MARTINSVILLE ILLINOIS CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Science-Based Standards for Wildfire Recovery: What California Policyholders Need to Know About A.B. 1642

March 03, 2026 — Geoffrey B. Fehling & Yosef Itkin - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
Wildfires continue to present serious risks for California property owners. Unfortunately, commercial property owners, corporate facilities, landlords, and homeowners need to overcome not only the flames themselves, but also remediating hazardous contamination against a backdrop of unpredictable and ambiguous environmental safety standards. In response to the destructive Los Angeles area fires in 2025, the California Legislature recently introduced Assembly Bill 1642 aimed at creating uniform science-based standards for evaluating, testing, and clearing wildfire-impacted properties. While A.B. 1642 is in its early stages of consideration, it could materially influence claims handling, remediation costs, risk management practices, and broader liability exposures for California policyholders. Reprinted courtesy of Geoffrey B. Fehling, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP and Yosef Itkin, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Mr. Fehling may be contacted at gfehling@hunton.com Mr. Itkin may be contacted at yitkin@hunton.com Read the full story...

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Spain’s Sagrada Familia: Contemporary Construction Methods Speed Iconic Basilica to Completion

March 24, 2026 — Pam McFarland - Engineering News-Record
In 2014, the entity behind construction of one of the world’s most iconic churches—the wildly imaginative Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona, Spain—contacted global consultant Arup with a challenge: Could the firm help the project team update designs developed more than a century earlier, to ensure that a critical project component was built to be structurally sound? Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Pam McFarland, Engineering News-Record
Ms. McFarland may be contacted at mcfarlandp@enr.com

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Dallas County District Court Grants Kahana Feld’s Motion to Dismiss for Want of Prosecution

December 30, 2025 — Kahana Feld
Kahana Feld successfully obtained dismissal of a lawsuit in the 95th Judicial District Court of Dallas County. The Court granted our Motion to Dismiss for Want of Prosecution, agreeing that the plaintiff failed to diligently pursue their claims after more than 18 months of inactivity, despite an upcoming trial date. Our team demonstrated that the plaintiff had not initiated discovery or scheduled depositions, and furthermore, the delay was not excused by former counsel’s withdrawal. Consequently, the judge declined the plaintiff’s request for additional time and dismissed the case without prejudice. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Kahana Feld

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2026 Top Business Risks for Construction and Engineering Companies

May 26, 2026 — Darren Tasker - Construction Executive
The 2026 Allianz Risk Barometer revealed some surprising findings for construction and engineering businesses. Now in its fifteenth year, this annual business risk ranking by corporate insurer Allianz Commercial incorporates the views of 3,338 global risk management professionals on the main perils on their radar for the year. Survey respondents included construction and engineering risk experts who identified the threats keeping them up at night. Here is how they ranked the top industry risks for 2026: Natural Catastrophes Natural catastrophe risk retains the top spot, with 38% of construction and engineering respondents citing this risk as their leading concern for 2026. From the insurance perspective, economic and insured losses remained high, albeit lower than the 10-year average. The evolving nature of natural catastrophes continues to pose significant challenges to businesses and the (re)insurance industry. Insured losses from natural catastrophes are set to reach $107 billion for 2025, according to Swiss Re—the sixth year in a row they have exceeded $100 billion, while economic losses are well in excess of $200 billion. Reprinted courtesy of Darren Tasker, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

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Reminder: You Can’t Make Others Indemnify You for Your Own Actions

January 13, 2026 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
I have spoken about Virginia Code 11-4.1 and the prohibition on forcing others to indemnify for the actions of the indemnitees on a few occasions here at Construction Law Musings (See Uniwest Posts). The Western District of Virginia gave its take on indemnification clauses and why they need to be carefully drafted in a December 2024 case, Sauer Construction, LLC v. MC3 Solutions, LLC et al. In Sauer, the Court looked at, among other things, an indemnification provision between MC3, a subcontractor to Sauer, and MC3s sub-subcontractor, Bonitz Flooring Group. This was the relatively typical construction dispute where a general contractor sues a subcontractor and then that subcontractor sues its supplier and sub-subcontractors for indemnity pursuant to its contract. When faced with the indemnification claim, Bonitz argued that the indemnification provision violated the Va. Code 11-4.1 because it required Bonitz to indemnify MC3 for MC3’s actions. The provision follows the break. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

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ACEC Supports BUILD America 250 Act as Important First Step on Surface Reauthorization

May 26, 2026 — The American Council of Engineering Companies
WASHINGTON -- The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the business voice of America’s engineering and design services industry released the following statement on the BUILD America 250 Act: "Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Larsen have taken an important bipartisan step toward reauthorizing the federal surface transportation programs that are critical to economic growth in every state. The BUILD America 250 Act provides five years of stability in funding road and transit projects, raises new revenues to address the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund, and includes meaningful provisions to strengthen project delivery, advance digital infrastructure, and improve the contracting framework that engineering firms rely on every day. ACEC will continue to advocate for investment levels that keep pace with the country's growing infrastructure needs, and we urge the Committee to keep this process moving forward." The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America’s engineering industry, representing more than 5,500 independent engineering firms and more than 650,000 professionals throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, water, and energy infrastructure, along with environmental, industrial, and other public and private facilities. Founded in 1906 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 51 state and regional organizations.

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Global Insights Center: Monthly Newsletter

June 15, 2026 — Global Insights Center Staff - The Hartford
May in Review Last month, inflation moved higher, with Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rising to 3.8% year over year, up from 3.3% the prior month. The increase was driven primarily by energy prices, particularly gasoline, reflecting ongoing disruptions tied to the Middle East conflict. Labor market data were broadly stable. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3%, wage growth increased modestly to 3.6%, while job growth continued to be geographically concentrated in the Southern states, particularly cities in Texas. On an occupational basis, healthcare once again led job gains, especially in home health services, a trend we have consistently highlighted. Business formations increased during the month, with notable strength in e commerce and digital services firms. Manufacturing activity also improved, particularly in semiconductors, IT equipment, and natural gas–related energy infrastructure. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Global Insights Center Staff, The Hartford

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Construction Companies Are Nearly Seven Times Safer With These Best Practices

June 15, 2026 — ABC - Construction Executive
WASHINGTON, May 4—Associated Builders and Contractors released its 2026 Health and Safety Performance Report, an annual guide to health and safety best practices on construction jobsites. The 2026 report shows the positive effects of participating in ABC’s STEP® Health and Safety Management System, which enables top-performing ABC members to achieve incident rates 686% safer than the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics construction industry average, reducing total recordable incident rates by 85%. Established in 1989, STEP is a proven system that provides contractors and suppliers with a robust, no-cost framework for measuring health and safety data and benchmarking with peers in the industry. This self-assessment tool helps participants identify real opportunities for scalable growth in their health and safety programs to lower their total recordable incident rates and become an employer of choice in a competitive labor market. Reprinted courtesy of ABC, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

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