EL VERANO CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Dispute Erupts Into Public Over Castro Theater Rehab Project Costs

September 08, 2026 — Richard Korman - Engineering News-Record
As it was about to start an arbitration of final payments on a complex theater renovation, the entertainment company that leases San Francisco's landmark Castro Theatre has filed a state court trademark violation lawsuit seeking to bar the contractor from publicizing as a success its work for the owner on that and other projects. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Richard Korman, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Korman may be contacted at kormanr@enr.com

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The Most Expensive Signature to Not Get: Why Change Orders Matter

August 16, 2026 — Kathryne E. Baldwin - Wilke Fleury
George Bernard Shaw has a quote we use a lot in my family: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” This is pertinent to contractors and homeowners alike because the cost of failing to get proper signatures on documents like construction contracts, and particularly, change orders, is heavy. Both contractors and homeowners are in the same boat as far as wanting to complete a job as swiftly as possible: contractors go on to their next job and homeowners can return to peace in their home. This is prime territory for either party to suggest the work be completed today and the contract or change order executed tomorrow, or even later. However, without a contract, there is no memorialization of the communication between the parties, which can lead to confusion and missed expectations on both sides. Construction plans are rarely as neat and tidy as they originally seem to be. A contractor may uncover unforeseen conditions, an owner may request additional work or changes that require additional work, or weather interferes with project schedules or the work itself. Unfortunately, the signature that never gets collected can become one of the most expensive omissions on a project – for both sides. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Kathryne E. Baldwin, Wilke Fleury
Ms. Baldwin may be contacted at kbaldwin@wilkefleury.com

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Could Your Project-Level AI Prompt Become the Other Side’s Smoking Gun?

October 20, 2026 — Ryan Glass - ConsensusDocs
A dispute is brewing on the project. Wanting a quick assessment, the project manager opens ChatGPT, Claude, or another generative artificial intelligence (“AI”) platform. The project manager types the dispute background into the prompt, including concerns, explanations, and a frank discussion of what may have gone wrong on the contractor-side. The AI response identifies potential weaknesses in the contractor’s position, including possible failures to meet contractual obligations. Unhappy with the answer, the project manager starts a new chat, revises the prompt, and tries again. If the dispute escalates to arbitration or litigation, can the owner force the contractor to provide these prompts and the resulting responses? Frustratingly, the answer is: it depends. Courts have reached different conclusions. For now, the safest course is to involve your counsel before using AI to evaluate a demand letter, default notice, or threatened lawsuit, or before using AI to draft dispute-related emails, claim letters, or other communications that contain project-specific facts. Otherwise, what feels like a private conversation may later become key evidence for the opposing party. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Ryan Glass, Jones Walker LLC
Mr. Glass may be contacted at rglass@joneswalker.com

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A Win for Clarity: What a Recent Federal Court Decision Means for Davis-Bacon Compliance

July 13, 2026 — Stephen E. Irving - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Following the Department of Labor’s 2023 Davis-Bacon rule changes, federal construction contractors faced a pressing question: not whether paying prevailing wages is required, but how far those obligations could extend. Could they reach off-site material suppliers? Delivery drivers? Contracts that omitted Davis-Bacon clauses entirely? A recent federal court decision in AGC of America v. US Department of Labor answers these questions in important ways, vacating several disputed provisions and giving contractors greater certainty when pricing, bidding, and administering federal construction projects. The ruling addresses three aspects of the 2023 regulations that sought to extend Davis-Bacon obligations beyond their traditional scope. By vacating those provisions, the decision creates a more predictable compliance environment and reinforces an important principle: Davis-Bacon enforcement works best when contractors, workers, and regulators operate under clear, objective rules. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Stephen E. Irving, Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Mr. Irving may be contacted at sirving@pecklaw.com

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Arizona Court Enters $323 Million Judgment Against ZOM Living Following Unanimous Jury Verdict

May 26, 2026 — Gray Development Group
PHOENIX, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A Maricopa County court has entered a $323 million compensatory damages judgment in favor of Gray Development Group against ZOM Holding Inc., doing business as ZOM Living, following a 12-day trial, a unanimous jury verdict and post-trial proceedings related to a proposed business transaction. The jury found ZOM liable on claims of breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing stemming from a proposed joint venture tied to a planned pipeline of luxury multifamily and commercial projects in Phoenix and Scottsdale. The lawsuit centered on a 13-project, $1.4 billion development pipeline originated and planned by Gray Development Group over more than a decade. In 2019, Gray invited Florida-based ZOM to participate in a joint venture involving the completion of five projects, which would have marked ZOM's entry into the Arizona market. According to court findings presented at trial, the companies entered into a mutual confidentiality and non-circumvention agreement before Gray shared extensive sensitive and proprietary information related to the projects, including planning, market analysis, costs, financial data, local business relationships and operational strategies developed by Gray over decades in Arizona. Evidence presented during trial showed that over a 10-month period while under contract, ZOM made hundreds of requests for confidential project and market information before circumventing Gray and pursuing the projects independently, ultimately displacing Gray from projects it spent years planning and developing. ZOM Living, headquartered in Orlando, develops multifamily and senior housing communities across the United States and operates regional offices in Boston, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Nashville, Phoenix, and Raleigh. ZOM is owned by Timeless Investments, the Amsterdam-based family office of Dutch businessman Hans van Veggel, which acquired the company in 1997. About Gray Development Group Gray Development Group was founded by architect Bruce Gray in 1991. The Phoenix-based company was the top-ranked multifamily developer in Arizona for more than a decade. The company designed and developed more than 15,000 apartment and condominium units throughout metropolitan Phoenix. Two Gray-designed developments — a Tempe midrise and a San Diego high-rise — received National Apartment Community of the Year awards.

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Traub Lieberman Wins Affirmation of Judgment on Pleadings Before the Seventh Circuit

August 16, 2026 — Dana A. Rice & Adam P. Joffe - Traub Lieberman
Traub Lieberman Partners Dana Rice and Adam Joffe obtained affirmation of judgment from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of an Insurance Company. The Insurance Company filed suit seeking a declaration that it had no duty to defend or indemnify its Insured, a Roofing Contractor, in an underlying lawsuit. The Insurance Company issued a commercial general liability policy with a one-year policy term. The policy included an exclusion that barred coverage for any losses arising out of work the insured completed before the date the policy incepted. Reprinted courtesy of Dana A. Rice, Traub Lieberman and Adam P. Joffe, Traub Lieberman Mr. Rice may be contacted at drice@tlsslaw.com Mr. Joffe may be contacted at ajoffe@tlsslaw.com Read the full story...

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Lost in Translation: AEC Tech’s Missing Role

May 12, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
I once visited a construction site where the contractor’s headquarters had commissioned a tech company to build an on-site quality-inspection application. The developer had admitted to the site engineer that they had never set foot on a construction site before. The engineer showed me what he was actually using: his own phone camera and an Excel sheet. The new app did not map to how work actually happened on site. This is not an isolated story. The vendor builds something technically coherent but operationally disconnected. The client, somewhere up the chain, had fallen in love with the idea of the solution before anyone had built an honest business case for it. The result is a tool that gets demonstrated at a board meeting but isn’t used in the field. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

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Four Kahana Feld Attorneys Selected to 2027 Southern California Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars Lists

August 16, 2026 — Kahana Feld
IRVINE, CA – Aug. 3, 2026 – Kahana Feld is pleased to announce that partners Jason Feld, Amir Kahana, and Sharon Oh-Kubisch were selected to the 2027 Southern California Super Lawyers list, and attorney Hannah Ellenhorn Bloom was selected to the 2027 Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. Jason Feld was recognized in the area of Construction Litigation. He is a founding partner of Kahana Feld and focuses his practice on the defense of homebuilders, contractors, developers, and real estate professionals primarily in construction defect, general liability, insurance defense, construction accident, and real estate matters. He also represents government entities handling construction, premises liability, general liability, and environmental claims. He serves as panel counsel for many prominent insurance carriers, as well as personal counsel to several national and regional homebuilders, developers, and general contractors. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Kahana Feld

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