The family business is an American tradition. It flows from a long line of ideals our wonderful country was built on: the ability to create something great and pass it on to future generations. In small towns across the United States “Father and Sons Inc.” signs are present up and down Main Street. Mothers and […]

Research conducted by Market Insight Reports estimates that the glass and glass product manufacturing industry will reach the $230 billion mark by the year 2020. By contrast, the industry topped out at $198.5 billion in 2016. While most industry professionals will celebrate the progressive market, and rightfully so, the instant I saw this, I recalled […]

Research conducted by Market Insight Reports estimates that the glass and glass product manufacturing industry will reach the $230 billion mark by the year 2020. By contrast, the industry topped out at $198.5 billion in 2016. While most industry professionals will celebrate the progressive market, and rightfully so, the instant I saw this, I recalled […]

One of the most common problems I’ve encountered over my 20-plus years defending the fenestration industry is when a manufacturer thinks they’re sending an independent contractor to the jobsite, when in reality, they’re sending an employee of the company. Your company may have had good and honest intentions, but an angry homeowner with litigious tendencies […]

Door and window professionals often ask me what factors go into determining whether they can be held liable for regulatory violations or injuries that occur on a jobsite. When I’m asked whether someone violated an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety standard, the first step in my analysis is to determine my client’s OSHA […]

The owner and manager of Made-Up Glass Shop Inc., based out of Missouri, called me recently, explaining that his company had just been sued for allegedly defective windows. The windows were sold and installed into a new apartment complex in California. The general contractor hired numerous subcontractors from New Mexico to assist in the construction […]

Initial property damage calculations estimate the economic harm inflicted by Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Hurricane Irma in Florida will exceed $200 billion, and that figure is likely to climb. Fortunately, it appears that more structures than originally anticipated withstood the initial storm surge and later flooding. Hopefully, most single-family homes, condo complexes and apartment […]

It’s no secret that we live in an increasingly litigious world. Unfortunately, some states currently are working on legislation that would only further decrease the available time for manufacturers and employers to evaluate meritorious claims and to defeat attempts at frivolous lawsuits. Worse yet, some states have already seen these bills pass through both their […]

Drum roll, please. And the award for best American Architectural Manufacturers Association Conference of the year goes to… the AAMA 2017 Western Region Winter Summit! Not even Warren Beatty, Jimmy Kimmel, or the academy itself could have messed this one up. In late February, I was lucky enough to attend AAMA’s Western Region Summit in […]

Many glass companies are well aware of our litigious society. They understand claims for breach of contract, negligence, warranties and product defect claims are a risk of doing business. However, most of us don’t think about the vast sea of consumer-protection laws that exist in every state and often expose our companies to extreme liability. […]