Construction Law
Folger Levin & Kahn LLP has extensive litigation and transactional experience in construction projects and for construction industry clients, including major disputes involving numerous parties and tens of millions of dollars. We have represented developers, owners, general contractors, subcontractors, engineers, architects, suppliers, sureties, construction lenders, and environmental planners and consultants in all types of projects, including office complexes, semiconductor manufacturing facilities, hospitals, hotels, housing developments, power plants, sewage treatment facilities, shopping centers, transportation systems, government facilities, and apartment and condominium projects.
- Hilton Hotels Corporation v. Kaweener.
Thirteen years after its construction, a portion of the facade of the
San Francisco Hilton Hotel detached from the face of the building and
struck the ground. Estimated costs of repairing the entire curtainwall
were over $5 million. Notwithstanding the passage of time, we were
able to obtain favorable rulings for Hilton with respect to the statute
of limitations and settle the case so that the repair was performed
solely at the manufacturer’s cost.
- Three Embarcadero Center West v. Dinwidde Construction
and John Portman & Associates. We successfully represented
the owners in obtaining recovery for structural steel design and construction
defects in a major high-rise office building in San Francisco. In connection
with this project, we worked extensively with experts to devise a method
of repair that avoided significant delays and excessive costs.
- John Carl Warnecke & Associates v. Hilton and Prudential.
In this case, the architect at the San Francisco Hilton expansion walked
off the $150 million project at a critical juncture, thereby threatening
to shut down the project. We negotiated an agreement that enabled the
project to continue on a basis favorable to our clients, Prudential
and Hilton, and we were successful in defending against the architect’s
claims for substantial increased compensation in subsequent litigation.
We also successfully represented Hilton and Prudential in negotiations
with the contractor and numerous subcontractors regarding the reimbursable
costs of construction.
- Lehr’s Restaurant v. Hilton and Prudential.
A San Francisco restaurateur sued a joint venture of Prudential and
Hilton for $30 million in compensatory damages plus punitive damages
because the renovation of the San Francisco Hilton put the plaintiff’s
restaurant out of business for three years. FLK won a jury verdict exonerating
Hilton and Prudential on 17 of 18 claims and awarding the restaurateur
less than $500,000. In a subsequent action, we successfully recovered
the loss from the contractor’s insurance carrier.
- Fluor Daniel v. National Westminister Bank.
We represented Fluor Daniel, which was seeking recovery against the
construction lender and owner in connection with the design and construction
of an agricultural waste power plant. We were successful in defeating
all claims of design and construction defects and in obtaining a multi-million-dollar
recovery for our client.
- Nationwide Insurance v. Lone Star Industries.
We represented a national manufacturer of cement and concrete products
in a case arising out of the collapse of an office building in Boston.
Our client’s products were used in the construction of the building.
We were able to establish that the collapse was the result of faulty
specifications rather than substandard materials.
- Highland Framers v. Kaufmann & Broad.
We represented Kaufman & Broad (now KB Home) in connection with
a $50 million lawsuit brought by a regional contractor and supplier
of lumber. Our client achieved a judgment in its favor on all of the
contractor’s claims and recovered over $1 million against
the contractor’s surety.
- KB Home South Bay v. Western Pacific Housing, Inc.
We represented KB Home in connection with a dispute with Western Pacific
Housing regarding the refund of a deposit for the purchase of a development
project for hundreds of homes. We won summary judgment requiring Western
Pacific Housing to refund KB Home’s deposit and to reimburse KB
Home’s legal fees.
- Bechtel Corporation v. Crum & Forster
. We represented Bechtel in connection with insurance disputes concerning
over 15,000 lawsuits against Bechtel for alleged bodily injuries stemming
from exposure to asbestos on construction and engineering projects.
The case settled favorably on the eve of trial.
- FN Development Company Alpha v. Paragon Homes.
Real estate developers alleged that our client Ford Motor Company had
wrongfully terminated a series of joint ventures for the development
of 13 residential projects involving the construction of over 11,000
single-family homes in Southern California. Our client countered that
the developers were seeking to avoid payment of losses that they sustained
following a recession in the Southern California real estate market.
Following an eight-week trial, the court awarded our client damages
of $64 million and denied recovery on the developers’ claims.
- Represented developer who acquired a new multi family housing development
in successfully pursuing subcontractors for a multi million dollar recovery
to correct construction defects.
- Represented contractor in recovering millions of dollars after constructing
a commercial shopping center following an early, strategic mediation.
We have represented owners and contractors in numerous transactional construction matters, both commercial and residential, including the following:
- Representing
HCP, Inc./HCP Life Science Estates in the development of research and
development, office, technology, warehouse and industrial buildings,
including at least twenty substantial build-to-suit projects for biotech,
medical device and information services tenants.
- Representation of clients such as Goodwill Industries, San Francisco
Jewish Community Center, and The Hamlin School in the negotiation of
construction contracts for the development or substantial renovation
of their facilities.
- General counsel to Plath & Company, a high-end residential contractor.
Representative Clients: Bechtel Corporation; DPR Construction, Inc.; Kaufman & Broad (KB Home); Prudential Realty; Hilton Hotels Corporation; Lone Star Industries; Hall Properties; AEG; Babcock & Wilcox; First Nationwide Bank; M. A. Mortenson Company; Geomatrix Consultants; EIP Associates.
For more information, contact:
Douglas W. Sullivan, dsullivan@flk.com
Donald E. Kelley, Jr., dkelley@flk.com
Wesley D. Hurst, Managing Partner of the Los Angeles Office, whurst@flk.com
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