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The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation’s (Commission) recently amended the existing rules governing air conditioning and refrigeration contractor applicable codes, 16 Tex. Admin. Code, Chapter 75, § 75.110. Revised Section 75.110 states:

“(a) The commission adopts the following as the applicable codes as referenced in the Act and this chapter: (1) 2009 edition of the Uniform Mechanical Code; and (2) 2009 editions of the International Mechanical Code, the International Residential Code, and other applicable codes.
(b) The 2009 codes will be in effect through December 31, 2014. All air conditioning and refrigeration work permitted or started prior to January 1, 2015, may be completed in accordance with the 2009 code editions.
(c) The commission adopts the following as the applicable codes as referenced in the Act and this chapter: (1) 2012 edition of the Uniform Mechanical Code; and (2) 2012 editions of the International Mechanical Code, the International Residential Code, and other applicable codes.
(d) The 2012 codes will be effective January 1, 2015.” (Emphases added).

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (Department) drafted and distributed the proposed rules to persons internal and external to the agency and published them in the April 11, 2014, issue of the Texas Register (39 Tex. Reg. 2735). Prior to the deadline for public comments (May 12, 2014), the Department received four public comments regarding the proposed rules. The public comments and the Department’s response to the public comments are available in its Justification for Administrative Rule Adoption.

The Department also recently lowered the number of hours of instruction on state laws and rules required annually from 2 hours to 1 hour, effective for licenses that expire on or after June 1, 2014. The total number of continuing education hours required annually, however, will remain at 8 hours. The other 7 hours of instruction must be courses taken in one or more of the following subjects: (1) Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1302, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors; (2) Title 16, Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 75, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Administrative Rules; (3) The International Mechanical Code, the Uniform Mechanical Code, or other applicable codes; (4) Ethics; (5) Business practices; or (6) Technical requirements. Continuing education courses must be completed within the term of the license being renewed. The continuing education courses must have been taken within the term of the license to be renewed, e.g., if the license expires on December 15, 2013, the continuing education courses must have been taken between December 15, 2012 and December 15, 2013.

Additional Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Justification for Administrative Rule Adoption, Air Condition and Refrigeration Contractors; Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors Continuing Education

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The practice of including an arbitration provision in all types of contracts has become quite common. Including such a provision in a contract should, however, always be a considered choice, based on sound advice, to avoid any misunderstandings about the breadth, scope and consequences of including such a provision. Yesterday, Pillsbury attorney Ray Sweigart published his client advisory titled About that English Law and Arbitration Clause: Consider enforcement implications before signing. In the Advisory, he discusses the practice, in international commercial contracts, parties with no operations or other relationship to England or the United Kingdom specifying English law as controlling, with a clause providing for arbitration of disputes in London. In Cruz City v Unitech & Ors, [2014] EWHC 3131 (Comm), the English High Court was faced with a dispute over enforcement of an arbitral award between a Mauritian claimant and an Indian defendant. Noting the English law policy that judgments of the English court and English arbitration awards should be complied with, and under the principles set out in Masri v Consolidated Contractors International (UK) Ltd (No 2), [2008] EWCA Civ 303, the court held that it was appropriate to enforce an arbitral award by the appointment of receivers over the foreign defendant’s assets.

If you have any questions about the content of this blog, please contact the Pillsbury attorney with whom you regularly work or Ray Sweigart, the author of this blog.

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The Joint Board of Licensure and Certification, State of New Hampshire compiled a list of the most common electrical installation deficiencies in the State of New Hampshire in 2014, formatted to the 2014 edition of the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70-2014) as follows:

  • Use of electrical equipment without following the manufacturer’s instructions, including installation and securing of expansion fittings in runs of Rigid Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Conduit and improper tightening of electrical connections
  • Inadequate clearances: working space, clear spaces, headroom and dedicated equipment space
  • Improper sealing of underground raceways
  • Improper grounding of electrode system
  • Bonding of metal water piping in the vicinity of separately derived systems
  • Wireways and consideration of 310.15(B)(3)(a)
  • Improper use of NM cable in other structures permitted to be Types III, IV or V construction
  • Improper installation of exposed vertical risers from fixed equipment
  • Improper use of Flexible Cords and Cables, Article 400
  • Failure to use weather-resistant outdoor receptacles
  • Inadequate mounting height of switches
  • Failure to use proper methods for circuit directories and circuit Identification
  • Improper connection of septic pumps
  • Failure to comply with signage requirements
  • Lack of separation of Emergency System Conductors from other conductors
  • Misunderstanding of the requirements for the installation of branch circuits supplying emergency lighting

Additional Source: Electrical Licensing Concerns And Commonly Found Installation Deficiencies in the State of New Hampshire 2014

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On October 13, 2004, California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. appointed Susan Granzella of Sacramento as a new (public) member of the California Contractors State License Board. Prior to the appointment, according to the Governor, Granzella “held several positions at Visa Inc. from 1996 to 2014, including senior director and vice president for technical documentation and audit and compliance coordination for global development.” The CSLB further noted that, in the latter role, Granzella “oversaw Visa’s technical writing and publishing efforts, distributing content internationally to banks and processors, and managed staff in both the United States and India.” Registrar of Contractors Steve Sands swore in Ganzella on October 21, 2014, and her term continues through June 1, 2016. With Granzella’s appointment, there remains only one vacancy on the 15-member Board. Congratulations and welcome!

