ACEC Supports BUILD America 250 Act as Important First Step on Surface Reauthorization
May 26, 2026 —
The American Council of Engineering CompaniesWASHINGTON -- The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the business voice of America’s engineering and design services industry released the following statement on the BUILD America 250 Act:
"Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Larsen have taken an important bipartisan step toward reauthorizing the federal surface transportation programs that are critical to economic growth in every state. The BUILD America 250 Act provides five years of stability in funding road and transit projects, raises new revenues to address the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund, and includes meaningful provisions to strengthen project delivery, advance digital infrastructure, and improve the contracting framework that engineering firms rely on every day. ACEC will continue to advocate for investment levels that keep pace with the country's growing infrastructure needs, and we urge the Committee to keep this process moving forward."
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America’s engineering industry, representing more than 5,500 independent engineering firms and more than 650,000 professionals throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, water, and energy infrastructure, along with environmental, industrial, and other public and private facilities. Founded in 1906 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 51 state and regional organizations.
Mark Cronenwett Obtains Appellate Ruling Vacating Default Judgment Against Mortgage Lender Client
October 12, 2026 —
Lewis BrisboisDallas Partner Mark Cronenwett recently secured a decision from the Dallas Court of Appeals that vacated a default judgment against his mortgage lender client, on the grounds that the client was never properly served with the complaint.
In prior litigation, a real property investor purchased a Texas residential property for pennies on the dollar at an HOA foreclosure sale. That investor then filed a frivolous lawsuit against Lewis Brisbois' mortgage-lender client to invalidate its lien, contending that mortgage lender had abandoned the debt because it failed to respond to the investor’s alleged requests for information about the amounts owed on the loan.
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Lewis Brisbois
Miller Act Payment Bond Claim “No Nos!”
October 06, 2026 —
David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal UpdatesA recent federal district court opinion, Sauer Construction, LLC v. United Structures of Georgia, LLC, 2026 WL 2522849 (M.D.Fla. 2026), addressed two worthy considerations when it comes to a Miller Act payment bond claim. And, when I am talking about considerations, I am really talking about “no-nos.” These are things you don’t do.
First, don’t file an untimely Miller Act payment bond lawsuit. Make sure, as a claimant, you file that lawsuit within one year from your final furnishing. In this case, the subcontractor claimant did not and tried to argue around the statute of limitations with an equitable tolling argument, i.e., that the statute of limitations should be equitably tolled to accommodate the late filing of the lawsuit. Guess what? The subcontractor was not successful. You are fighting an uphill (losing) battle when arguing equitable tolling because “traditional equitable tolling principles require that the claimant demonstrate extraordinary circumstances, such as fraud, misinformation, or deliberate concealment.” Sauer Construction, supra. This means you need ultra-persuasive evidence to support such equitable tolling principles. Actually, having this evidence is doubtful. Thus, timely file the Miller Act payment bond lawsuit. There is no legitimate reason not to.
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David Adelstein, Kirwin NorrisMr. Adelstein may be contacted at
dma@kirwinnorris.com
Safeguarding Your Privileged Construction Information With a Clawback Agreement
June 08, 2026 —
Laura Fraher - Construction ExecutiveFor contractors and construction executives, a
dispute that escalates to litigation brings risks that go well beyond the jobsite. When a dispute escalates to litigation, the attorney-client privilege is a critical protection to safeguard your interests. Disclosing privileged material can undermine your litigation position and, in some cases, negatively impact your business. In the construction context, this often includes sensitive communications about project delays, defect investigations, safety incidents or payment disputes—materials that can significantly impact both liability and reputation.
During litigation, the discovery process requires the exchange of documents and data with your adversary. If privileged materials are disclosed to your adversary during discovery you risk the waiver of your privilege, which in plain terms means you lose the protection of the privilege and make the privileged information, and in some cases all other information related to the same subject matter, available to your adversary. It is critical that your attorney take steps to protect against the unintentional disclosure of privileged materials during discovery to avoid a waiver.
Reprinted courtesy of
Laura Fraher, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
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lfraher@barclaydamon.com
One Building, Six Owners, One Defective Stucco System: How Do You Coordinate Repairs?
November 02, 2026 —
David McLain - Colorado Construction Litigation BlogThe Problem: Six Homes, One Building Envelope
Consider a hypothetical six-unit townhome building in Colorado. Each residence is individually owned. There is no homeowners association responsible for maintaining the building’s exterior, no commonly owned building envelope, and no association empowered to pursue construction defect claims on behalf of all six homeowners. Instead, the development relies on individual ownership, recorded easements, and party wall agreements to govern relationships among neighboring owners.
Although the residences are separately owned, they share a continuous exterior stucco system, including interconnected flashing, waterproofing, and architectural transitions.
One homeowner discovers water intrusion and retains an expert who identifies defects in the stucco installation. The expert recommends removing and replacing the stucco on the homeowner’s residence. However, because the exterior cladding and waterproofing systems are interconnected, the proposed repair may require work extending beyond the boundaries of that homeowner’s property.
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David McLain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLCMr. McLain may be contacted at
mclain@hhmrlaw.com
Understanding the EPA’s Latest Proposed Drinking Water Contaminant Monitoring Rule, Published in Law360
September 01, 2026 —
Gordon Rees Scully MansukhaniThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 6) represents another step in the federal government’s ongoing effort to identify and evaluate emerging contaminants in drinking water. The proposal would require certain public water systems to monitor and report on 30 unregulated drinking water contaminants from 2028 through 2030, while generating occurrence data that could inform future regulation and affect environmental, commercial, litigation and risk assessments.
In an article published by Law360, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Senior Counsel, Ayodeji Ayolola, analyzes the scope and practical implications of UCMR 6, including the contaminants selected, the proposed monitoring requirements for public water systems, and the EPA’s continued focus on PFAS and related organofluorine compounds. The article also touches upon the potential significance of publicly available monitoring data for businesses and property stakeholders.
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Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
LA Scores Major Victory in a High-Exposure Premises Liability Action
July 06, 2026 —
Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLPOur firm is proud to announce a decisive defense victory obtained by Partner
Daniel Crespo and Associate
Lauren Landau for our client in a high-exposure premises liability action arising from a 2022 incident at an active school construction site in Perris, California. On March 10, 2026, the Riverside County Superior Court granted Summary Judgment in full for our client, dismissing all claims brought by Plaintiff, who alleged she tripped and fell over a curb while picking up her daughter from school and sustained ankle and wrist injuries as a result.
Through meticulous preparation and the strategic use of construction plans, contractual documents, and onsite surveillance video evidence, our team demonstrated that our client had no ownership, possession, or control over the portion of the existing sidewalk where the incident occurred, with construction plans unambiguously designating the area as pre-existing concrete outside our client’s scope of work, and the Construction Services Agreement expressly reserving control over all existing site improvements to the school district.
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Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Potential Gap in Workers Compensation Immunity Statutory Framework
June 02, 2026 —
David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal UpdatesWorkers compensation insurance is important. As an owner, you want to ensure the contractors you hire have workers compensation insurance. Assuming you hire a contractor that is statutorily exempt from workers compensation, you want to make sure, no exception, that any subcontractor that is hired has workers compensation insurance. (Regardless, you always want subcontractors to have workers compensation insurance.). In construction, the prime contractor serves as the “
statutory employer” for purposes of workers compensation insurance.
With workers compensation comes
workers compensation immunity.
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David Adelstein, Kirwin NorrisMr. Adelstein may be contacted at
dma@kirwinnorris.com