend could mean that obtaining surety bonds actually becomes easier this year. Among the companies that have entered, re-entered or are expanding their work in contract surety are XL, Arch and Berkley Surety Group.While most forecasts about surety in 2012 focused on increasing contractor defaults pasting higher losses on sureties, the surety
The default and temporary shutdown just before New Year's Day of ASI Ltd., a principal subcontractor on the $825-million Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., has delayed completion of the arena's enclosure and forced extra effort by the project's prime contractor, Hunt Construction Group, to keep on track for scheduled completion later this year.For Hunt, the default “is making their life a little difficult,” says Robert P. Sanna, director of construction for Forest City Ratner Cos., the developer.ASI's default “is untimely, to say the least,” Sanna says. But he adds that he is gratified to see all the parties involved cooperating
