Litigation & Alternative Dispute Resolution

Twenty years ago, the New York Law Journal published an article about a then little-used law that authorized courts to grant a license to a property owner or developer unable to make repairs or improvements to its property without entering onto a neighbor’s property (See Little-Used Law Helps Developers Held Hostage, N.Y.L.J. Aug. 14, 2002).  The law in question, Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (“RPAPL”) Section 881, authorized a judicial license where a neighbor refused permission to access its property for necessary construction and repairs.  It also provided the court with flexibility to set conditions on the license upon “such terms as justice requires.”

In a major victory for real estate developers and New York City, a New York State Appellate Court has overturned a decision preventing the completion of a new 55-story condominium building at 200 Amsterdam Avenue.

Construction sites close down for emergencies—whether or not everyone involved is ready. The COVID-19 lockdown adds new forms of operational and legal uncertainty. Yet a shutdown needn’t be a disaster: it’s time to plan, anticipate potential problems, and upgrade procedures.

Billy Joel's litigation with a former contractor over work performed in his Long Island home was featured in an article in Newsday. The rockstar is being represented by Zetlin & De Chiara LLP. The firm is quoted in the article.  

Michael Zetlin, Senior Partner at Zetlin & De Chiara LLP, moderated a panel discussion hosted by the New York Building Congress -"ADR" Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Legal Alternative to Workers Compensation Insurance for Infrastructure and Construction on July 14th, at the Harmonie Club, 4 East 60th Street, New York.

Loryn Riggiola, Partner will speak as a member of a panel at The Dispute Resolution Board Foundation 25th Annual Connections Conference on November 8-10, 2021. The conference will address The "New" P3: Past, Present and Post-Pandemic DBs.

The panel, Champion or Challenger - How the DRB Process is Viewed Through the Lens of the Designer and Engineer will address how engineers / designers think about the DRB process.

We often hear from project owners, CMs, and contractors, but what do the engineers / designers think about the DRB process? A panel of major project designers will discuss this perspective.

Moderator:

Ali Chaudhry, Senior Vice President, AECOM

Speakers:
Ed Hunter, Technical Advisor, HNTB
Matthew Neuringer, Senior Associate, Orrick Law Firm
Loryn Riggiola, Partner,Zetlin & De Chiara LLP
David Ryan, Senior Vice President-Boston, AECOM

Loryn Riggiola, Partner, Zetlin & De Chiara LLP,  joins a panel on June 10, 2021, 1:30-2:30 entitled Understand the Arbitral Decision-Making Model and What Advocates Can Do to Protect the Award. This panel will dicuss the differing arbitral decision-making philosophies and recent challenges to arbitral awards. The application of law, equity, fairness, and justness can serve as a means by which an arbitrator can reach a decision. Each model has its own unique characteristics, and understanding these approaches and their limits is key to avoiding improper or frustrating outcomes in arbitration. Along with the arbitrator, advocates have a role to play in the rendering of an enforceable award, and all participants should have an appreciation for the nature of recent challenges to arbitral awards. The panel will also offer practical tips for drafting arbitration agreements, conducting discovery, and the presentation of evidence to assist arbitrators in making enforceable awards.

A discussion of the lessons learned, both legal and technical, arising from the Millennium Tower project in San Francisco. The Millennium Tower is a 58 story luxury rental building, home to many high-profile profile that started to skink and tile after completion. One corner of the Tower descended at least 18 inches. The speakers were instrumental in resolving the dispute that ensued. 

This program will present key aspects of ACEC New York's LL97 Reference Guide White Paper. Michael De Chiara will discuss design team liability.

A New Paradigm for Pre-Construction Engineering Analysis

Recent events in both New York and San Francisco have highlighted a much under-appreciated but enormous risk caused by most large construction projects in dense urban environments.

The effects of major construction projects on adjoining properties are not sufficiently understood. When the unanticipated problems occur they often result in significant damages, which can equal the entire cost of the new project.

The proper analysis of these effects involve advanced geotechnical and structural analysis, often not undertaken in large complex projects.

We will cite several well-known situations which could have been avoided if this new level of pre-construction analysis was undertaken.

Jaimee Nardiello, Partner, will participate in a panel that will discuss Contract and Common Law Claims, Prosecution of Claims and Remedies. 

Join Tara Mulrooney, Partner, as she participates in an interactive discussion with a panel of lawyers, architects and construction professionals as they explore ways to navigate the issues facing projects in the age of COVID-19.

How to Address the Impact on Development, Construction and Design: 

Answers for the Construction Community

Partner Loryn P. Riggiola spoke on the panel “Understanding the Dispute Management Provisions Pursuant to the FIDIC and Other Industry Form Contract Documents and their Application to Mega Projects – An International and Domestic Construction ADR Overview ” at the American Arbitration Association – International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA-ICDR).

Zetlin & De Chiara senior partner Michael Zetlin moderated a thought-provoking panel discussion for the NY Building Congress on “Alternative Dispute Resolution as a Legal Alternative to Workers Compensation Insurance for Infrastructure and Construction” on July 14 at the Harmonie Club.

New York State has significantly expanded the requirements covering disclosure of insurance-related information in commercial litigation commenced on or after December 31, 2021.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act into law on December 31, 2021, and signed a remedial law on February 24, 2022, to limit some of the more onerous and worrisome aspects of the new disclosure regime (together the “Act”).  The Act amends a subsection of the Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) governing the scope of disclosure under CPLR 3101(f) and added certification requirements under CPLR 3122-b.

In recent weeks, there has been a long list of companies, from all industries spanning from construction/engineering to fashion and hospitality, that have announced that they are completely severing ties with Russia, while a host of others have announced a temporary halt. See Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, Over 400 Companies Have Withdrawn from Russia – But Some Remain, Yale School of Management (Updated Mar. 21, 2022), https://som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-400-companies-have-withdrawn-russia-some-remain?utm_campaign=mb. For those developers, EPC contractors, and design professionals (engineers and architects) who have construction projects in Russia, the question is, “How should we proceed?”

New York City developers collectively sighed with relief when 200 Amsterdam, a mixed-use, high-rise building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, was saved from the guillotine when a New York State intermediate appellate court reversed a lower court’s decision that retroactively revoked the developer’s building permit for an as-of-right development. The affirmance of the controversial ruling, issued by the New York County Supreme Court on February 27, 2020, would have resulted in the demolition of more than 20 top floors of the fully-constructed 668 feet high 55-story tower.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (“MTA”) recently published and implemented revised regulations relating to “Contractor” debarment. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the way we work--whether in an office or out in the field--has changed significantly, and in some cases in an extremely short amount of time--even overnight in some cases. Without available technology, this unprecedented shift would have been impossible. The abrupt, industry-wide transition to virtual working has led to a new understanding of the practicality and possibilities inherent in many new technologies. As construction sites throughout the U.S. begin reopening after shutdowns or ramping up after slowdowns or suspensions, these technologies may play an even larger role in a project's success.

To read the article, please click here.

Following our webinar, COVID-19 Challenges to the Construction Industry, we assembled a Questions & Answers based upon questions participants posed and to issues we discussed.

This article is written in Chinese, an English translation is forthcoming.