HOMETOWN ILLINOIS CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Understanding the EPA’s Latest Proposed Drinking Water Contaminant Monitoring Rule, Published in Law360

September 01, 2026 — Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
The 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. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (7/8/26) – Data Centers Negotiate Flexibility for Speed, Hotel Deal Activities Focus on Luxury, and DC Sues Apartment Owners

July 20, 2026 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, rail projects gain steam across the U.S., AI optimizes building operations, a modular approach speeds data center construction, and more!

• Hyperscalers want their data centers online, and utilities want to provide interconnections, but both are still looking for common operating guidelines. (Herman K. Trabish, Construction Dive)
• Contractors are taking advantage of multibillion-dollar train and transit contracts, even as funding challenges create hurdles for project execution. (Matthew Thibault, Construction Dive)
• Although hospitality and leisure M&A deal volume was down 2.5% in the first half of 2026 compared to the prior six months, investors are concentrating on the upper end of the market, including luxury hotels, wellness resorts and gaming, or “data-rich,” platforms. (Noor Adatia, Hotel Dive)

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

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Anomaly in Adding a Third-Party Claimant to a Liability Insurance Coverage Dispute

May 05, 2026 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
In an insurance coverage lawsuit seeking declaratory relief, an insurer sued the third-party claimant. The insurer was seeking a declaration that there was no coverage, which naturally would impact the third-party claimant. The insured did not respond to the lawsuit and the insurer moved for a default judgment which was objected to by the third-party claimant. The trial court granted a final judgment in favor of the insurer, which prompted an appeal from the third-party claimant because the final judgment impacts its rights to coverage if it obtains a judgment against the insured. The appellate court reversed but please take a look at this Court’s discussion on the issue of an insurer adding a third-party claimant to a coverage lawsuit when then the third-party cannot pursue a direct claim against the insurer until it obtains a settlement or judgment against the insured. It presents an interesting argument and counter-point for a third-party claimant that is added to the coverage lawsuit which has implications if it obtains a judgment against the insured: This case involves an apparent anomaly in Florida law. It is well-established that third-party claimants injured by an insured’s negligence have a right as third-party beneficiaries to payment from the insured’s insurance proceeds. It is equally well-established that the third-party claimants’ rights in this regard do not accrue unless and until they obtain a verdict or settlement against the insured. A quick review of this law is helpful at this point. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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Modern Building-Sundt $17M Claim Is Stranded by Hospital Bankruptcy

April 27, 2026 — Richard Korman - Engineering News-Record
A $16.9-million claim for work on a hospital addition by a joint venture of contractors Modern Building Co. and Sundt Construction is stuck and delayed indefinitely following the California hospital's December bankruptcy filing. 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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Ahlers Cressman & Sleight named one of the Top 50 Construction Law Firms

August 11, 2026 — Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC is pleased to announce its fifth consecutive year of recognition by Construction Executive as one of The Top 50 Construction Law Firms. Since its first publication in 2003, Construction Executive magazine has served as the leading source for news, market developments, and business issues impacting the construction industry. Construction Executive established the rankings by asking over 600 U.S. construction law firms to complete a survey. Constructive Executive’s data collection includes: 2025 revenues from the firm’s construction practice; the number of attorneys in the firm’s construction practice; the percentage of the firm’s total revenues derived from its construction practice; the number of states in which the firm is licensed to practice; the year in which the construction practice was established; and the number of construction industry clients served during the fiscal year 2025. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC

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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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My Current Love-Hate Relationship with AI

June 08, 2026 — Garret D. Murai - California Construction Law Blog
It’s early in the relationship, I know. But still, there are some things that bug me. Yet, I also know that it’s a relationship in which leaving is not an option, and even if I could, it’s not to the point where it’s so bad that I would do so. So, if you would, let me gripe a bit. While there’s been much discussion about AI and, at least in my neck of the woods, a fair amount of discussion about how lawyers can, should, and must use AI or risk becoming discarded into the dustbin of history, much less has been written about clients’ use of AI. Increasingly, I’ve gotten the sense that my clients are using AI. For example, I had a client ask for confirmation that if he disagreed with an administrative decision that he could file a writ of mandate, and if so, whether that deadline was 30, 60 or 90 days after the administrative decision. The answer to the first question was yes, and as to the second question, the answer was 90 days. This was from a client who, smart as he is, probably didn’t know this off the top of his head. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret D. Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

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HDR Agreed to $12M Settlement With Miami Bridge Design-Build Team

