Oops…Building Non-Enclosure: Who’s at Fault?

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT

• AIA 1.5 LU/HSW
• SC Building Codes Council 1.5 CEUs
• Certificates provided for all attendees

SUMMARY

Often, many variables and team members play a role in ensuring your building enclosure is water and air tight. Who is at fault when something goes wrong – the Owner, Architect, Contractor, Manufacturer? Please join us this month as three attorneys from Carlock Copeland Stair, LLP discuss the contract team and how liabilities are placed.

The presentation will focus on two hypothetical construction scenarios that resulted in litigation.  The presentation, with invited conversation from the audience, is intended to explain how common events during the construction process can later become the catalyst for protracted litigation. The construction scenarios will be evaluated primarily from the perspective of the owner, design professional(s) and contractor(s), and will also explore the role of the code official.

The goal is to collectively dissect the intertwined roles and responsibilities of those involved in the various phases of construction projects, analyze how to identify and prevent potential points of confusion and conflict, and discuss how to effectively navigate those situations, when they do arise, to avoid future problems and potential litigation.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The presentation will use two hypothetical construction scenarios that result in litigation.

• The presentations will demonstrate how common events during the construction process can later become material for protracted litigation.
• The construction scenarios will be evaluated from the perspective of the owner, design professional(s) and contractor(s).
• The scenarios will also explore the legal role of the code official in the construction process.
• The objective is to dissect the intertwined roles and responsibilities of the involved parties in the construction project process, analyze how to identify and prevent potential points of confusion and conflict and discuss how to effectively navigate these situations when they do arise to avoid future problems and potential litigation.

ABOUT OUR PRESENTERS

Robert B. Hawk is an Associate in the Charleston office of Carlock Copeland & Stair, LLP where he represents business owners, professionals, and insurance companies in civil litigation and insurance coverage matters.  Robert spends the majority of his time representing contractors, engineers and architects in complex construction defect matters.  He graduated from Davidson College with a B.A. in Economics and attended the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Tyler P. Winton is an Associate in the Charleston office of Carlock Copeland & Stair, LLP, where he concentrates his practice in the area of construction litigation, including the representation of contractors, subcontractors and design professionals. Additionally, Tyler offers non-litigation support for construction clients providing advice related to payment and industry issues, as well as reviewing contracts in an effort to prevent disputes from arising in the future. Tyler graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University and attended the University of South Carolina School of Law. In 2015, Super Lawyers Magazine named Tyler a Rising Star.

Suzanne Hogg — is an associate in Carlock Copeland’s Charleston office, where she practices civil defense litigation, including construction defect litigation. Suzanne’s construction litigation practice focuses primarily on the defense of building contractors and subcontractors in commercial, single-family residential, and multi-family residential projects. Suzanne earned her Master’s degree in English Rhetoric and Composition from Salisbury University in Maryland and earned her law degree with honors from the Charleston School of Law.