San Diego Construction Defect Attorney Bryan R. Snyder http://www.sdtrialattorney.com/ San Diego Construction Defect Attorney Bryan R. Snyder en-us San Diego Construction Jobs remain at an all time lows http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=43 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=43 Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:13:07 PST

The latest statistics from the Bureau of Labor statisticsshows that employment in the construction industry remains at all time lows forSan Diego County.   The Februarystatistics were slightly improved from those reported for January.   The January statistics were showedconstruction jobs at the lowest levels in over a decade.   For comparison purposed, the number ofemployees with construction jobs in January, 2012 was roughly 50% lower thanthe number employed in August, 2006.   ...

]]> Soil Movement Damages: Who is Responsible? http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=42 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=42 Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:37:35 PST

     Soil movement claimsgenerally fall into one of two categories:   soil subsidence or soil expansion. Soil subsidence occurs when a home orbuilding is constructed on top of fill soil.   Fill soil is soil that is imported to the building site, in order toconstruct a level building pad.   Anexample would be if a canyon was filled in with imported soil, and then homesor buildings were constructed on top of the “fill” soil.   Subsidence, or settling,   of ...

]]> L.A. Times article about Construction Defects in new homes http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=41 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=41 Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:34:21 PST     The L.A. times reports that because builders are trying to cut costs to the bone, construction defects are becoming increasing evident in new homes prior to even being lived in.  The Times suggests a professional inspection be performed before closing escrow.  http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-lew-20110911,0,55177.story .

  We have been helping homeowners for over 25 years.  Call for a free consultation.  866-870-2020.

]]> Chinese Drywall: What you Need to Know http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=40 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=40 Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:59:32 PST    Thousands of homes built during the housing boom were constructed using drywall imported from China.  Now, many of these homeowners are suffering from illness and other maladies assoicated with a defective product.  The PBS series "Need to Know" recently expolored the problem.  The video is here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/video-home-sick-alleged-ill-effects-from-chinese-drywall/8812/ .  It is both informative, and scary. ]]> Building Inspector Admits to Taking Bribes http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=39 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=39 Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:35:41 PST

     One of the frequent questionspeople ask me is “How does all of the defective construction that is in ourhome or building get approved by the building inspector?”   This question is not as easy to answer as youmight think.   First of all, a citybuilding inspector is not intended to be a guarantor that all work is donecorrectly.   They are primarily lookingfor health and safety issues.   They arenot scrutinizing every aspect of construction.   They ha ...

]]> Falling Glass Construction Defect Injures two http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=38 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=38 Sat, 02 Jul 2011 10:29:58 PST     

Two people injured when glasspanels fell off the side of the W hotel building and into the pool area havefiled a lawsuit regarding their injuries.   The hotel, located in downtown Austin Texas, reportedly has a history ofglass panel falling off their building.   In this case, the panels fell more than 20 stories into the hotel’s poolarea.   The two injured patrons werereportedly still removing glass two weeks after the accident.   Notably, three more gla ...

]]> Outlook Not Rosy for California Construction Jobs http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=37 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=37 Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:20:54 PST     

Outlook Not Rosy for California Construction Jobs

     Arecent study by the U.C.L.A. Business school has some sobering news for theCalifornia economy:   homebuilding jobslost during the great recession will not be returning anytime soon.   The U.C.L.A. report states that the pastpractices of large suburban single family home developments will likely bereplaced by more urban, multifamily housing.   Multifamily construction requires far few ...

]]> Harsh Penalties for Contractors http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=36 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=36 Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:10:28 PST

     A contractor needs to takeall steps necessary to keep a license current.   The penalties associated with failure to have a license are dramatic andsevere for in California if you are performing construction work without alicense. If you are not licensed, you have no ability to bring any type of legalaction with respect to the construction work performed.   An unlicensed contractor cannot sue an ownerfor lack of payment if the contractor is unlicensed.   Cal ...

]]> Landslide/Soil Movement article in N.Y.Times http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=35 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=35 Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:10:06 PST      An article in today's New York Times discusses the damage associated with "slow" landslides. I think this is just another name for the problem known as slope creep. The article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/nyregion/creeping-landslide-puts-ny-house-on-precipice.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion . The article points out that developers sometimes ignore the problems associated with an "ancient landslide." In other words, the developer has information ... ]]> Building being Demolished due to Construction Defects http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=34 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=34 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:24:23 PST      Demolition has begun on the McGuire Building in Seattle because of uncurable constrution defects.  The 26 story apartment building that included retail shops on the ground floor was constructed only 10 years ago.  The cabling installed as part of the original construction was found to be rusted and corroded to such an extent that the only recourse was to demolish the building.  It is anticipated that the demolition process will take at least a year, and ...

]]> San Diego: Arbitration required for Construction Defects? http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=33 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=33 Tue, 31 May 2011 15:53:02 PST      Most residential Real Estate purchase contracts for new homes contain an arbitration provision.  The provision generally precludes a homeowner from filing a lawsuit, and mandates that they pursue any claims through arbitration.  Are these provisions enforcable?   No definitive answer can be given to this question.  Unfortunately, it depends on the contract and the circumstances.  However, it can be stated that in a number of situtations, ...

]]> Construction Defect Case Involving Tom Hanks http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=32 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=32 Fri, 27 May 2011 10:35:34 PST      Actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson recently received an arbitration ruling regarding their on going construction defect case.  The Hanks built a home in Idaho several years ago.  The home was plagued with many severe construction defects.  They instituted arbitration proceedings agains the architects, engineers, and building contractors.  Before the arbitration hearing, they settled with the architects and engineers for about $900,000. At the ...

]]> Expansive Soil San Diego: Preventative Tips http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=31 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=31 Thu, 26 May 2011 14:34:23 PST      In prior posts I spoke a little about expansive soils, and the damage it can cause to concrete slabs and footings.  Expansive soil is basically another name for clay soils.  The expansivity of the soil depends on how "pure" the clay is.  If the clay is mixed with sand, for example, it is less expansive.  Geotechnical engineers classify the expansiveness of soil based on the percentage of clay in the soil.

     Damage can occur wh ...

]]> Building Department Inspection Does not mean no Construction Defects http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=30 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=30 Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:25:57 PST      When problems crop up, a building developer often claims that the building "passed inspection," so therefore the problem is not their responsibility.  The reality is that inspection by the building department has absolutely nothing to do with whether a builder is responsible for design or construction defects.  First of all, building inspectors are not guarantors of building code compliance.  In fact, for most aspects of the design, they rely on the pro ...

]]> What is "Normal Settlement?" of a Home or Building http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=29 http://www.sdtrialattorney.com//engine/blog/viewpost.aspx?id=29 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:56:00 PST      I receive a good number of calls from owners who have noticed cracking, sticking doors or windows, or other indications of soil movement, and have been told by the developer that these are "normal settlement" and that they should not be worried.  So what is "normal settlement" that a building owner should simply accept?  Although there is no easy answer to this question, I offer several observations:

1.  When cracks in walls or floors appear, the nature ...

]]> Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:56:00 PST