May 12, 2026 — Richard Korman - Engineering News-Record
HDR last year agreed to pay $12 million to the design-build construction contractor Archer Western-de Moya Group to settle its claims that the engineer had incompletely designed and under-designed Miami's new Signature Bridge when the joint venture committed to a fixed price prior to construction in 2018. Read the full story...
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Lumber Drops to Nine-Month Low, Extending Retreat From Record

Velazquez Framing, LLC v. Cascadia Homes, Inc. (Take 2) – Pre-lien Notice for Labor Una
Don’t Forget to Mediate the Small Stuff

URGENT: 'Catching Some Hell': Hurricane Michael Slams Into Florida

Understanding Insurance Disputes in Construction Defect Litigation: A Review of Acuity v. Kinsale

Manhattan Home Sales Rise at Slower Pace as Prices Jump

Owners Should Serve Request for Sworn Statement of Account on Lienor

America’s Factories Weren’t Built to Endure This Many Hurricanes

Candace Dickson Recognized as “Up & Coming Lawyer” by The Indiana Lawyer

9204 Meet 8850. Public Works Claims Processes Now Apply to Private Works, With Some Differences

Specific Performance: Equitable Remedy to Enforce Affirmative Obligation

First Trump Agenda Nuggets Hit Construction

Colorado Springs may be Next Colorado City to Add Construction Defects Ordinance

Condo Building Hits Highest Share of Canada Market Since 1971

Exploring Architects’ Perspectives on AI: A Survey of Fears and Hopes

Environmental Roundup – May 2019

Beverly Hills Voters Reject Plan for Enclave's Tallest Building

“Made in America Week” Highlights Requirements, Opportunities for Contractors and Suppliers

Contractor Succeeds At the Supreme Court Against Public Owner – Obtaining Fee Award and Determination The City Acted In Bad Faith

Construction Upturn in Silicon Valley

TOLLING AGREEMENTS: Construction Defect Lawyers use them to preserve Association Warranty Claims during Construction Defect Negotiations with Developers

Concurrent Causation Doctrine Applies Where Natural and Man-made Perils Combine to Create Loss

Congratulations Devin Brunson on His Promotion to Partner!

Why Ethiopia’s $5 Billion Dam Has Riled Its Neighbors

South Carolina Couple Must Arbitrate Construction Defect Claim

Kiewit Hired as EPC for Fire-Damaged Freeport Gas Terminal Fix

2018 Super Bowl US. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis

Florida Chinese drywall, pollution exclusion, “your work” exclusion, and “sistership” exclusion.

Terminator’s Trench Rehab Drives L.A. Land Prices Crazy

Senator Ray Scott Introduced a Bill to Reduce Colorado’s Statute of Repose for Construction Defect Actions to Four Years

Want to Stay Up on Your Mechanic’s Lien Deadlines? Write a Letter or Two

The Overlooked Nevada Rule In an Arena Project Lawsuit

The California Legislature Passes SB 496 Limiting Design Professional Defense and Indemnity Obligations

Virtual Jury Trials of Construction Disputes: The Necessary Union of Both Sides of the Brain

Wisconsin “property damage” caused by an “occurrence.”

A Classic Blunder: Practical Advice for Avoiding Two-Front Wars

PJM’s Reliability Backstop Procurement Proposal—Fast-Track Capacity to Meet Rising Large-Load Demand

No Coverage for Faulty Workmanship Causing Property Damage to Insured's Product Only

Get Construction Defects in Writing

Quick Note: Lis Pendens Bond When Lis Pendens Not Founded On Recorded Instrument Or Statute

Blackstone Said to Sell Boston Buildings for $2.1 Billion

Kentucky Supreme Court Creates New “Goldilocks Zone” to Limit Opinions of Biomechanical Experts

North Dakota Supreme Court Clarifies Breadth of Contractual Liability Coverage

What is the Effect of an Untimely Challenge to the Timeliness of a Trustee’s Sale?

Fundamental Fairness Trumps Contract Language

Basement Foundation Systems’ Getting an Overhaul

Flint Water Crisis Prompts Call for More Federal Oversight

Finding Plaintiff Intentionally Spoliated Evidence, the Northern District of Indiana Imposes Sanction

A Court-Side Seat: Clean Air, Clean Water, Endangered Species and Deliberative Process Privilege

Another (Insurer) Bites The Dust: Virginia District Court Rejects Narrow Reading of Pollution Exclusion

Eleventh Circuit Asks Georgia Supreme Court if Construction Defects Are Caused by an "Occurrence"

Bright-Line Changes: Prompt Payment Act Trends