Construction Law Monitor : Construction Lawyer & Attorney : Wolfe Law Group : New Orleans & Seattle Law Firm : Construction Law Monitor Blog

November 18, 2009- Scott Wolfe, Jr., founder and member of Wolfe Law Group, LLC was invited to speak at the Louisiana Engineering Society: New Orleans Chapter's Monthly Meeting.  Scott would like to extend his thanks to the LES for the invitation to speak and the opportunity to meet several people in the engineering industry.

The LES has three main chapters in the state of Louisiana and is dedicated to the advancement of the engineering profession by pursing an active leadership role through various resources. 

For LES' full mission and vision statements, click here.  Incorporating speakers during the monthly meetings is just one of the many ways the LES provides its members with resources and information relevant to the field of engineering.

As a construction lawyer, Scott Wolfe consults with engineers as experts on various cases. Since the discovery of Chinese Drywall in completed construction projects across the state, he has become familiar with the basic problems of Chinese Drywall, how it effects individuals and contractors and how to proceed in the case that Chinese Drywall is detected.

The issue of Chinese Drywall is not only relevant to contractors and home/property owners, it extends to architects, engineers and attorneys.  Engineers in particular are being contracted to perform inspections of homes and businesses suspected of harboring Chinese Drywall.

Scott focused his presentation on the pertinent issue of Chinese Drywall in the state of Louisiana. Below is the slide presentation that was used during the meeting yesterday.

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The Washington Supreme Court decided yesterday to add to the already growing worries of contractors in the State of Washington, and perhaps across state lines. The High Court decided to apply an open-ended statute of limitations to claims brought against a contractor who built Safeco Field, the Seattle Mariners' home ballpark. The opinion controverts the previous belief that the construction claim would be limited by a 6 year limitation period on such claims. (RCW 4.16.040)

Due to the Court's findings, contractors must now be aware that work that they provide on a publicly-funded stadium will be subject to the open-ended statute, as opposed to the normal 6 year period for other constructions.

Washington Construction Law, a blog by Davis, Wright and Tremaine LLP, has reported that the Seattle Mariners and the State MLB Public Facilities District stand to recover more than $3 Million in damages for faulty construction completed by Hunt Construction Group and Kiewit Construction Group, which was substantially completed back in 1999.

The opinon, which can be found at Washington Construction Law's website, illustrates that the Court was unwilling to apply RCW 4.16.040 which provides a 6 years limitation period for contract claims. Instead, the Court applied RCW 4.16.160 saying:

We hold that the construction of Safeco Field by the PFD involves the exercise of sovereign powers traceable to delegated sovereign powers of the State, and claims based on its construction fall within the “for the benefit of the state” statute of limitations exemption in RCW 4.16.160.

Washington Construction Law states that the opinion is the first of its kind in the United States. Regardless, it certainly sets the tone for further litigation across the states.

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