Additional Information: CSLB, Industry Bulletin # 14-16 (Oct. 22, 2014).

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On October 20, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit unanimously affirmed the lower court’s ruling that the commercial liability insurance policies purchased by Headwaters Resources, Inc. contained unambiguous “pollution exclusion” provisions which excluded Headwaters’ demand that its insurers reimburse its litigation defense costs. The case is Headwaters Resources, Inc. v. Illinois Union Insurance Company and ACE American Insurance Company.

Headwaters constructed a golf course in Chesapeake, Virginia, using fly ash, which is derived from coal ash, as a fill material. Several hundred homeowners sued Headwaters in Virginia state court alleging that that the use of fly ash caused property damages and bodily injuries as a result of the pollution generated by this use of the fly ash. Both insurers denied coverage, and Headwaters sued the insurance companies in a federal district court in Utah. At issue were the policy exclusions which “excise coverage for ‘bodily injury’ and ‘property damage’ that stems from ‘actual, alleged or threatened discharge, dispersal, seepage, migration, release or escape of ‘pollutants” when combined with at least one of five circumstances enumerated in lettered subparts.”

The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s holding that the pollution exclusion provisions were unambiguous and therefore the policies do not cover these claims; the district court found that the “the complaints in the . . . lawsuits alleged bodily injury and property damage arising out of the actual or threatened dispersal of pollutants from waste that was processed by Headwaters,” and “[t]aken broadly, the complaints allege pollution of the type that falls within the pollution exclusions in all the policies.” The Court of Appeals also noted that Headwaters was free to purchase special purpose coverage for pollution liability, but chose not to do so.

In the Court of Appeals decision, it notes that “[s]ince the 1970’s, the extent to which pollution exclusions apply to preclude coverage in commercial general liability (CGL) policies has been a ubiquitous feature of insurance litigation. Generally speaking, jurisdictions that have addressed the scope of the ‘total pollution exclusion’ fall into one of two camps: (1) courts that apply the pollution exclusions as written because they find them clear and unmistakable; and (2) courts that narrow the exclusions to ‘traditional environmental pollution,’ often because they find the terms of the exclusion to be ambiguous due to their broad applicability.” It also notes that the Utah Supreme Court has not yet weighed in on this debate.

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The Texas Supreme Court confirmed that it will decide an issue of Texas law that was certified to the Court by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The case is McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corporation v. The Phoenix Insurance Company; The Travelers Indemnity Company. The issue is whether the receipt of Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) letters and unilateral administrative order, issued pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), from EPA Region 6 is a “suit” that triggers a duty by the insurers to defend, investigate and settle.

McGinnes is in the waste disposal business and, in the 1960s, McGinnes removed waste from a paper mill and released it into three ponds located adjacent to the San Jacinto River. McGinnes is a potentially responsible party at the San Jacinto Waste Pits Superfund site in Harris County, Texas. McGinnes is cooperating with EPA in developing a cleanup plan for the site, but McGinnes is also being sued in state court for past violations of the state environmental laws pertaining to waste cleanups. Its liability could well be assessed at millions of dollars in addition to the cleanup costs. The Fifth Circuit believes that this issue of state law requires clarification by the Texas Supreme Court. This is an important case; different courts in different states have issued rulings coming down on both sides of this issue. No date for oral argument has been scheduled.

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The New Hampshire Electrician’s Board has confirmed that the 2014 National Electrical Code (NEC) will become effective January 1, 2015 and, moreover, that all exams will be on the 2014 NEC starting on October 1, 2014. All New Hampshire licensed master and journeyman electricians will also be required to complete an “approved” 15-hour course on the 2014 NEC between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014 regardless of the licensee’s renewal date. See R.S.A. § 319-C:6-c. Each master and journeyman license without verification of the required 2014 NEC continuing education by January 1, 2015 will be invalid until proof of the course is received, and invalid licenses will be treated the same as a lapsed license and subject to the applicable laws for performing electrical installations without being licensed. See id.

Additional Source: State of New Hampshire Electricians’ Board; ECC, Adoption of 2014 edition of National Electrical Code®

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The Nevada State Contractors Board, at its meeting scheduled for October 23, 2014, at 8:45 a.m. by video conference at two of the Board’s offices, is expected to discuss, in its Executive Session, proposed amendments to Nevada Administrative Code § 624.170 concerning remodel of high rise buildings for possible action.

Currently, NAC § 624.170 addresses Class B general building contractor subclassifications and the work authorized for persons licensed in the respective subclassifications:

1.  PREMANUFACTURED HOUSING (subclassification B-1): The fitting, assembling, placement and installing of premanufactured units, modular parts and their appurtenances for the erection of residential buildings which do not extend more than three stories above the ground.
2.  RESIDENTIAL AND SMALL COMMERCIAL (subclassification B-2): The construction and remodeling of houses and other structures which support, shelter or enclose persons or animals or other chattels, and which do not extend more than three stories above the ground and one story below the ground.
3.  SPECULATIVE BUILDING (subclassification B-3): The construction upon property owned by the contractor of structures for sale or speculation.
4.  SERVICE STATIONS (subclassification B-4): The construction of structures and installation of equipment used to perform service upon vehicles.
5.  PREFABRICATED STEEL STRUCTURES (subclassification B-5): The construction with prefabricated steel of structures to be used for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons or animals or other chattels.

Nevada State Contractors Board Office Locations:

2310 Corporate Circle, Suite 200
Henderson, Nevada 89074
9670 Gateway Drive, Suite 100 Reno, Nevada 89521

Additional Source: Nevada State Contractors Board Notice of Meeting (Oct. 23, 2014).

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A few months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of CTS Corp. v. Waldburger, 134 S. Ct. 2175 (2014), and held that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, 94 Stat. 2767, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601 et seq. (CERCLA), the federal Superfund statute, does not preempt state statutes of repose such as the North Carolina 10 year statute of repose. For example, North Carolina’s “statute prevents subjecting a defendant to a tort suit brought more than 10 years after the last culpable act of the defendant. N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 1-52(16) (Lexis 2013) (‘[N]o cause of action shall accrue more than 10 years from the last act or omission of the defendant giving rise to the cause of action’); Robinson v. Wadford, ___ N.C.App. ___, ___, 731 S.E.2d 539, 541 (2012) (referring to the provision as a “statute of repose”).” The Waldburger decision imperiled toxic tort lawsuits that were filed against the United States on behalf of many plaintiffs who alleged that the drinking water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina was contaminated.

In response to the Waldburger decision, the North Carolina Legislature amended the state’s statute of repose (Senate Bill 574, Session Law 2014-17), adding a new exception that would purportedly revive groundwater contamination lawsuits pending on the day of the Supreme Court’s decision. Session Law 2014-44 is titled “An Act to Make Technical Amendments to Session Law 2014-17.” Session Law 2014-17 was signed into law on June 20, 2014, and it provides that “is effective when it becomes law and applies to actions arising or pending on or after that date. For purposes of this section, an action is pending for a plaintiff if there has been no final disposition with prejudice and mandate issued against that plaintiff issued by the highest court of competent jurisdiction where the claim was timely filed or appealed as to all the plaintiff’s claims for relief to which this act otherwise applies.”

On October 14, 2014, the Eleventh Circuit reviewed the application of the revised statute in Bryant v. United States, Case No. 12-15424, and agreed that the amendment substantially amended the law and made it retroactive. However, under North Carolina precedent, the court of appeals held that law cannot be applied on a retroactive basis against the United States. The revised law can only apply prospectively if it is not to divest the United States of a vested right, i.e., the availability of a defense under state law. Interestingly, the Eleventh Circuit was obliged to make an educated “guess” as to the application of North Carolina law because there are no procedures in place by which a question can be certified to the North Carolina Supreme Court.

The case has been remanded to the lower court, where the remaining issues can be sorted out, including whether the last act or omission of the government at Camp Lejeune is covered by the statute of repose.

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Effective January 1, 2015, Senate Bill 193, signed into law on July 11, 2014 by Alaska Governor Sean Parnell, increases the required construction contractor bonding amounts as follows:

“…(1) general contractor shall be $25,000;
(2) general contractor with a residential contractor endorsement under AS 08.18.025 who performs exclusively residential work shall be $20,000;
(3) mechanical or specialty contractor or home inspector shall be $10,000; or (4) contractor whose work on one project with an aggregate contract price of $10,000 or less, including all labor, materials, and other items, when the work is not part of a larger or major operation or otherwise divided into contracts of less than $10,000 to evade a higher bonding requirement, shall be $5,000.”

Under the amended law, in lieu of a surety bond, the license applicant may file with the Commissioner a cash deposit or other negotiable security acceptable to the Commissioner in the amount of the required bond.

Additional Source: Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, New Legislation Affecting Licensure in Alaska