Brickeys Arkansas Construction Expert Witness Directory

Limitations of Liability Provisions in Construction Contracts: A Means to Manage Risk and Limit Financial Exposure

June 23, 2026 — Ellen Chapelle, Richard Reizen, Hannah Batsche - Construction Executive
Taking a cue from architects and engineers, construction contractors have started inserting limitation of liability clauses in their construction contracts to manage risk and limit financial exposure. This article will address the specific risks that can be limited through an LOL, tips for negotiating the LOL terms with reluctant owners to cover those specific risks, how to limit unintended consequences of an LOL (such as relieving an insurer of its obligations to cover certain losses), and approaches to setting the amount of the liability cap in the LOL. Addressing Particular Risks An LOL can address a wide range of risks, including:

Damages for delay
Liability for non-conforming or defective work
Liability for third-party bodily injury or property damage
Liability excluded by a general liability policy (e.g., pollution and cyber liability)
Liability related to intellectual property

Louisiana Enacts Important Tort Reform Legislation

May 12, 2026 — Lee M. Peacocke & Benjamin Perkins - Lewis Brisbois
The Louisiana legislature enacted tort reform legislation in 2025 to address the increasing cost of insurance in Louisiana and to provide some predictability to the Louisiana legal system. While our colleagues, Jenny Michel and Jennifer Kretschmann, have provided an excellent and comprehensive analysis of the legislation in their article entitled “Louisiana State Legislature 2025 Regular Session: Tort Reform - Acts & Vetoed Insurance Bill,” which can be found here, this article examines the anticipated impact of the tort reform legislation on personal injury trials in federal and state courts in Louisiana. The most significant reform involves the institution of a modified defense of contributory negligence, which went into effect on January 1, 2026. Since 1996, Louisiana had operated as a pure comparative fault state; the liability of each party whose fault caused damages was to be allocated among the respective parties based upon their appropriate percentage of fault, regardless of the legal theory of liability asserted against each party. Thus, a plaintiff 55 percent at fault could recover 45 percent of their damages from the liable defendants. The 2025 Tort Reform Amendments now prohibit a plaintiff in a personal injury action from recovering any damages if they are found to be 51 percent or more at fault for their damages. The 55 percent at-fault party in the example above is now prohibited from recovering any damages from any party. Importantly, this new legislation now requires the trial court to instruct the jury that if they find a plaintiff to be more than 50 percent at fault, then the plaintiff will not recover any damages. Reprinted courtesy of Lee M. Peacocke, Lewis Brisbois and Benjamin Perkins, Lewis Brisbois Mr. Peacocke may be contacted at Lee.Peacocke@lewisbrisbois.com Mr. Perkins may be contacted at Benjamin.Perkins@lewisbrisbois.com Read the full story...

It’s That Time of Year: Contract Review Time

February 02, 2026 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
My father used to make me wash the family cars every weekend . . . rain or shine. The nice thing about washing a car in the rain is that you don’t need to dry it. Once, while sudsing up one of the family cars in the rain I spotted a couple of Jehovah Witnesses making house calls along our street. As they approached our house, they looked at me, said something to one another, and decided membership probably wasn’t a good fit for our family. If my dad saw that he probably would have thought that was reason enough to have me wash the family cars in the rain. Obviously, I never mentioned it to him. This is all a rather nostalgic way of reminding myself to get off my duff. The holidays are over. There’s stuff needing doing. Whether you like it or not. Like updating my contracts. You might consider doing the same. A few suggestions: Retention For certain private works construction contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2026, retention is now capped at 5%, mirroring the 5% retention cap on state and local public works construction contracts. The 5% retention cap applies to contracts between owners and direct contractors, between direct contractors and subcontractors, and between subcontractors. So, basically, everyone up and down the construction change. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Consider The Limited Warranty from Your Homebuilder

July 06, 2026 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
When purchasing a home from a homebuilder, there is an important consideration when it comes to the limited warranty you receive around the time you close on the home. That limited warranty likely includes an arbitration provision requiring you to arbitrate your disputes, such as construction defect claims, against the homebuilder. That arbitration provision will most likely include all claims, including statutory claims (such as a statutory violation of a building code claim), requiring you to arbitrate, as opposed to litigate, your disputes against the homebuilder. This is an important consideration. If the arbitration provision does not allow you to arbitrate all of your claims, and eliminates your rights to legitimate statutory claims, the arbitration provision could be unenforceable. By way of example, in a residential construction defect dispute, Anderson v. Taylor Morrison of Florida, Inc., 223 So.3d 1088 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017), the appeal turned on whether the arbitration provision in the homebuilder’s limited warranty was valid. The homeowners took possession of their home in 2009. In 2015, the homeowners served a Florida Statutes Chapter 558 notice of construction defects that included a statutory violation of a building code claim under Florida Statute §553.84. The limited warranty included an arbitration provision that specified it was the “exclusive remedy” for all disputes arising out of or related to the warranty or issues with the home and property. When read together with the warranty’s disclaimer that precluded claims not covered by the warranty “whether in contract, tort, or otherwise,” the statutory building code violation claim could not be remedied through arbitration because it fell outside the warranty’s coverage. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Building in Arizona’s Data Center Boom: How Federal Executive Orders, State Regulation, and National-Security Policy Are Reshaping the Rules for Developers

June 02, 2026 — Ryan J. Regula - Snell & Wilmer
Developers and practitioners evaluating data center projects in Arizona face a regulatory environment shifting on three fronts simultaneously. Federal executive orders are opening new land, streamlining permitting, and channeling financial incentives toward qualifying projects — but they are not preempting the state and local rules that most directly affect project economics. A carve-out in the December 2025 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Framework Executive Order preserves Arizona’s authority over data center infrastructure, meaning the Arizona Corporation Commission’s (ACC) rate-classification docket, municipal zoning restrictions, water-use ordinances, and pending grid cost-allocation legislation remain the binding constraints on project feasibility. Understanding where federal tailwinds end and state and local headwinds begin is essential for any developer sizing risk or selecting sites in the state. The Federal Landscape: An Interlocking Framework of Executive Orders Five interlocking executive orders are accelerating data center development nationally, but none overrides Arizona’s authority over siting energy, or infrastructure. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Ryan J. Regula, Snell & Wilmer
Mr. Regula may be contacted at rregula@swlaw.com

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (7/15/26) – The World Cup’s Effect on Commercial Real Estate, Megadeals Lift CRE Sales and Algorithmic Pricing Lawsuits Continue

July 27, 2026 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, DOT earmarks $1.73B in BUILD grants, federal housing bill becomes law, data center surge cools off, and more!

Data center planning cooled off month over month from “extraordinary levels” to start the summer, while other areas of construction finally picked up a little steam. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive)
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced $1.73 billion in 2026 BUILD grants covering 127 projects across 50 states, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, Guam and Puerto Rico. (Joe Bousquin, Construction Dive)
As algorithmic pricing lawsuits continue to play out around the country, more apartment owners and managers have settled. (Julie Strupp, Multifamily Dive)

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

Ninth Circuit Affirms District Court’s Finding of No Coverage for Interior Leak

March 24, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Applying California law, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s finding that water damage caused by a leaking pipe over time was not covered under the insured’s homeowners’ policy. Mojica v. State Farm General Ins. Co., 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 32405 (9th Cir. Dec. 11, 2025). A small hole, slightly larger than a pen tip in size, developed in a pressurized hot water pipe. The resulting leak lasted for nearly six days and released enough water to saturate and ruin all the subflooring and flooring in the insureds’ home. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Congratulations to BWB&O’s 2026 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Honorees!

February 23, 2026 — Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP is proud to announce that Partners Nicole Whyte, Keith Bremer, John Toohey, and Tyler Offenhauser have been named to the 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers list. Notably, Nicole Whyte was also selected to the Top 50 Orange County Super Lawyers list, an honor reflecting her outstanding work, leadership, and impact in the legal community. Partners Kyle Riddles and Courtney Serrato, along with Associate Kevin Moore, were also recognized as 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

BRICKEYS ARKANSAS CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES