DODGE COUNTY GEORGIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Newmeyer Dillion Partner Jeff Masters Recognized by Chambers USA for Representation of Insurance Policyholders

June 08, 2026 — Newmeyer Dillion
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – June 4, 2026 – Newmeyer Dillion is proud to announce that litigation partner Jeffrey D. Masters has been ranked among a select group of California lawyers representing insurance policyholders in the 2026 edition of Chambers USA. This marks two consecutive years of recognition for Masters by this prestigious international attorney rating resource. "This recognition by Chambers and Partners is a testament to Jeff’s dedication to our clients," said Managing Partner, Paul Tetzloff. "We are thrilled to see his hard work acknowledged and the level of passion and care that he delivers to clients fully recognized." Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Newmeyer Dillion

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GRSM Secures Complete Judgment for Defense in Years-Long Dispute Spanning Multiple Venues

June 22, 2026 — Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Hartford, Connecticut, and Dallas offices recently secured a complete defense judgment and recovery of attorney’s fees and costs in an arbitration on behalf of a longtime client, concluding a dispute that lasted several years and traversed multiple jurisdictions. The dispute initially arose in Texas state court, and almost immediately, the claimant began pursuing the matter aggressively, a pattern that continued until the day judgment was entered in GRSM’s client’s favor. GRSM’s team mounted a strong defense, achieving an early success in compelling mandatory arbitration. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

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LA Fire Victims Can Pursue City Utility Claims, Judge Rules

March 10, 2026 — Jef Feeley & Maxwell Adler - Bloomberg
The water and power utility that serves the city of Los Angeles must face hundreds of lawsuits faulting its response to the massive 2025 wildfire that leveled one of the city’s premier seaside neighborhoods and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage. In a significant victory for fire victims, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Samantha Jessner concluded in a written ruling Thursday that a unique California law allows property and business owners to pursue claims that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power failed to supply enough water to fight the blaze that consumed the Pacific Palisades area. Over strong objections from lawyers for the nation’s largest public utility, Jessner finalized a tentative ruling she issued last week concluding victims have a legal basis to move forward with allegations a city reservoir drained for repairs left fire hydrants with inadequate water pressure and helped the wind-whipped blaze get out of control. Reprinted courtesy of Jef Feeley, Bloomberg and Maxwell Adler, Bloomberg Read the full story...

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Surety Liability Is Coextensive with Its Bond Principal

April 14, 2026 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
A recent Miller act payment bond case, U.S. f/u/b/o Whitetail General Constructors v. Northcon, Inc., 2026 WL 46671 (D.Mont. 2026), contains a short noteworthy discussion as to a surety’s liability being coextensive with that of its bond principal. If you are bonded, or you are pursuing a bond, you need to appreciate this, which is why this is a noteworthy discussion:

A “surety’s liability on a Miller Act bond must be at least coextensive with the obligations imposed by the Act if the bond is to have its intended effect.” “Therefore, ‘the liability of a surety and its principal on a Miller Act payment bond is coextensive with the contractual liability of the principal only to the extent that it is consistent with the rights and obligations created under the Miller Act.’” In other words, “[w]here a subcontract’s terms are consistent with the Miller Act’s provisions, the surety’s liability on the Miller Act bond is coextensive with the contractual liability of its princip[al].”

“The liability of a surety under the Miller Act is controlled by federal law, rather than state contract law[.]” The court may, however, “look to state law when interpreting contractual provisions” in a Miller Act case.

“[T]he measure of recovery under the Miller Act is generally determined by the terms of the subcontract [or underlying contract].”

Northcon, supra, at *4-5 (internal citations omitted).

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (4/1/26) – President Trump’s EO Affects Federal Funding, Fannie Mae Accepts Crypto-Backed Mortgages, Private Sector Construction Weakness Offsets Public Sector Gains

April 08, 2026 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, California to pursue office-to-housing conversions, hoteliers to increase investment in artificial intelligence, private credit exodus to boost commercial real estate capital, and more!

• President Donald Trump’s executive order to remove regulatory barriers to affordable home construction could affect federal funding for cities and states that don’t follow what the order calls “regulatory best practices,” including faster permitting, fewer green building mandates and relaxed limits on exurban development. (Robyn Griggs Lawrence, Multifamily Dive)
• California state policymakers have been pursuing policy changes that remove barriers to converting older commercial buildings into housing. (Keith Loria, Construction Dive)
• Private sector weakness largely offset modest gains in public construction spending, despite data center gains. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive)

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

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New Executive Order on AI Innovation and Security: Key Takeaways for the Construction Industry

June 15, 2026 — Richard R. Volack & Denis Serkin - Peckar & Abramson, PC
On June 2, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security.” At its core, the Order is a cybersecurity and national-security measure rather than a broad regulation of how private companies develop or use AI. It directs federal agencies to harden government systems against AI-enabled cyber threats, establishes voluntary frameworks for collaboration between the federal government and the AI and critical-infrastructure sectors, and strengthens criminal enforcement against the malicious use of AI. Notably, the Order expressly disclaims any intent to create a “mandatory governmental licensing, preclearance, or permitting” regime for the “development, publication, release, or distribution of new AI models.” Instead, the Executive Order seeks to “promote AI innovation and security” by working with the private sector to modernize government and private-sector information systems and harden them against external threats, protect intellectual property from exploitation or theft, and cultivate American AI capabilities. Reprinted courtesy of Richard R. Volack, Peckar & Abramson, PC and Denis Serkin, Peckar & Abramson, PC Mr. Volack may be contacted at rvolack@pecklaw.com Mr. Serkin may be contacted at dserkin@pecklaw.com Read the full story...

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End of an (Endangerment) Era

February 23, 2026 — Sukhmani K. Singh, Christopher P. Colyer & Sean M. Sherlock - Snell & Wilmer
On February 12, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the repeal of the 2009 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Endangerment Finding and the elimination of all federal GHG emission standards for motor vehicles and engines.1 The EPA characterized the action as the “single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history.”2 This development marks a fundamental shift in federal climate policy under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and is expected to trigger immediate and extensive litigation. In Massachusetts v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court held that GHGs qualify as “air pollutants” under the CAA and that the EPA must determine whether emissions from new motor vehicles cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare under CAA Section 202(a).3 Following this decision, on December 7, 2009, the EPA issued two findings. First, the EPA classified six different GHGs as threatening public health and welfare. Second, the EPA determined that emissions from new motor vehicles contribute to that endangerment.4 Although the findings themselves imposed no direct regulatory requirements, they served as the legal predicate for GHG emission standards for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles, and later for other CAA programs affecting statutory sources. In 2012, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the Endangerment Finding and related regulations.5 Reprinted courtesy of Sukhmani K. Singh, Snell & Wilmer, Christopher P. Colyer, Snell & Wilmer and Sean M. Sherlock, Snell & Wilmer Ms. Singh may be contacted at ssingh@swlaw.com Mr. Colyer may be contacted at ccolyer@swlaw.com Mr. Sherlock may be contacted at ssherlock@swlaw.com Read the full story...

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EPA, Maryland Sue DC Water Over Massive Potomac River Sewage Spill

May 14, 2026 — Jim Parsons - Engineering News-Record
The state of Maryland and the federal government have filed separate lawsuits against the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), both alleging that the agency’s failure to address longstanding deterioration in the Potomac Interceptor contributed to a weeklong release of more than 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River this past January. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Jim Parsons, Engineering News-Record
ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com

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