Contra Costa County California Construction Expert Witness Directory

The GKN Aerospace Chemical Release and the Laws Designed to Address It

July 06, 2026 — Sean M. Sherlock - Snell & Wilmer
On May 21, 2026, a 34,000-gallon storage tank at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove, California began leaking methyl methacrylate (MMA), a volatile and highly flammable industrial chemical used to manufacture high-strength acrylic plastics. GKN Aerospace makes advanced military and commercial transparencies, such as aircraft canopies, windshields, cabin windows, bullet-resistant glass, and spacecraft windows. In polymer chemistry lingo, MMA is known as a monomer. Monomers are like individual links to a chain. Under the right conditions they link up (react) with each other to form long-chained polymers, or plastics. MMA is an unstable monomer that requires controlled storage conditions to avoid setting off a polymerization (chain) reaction. According to early reports, the MMA tank at GKN Aerospace overheated. The cause of the overheating is not yet clear, but the overheating may have created conditions enabling the MMA to initiate polymerization, which in turn generated heat, which in turn generated pressure, activating the tank’s pressure-relief system and releasing MMA vapor into the atmosphere. Concerns about a runaway reaction, massive release, and explosion led the Orange County Fire Authority to order evacuation of approximately 40,000 residents and closure of thirteen schools. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Sean M. Sherlock, Snell & Wilmer
Mr. Sherlock may be contacted at ssherlock@swlaw.com

GRSM Defeats Class Certification in Precedent-Setting HOA Management Case

September 15, 2026 — Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partners Fletcher Alford and Kevin Liu and Associate Jigar Desai secured a favorable outcome on behalf of an HOA management company in a precedent-setting class action before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, obtaining denial of the plaintiff’s motion for class certification and dismissal without prejudice of the three claims at issue. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant received earnings credit payments from a bank in exchange for maintaining HOA deposit accounts and failed to disclose the arrangement to its HOA clients. The plaintiff sought more than $40 million in damages, asserting five claims: (1) breach of contract for failing to act in class members’ best interests by not disclosing the alleged earnings credit arrangement; (2) violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) based on alleged violations of California Civil Code §§ 5375, 5375.5, and 5380; (3) breach of fiduciary duty based on the alleged undisclosed arrangement; (4) violation of the UCL for unfair business practices arising from the alleged nondisclosure; and (5) unjust enrichment. The plaintiff sought class certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2) and 23(b)(3) only as to its second, third, and fourth causes of action. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

Snell & Wilmer’s San Diego Office Ranked #1 “Best Place to Work” by the San Diego Business Journal

September 01, 2026 — Snell & Wilmer
SAN DIEGO – Snell & Wilmer is proud to announce that its San Diego office has been named the #1 Best Place to Work in the Large Business category by the San Diego Business Journal as part of its 2026 Best Places to Work awards. The annual recognition honors outstanding employers across the San Diego region that are setting the standard for workplace culture and employee engagement. Rankings are based on confidential employee surveys conducted by Workforce Research Group, which evaluate organizations on leadership, corporate culture, communication, employee engagement, and other key workplace factors. “Being recognized as the #1 Best Place to Work in the Large Business category is an incredible honor because it reflects the experiences and feedback of our own team,” said Bardia Moayedi, managing partner of Snell & Wilmer’s San Diego office. “Our people are the foundation of everything we do, and this recognition speaks to the collaborative, inclusive, and supportive culture they have helped create. I am grateful to every member of our San Diego office for making this an exceptional place to build a career, serve our clients, and give back to our community.” Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Snell & Wilmer

Special Counsel Lorelie (Lorie) Masters Appointed Chair of the ABA’s Commission on Women in the Profession

October 06, 2026 — Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Special counsel Lorelie (Lorie) Masters was recently appointed as the chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession. Established in 1987, the Commission was created to assess the status of women in the legal sector and remove barriers to their professional advancement. As chair, Lorie will lead a 12-member roster of commissioners, and a panel of special advisers, dedicated to ensuring equal participation and systemic equity for women lawyers across the justice system and pursuing various studies to identify issues uniquely facing women in the profession, including disparate treatment, training and recruitment, parenting, and other issues. Most recently, the Commission in late July 2026 issued a groundbreaking study about issues affecting the mental health and well-being of women lawyers. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Bad Faith Claim Survives Summary Judgment

June 08, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court denied the insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment on the insured’s bad faith claim, but granted the motion on the insured’s claim for punitive damages. Serbian Orthodox Church v. Brotherhood Mut. Ins. Co., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58234 (S.D. Cal. March 19, 2026). On February 1, 2023, the Church filed a claim for water damage with Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company (BMIC). The claim was based on rain and wind that caused extensive water intrusion into the Sanctuary, damaging its plaster walls and ceilings and fresco paintings. The claim was assigned to Patrick Hurley. Hurley sent a letter discussing potential bars to coverage and requesting further information and documents from the Church. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Travelers Injury Impact Report Highlights Longer Recovery Times Amid Declining Injury Rates

May 05, 2026 — The Travelers Companies, Inc.
HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) today released its 2026 Injury Impact Report, an analysis of more than 1.2 million workers compensation claims received by the company from 2021 through 2025. The report finds that even as workplace injury rates decline, the injuries that do occur are growing more complex and taking longer to heal – a trend driven by an aging workforce and the disproportionate vulnerability of first-year employees. “The decrease in workplace injuries is a positive story, yet injured workers are still missing an average of 80 workdays,” said Claude Howard, Vice President of Workers Compensation Claim at Travelers. “This report is a reminder that progress doesn’t mean the risk environment requires any less attention, and an employer’s commitment to safety must keep pace with an ever-evolving workforce and injury landscape.” Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of The Travelers Companies, Inc.

A Green Light for Housing? What Executive Order 14394 Means for Your Next Project

May 26, 2026 — Bennett Houck, Miranda Martinez & Byron Sarhangian - Snell & Wilmer
On March 13, 2026, President Trump signed Executive Order 14394, “Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction” (the “Order”). The Order directs federal agencies to reduce regulatory burdens on residential development, streamline environmental permitting, and encourage state and local governments to adopt housing-friendly policies. The Order includes several key provisions that developers and homebuilders should be aware of moving forward. Key Provisions The Order targets four main areas: 1. Federal Environmental Regulations First, it directs the Secretary of the Army and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise permitting standards, including stormwater permits, wetlands permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and related construction-site requirements. The Order also targets energy-efficiency mandates for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) financed housing. For developers and homebuilders, these revisions could reduce project delays and compliance costs associated with stormwater management, wetlands mitigation, and energy-efficiency upgrades, expenses that often add significant time and cost to residential development projects. Reprinted courtesy of Bennett Houck, Snell & Wilmer, Miranda Martinez, Snell & Wilmer and Byron Sarhangian, Snell & Wilmer Mr. Houck may be contacted at bhouck@swlaw.com Ms. Martinez may be contacted at mimartinez@swlaw.com Mr. Sarhangian may be contacted at bsarhangian@swlaw.com Read the full story...

Italian Court Convicts 32 in Morandi Bridge Collapse Case

August 25, 2026 — Bryan Gottlieb - Engineering News-Record
Former Autostrade per l'Italia CEO Giovanni Castellucci was sentenced to 12 years in prison July 16 after an Italian court handed down the first criminal verdicts stemming from the 2018 Morandi Bridge collapse in Genoa that killed 43 people. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Bryan Gottlieb, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Gottlieb may be contacted at gottliebb@enr.com

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES