Select Page

The Trouble With Mold

by | Jul 6, 2009

When mold was discovered in part of the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, it ultimately resulted in the closing for more than a year of an entire 453-room 25-story tower.  It is reported that Hilton spent some $20 Million on consulting and investigation costs, and an additional $35 Million in the remediation.  This is one notable example among many of how the presence and growth of mold in homes and commercial buildings has developed into a serious issue that has potentially far reaching  consequences for residential and commercial property owners and managers, as well as for the construction and insurance industries.

Several states have established task forces to study mold and its effect on buildings and indoor air quality.  However, the intelligent dialogue required for the development of proper standards for mold exposure and remediation has, in large part, been drowned out by extreme voices.  On the one hand are those who summarily dismiss the issue as the fabricated product of a conspiracy between tort lawyers and a developing cottage industry of mold remediation consultants.  On the other are those readily prepared to broadly attribute a wide variety of medical conditions to the unhealthy environment of “sick buildings.”  (more…)

The Condominium Phenomenon

by | Jun 18, 2009

It has been nearly 30 years since I first became involved in the representation of a condominium association that was confronted with construction defect issues. That case was litigated for several years, and eventually grew to engulfing a multitude of parties, including developer entities, the general contractor, design professionals, engineers, numerous subcontractors and suppliers, and all of their law firms and insurers. It ultimately resulted in a resolution that allowed the condominium to repair the significant deficiencies in the exterior envelope of their high-rise building. Since that time, condominium construction defect matters have come to constitute the majority of my work. This has resulted from two phenomena: The first has been the explosion of condominium development since the 1980s, with the wide acceptance of the condo as a desired form of housing. The second is the nature of residential construction and its tight profit margins, in which inspection, supervision and coordination of trades are often the first casualties of budget constraints.

(more…)