WEST UNION IOWA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Flatiron Said Disputed Concrete Mix Cost Millions on Large Caltrans Project

June 22, 2026 — Elaine Silver & Richard Korman - Engineering News-Record
For awhile in 2023, part of the California Dept. of Transportation's (Caltrans) Fix 50 HOV lane and resurfacing project in Sacramento itself needed to be fixed. Reprinted courtesy of Elaine Silver, Engineering News-Record and Richard Korman, Engineering News-Record Mr. Korman may be contacted at kormanr@enr.com Read the full story...

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Insufficient Notice of Commencement and Construction Lien Rights

August 03, 2026 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
When a party is preserving their construction lien rights, the party will look to the recorded Notice of Commencement. This is the recorded document that provides the lienor with the information for purposes of preserving construction lien rights. A Notice to Owner company will typically rely on the Notice of Commencement to serve Notices to Owners from lower tiers not in contract with the owner. However, when it comes to preparing the lien, a lienor should look beyond just the Notice of Commencement and also look to the property appraiser’s website as a backstop. In a recent case, a window company had the homeowner sign the Notice of Commencement and then filled in the information. The company naturally did this for the convenience of the homeowner that probably was unfamiliar with the Notice of Commencement process. Regardless, information in the Notice of Commencement was inaccurate. It failed to include all the real property owners. Thus, when a payment dispute arose and a construction lien was prepared, it did not identify all of the real property owners. All of the real property owners were added later during the pendency of a lien foreclosure lawsuit. The trial court denied the lien because of the defective / insufficient Notice of Commencement — the lienor assumed the risk of error by filling out the information in the Notice of Commencement. The trial court further denied the lien holding that because the work did not commence within 90 days of the Notice of Commencement, the Notice of Commencement is void. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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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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IEEPA Tariff Refunds: CBP Launches CAPE Process

April 27, 2026 — David J. Creagan, Guido Antolini, Bruce W. MacLennan & Gary P. Biehn - White and Williams LLP
On April 20, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched the first phase of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) tool in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal to administer refunds of duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) through a streamlined electronic filing process. Background In February 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court held that certain tariffs imposed under IEEPA were unlawful. Subsequent proceedings before the U.S. Court of International Trade required CBP to develop a scalable refund process applicable not only to litigants but also to non-plaintiffs. According to CBP and court filings, approximately 330,000 importers paid or deposited an estimated $166 billion in IEEPA duties across more than 53 million entries. In response, CBP developed CAPE as an electronic, consolidated refund mechanism within ACE. Reprinted courtesy of David J. Creagan, White and Williams LLP, Guido Antolini, White and Williams LLP, Bruce W. MacLennan, White and Williams LLP and Gary P. Biehn, White and Williams LLP Mr. Creagan may be contacted at creagand@whiteandwilliams.com Mr. Antolini may be contacted at antolinig@whiteandwilliams.com Mr. MacLennan may be contacted at maclennanb@whiteandwilliams.com Mr. Biehn may be contacted at biehng@whiteandwilliams.com Read the full story...

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Federal Bid Protest Standard of Review and Disparate Treatment with Ratings

August 16, 2026 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
A recent decision out of the Federal Claims Court explains the post-award bid protest standard of review. In Massman Construction Co. v. U.S., 2026 WL 1971985 (Fed.Cl. 2026), a protestor brought a post-award bid protest after the Army Corps of Engineers awarded the contract to another contractor. The protestor argued that the Army Corps (government) acted irrational in its evaluation through disparate treatment. The Court of Federal Claims agreed and remanded for the Army Corps to “either justify this disparity or explain why [awardee’s] lower-priced, but technically inferior proposal provides the best value to the government.” Massman Construction, supra at *1. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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Data Center Construction: Contractors Must Step Up

May 26, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
I attended the Datacenter Forum 2026 in Helsinki last week. Over 400 people packed the room. Walking out, I had one overriding thought: Is construction operating in a different century from the technology it is being asked to house? Is Our Industry on Par? Ciarán Forde, Senior Vice President at CTS Nordics, opened the forum with a statement that set the tone for everything that followed: data centers are no longer just a technical challenge; they are a national strategy. Before AI, Ciarán had worked in telecoms, where data centers were already complex. But now, he said flatly, everything has changed, and the industry must rethink everything. The numbers behind the claim are staggering. Current AI data center racks run at 40 to 100 kW. In three years, 800 kW per rack is on the roadmap. And the development cycle for a new chip is roughly one year, which means deployments begin aging out almost as soon as they are commissioned. 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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NJ Public Works Contractors Beware – Pay Special Attention When Submitting Your Public Works Contractor Registration

May 26, 2026 — Levi W. Barrett & Aaron C. Schlesinger - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
While it is always important to be careful when making submissions to government agencies, recent activity by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“NJDOL”) reveals considerably increased scrutiny in connection with contractors renewing their New Jersey Public Works Registration. Extra care when completing the registration renewal process is warranted, because the consequences of a misstep can be significant and disruptive. The New Jersey Public Works Contractor Registration Act requires all contractors bidding on or engaging in construction-related public works projects to register with the NJDOL. This registration, which must be resubmitted every 1-2 years, requires contractors to make a number of detailed disclosures relating to, among other things, the entity’s ownership structure, prior state and federal labor law violations, details regarding interests in other businesses, unlawful acts by owners/officers, and participation in apprenticeship programs. Reprinted courtesy of Levi W. Barrett, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Aaron C. Schlesinger, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Mr. Barrett may be contacted at lbarrett@pecklaw.com Mr. Schlesinger may be contacted at aschlesinger@pecklaw.com Read the full story...

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Daily Journal Publishes Article by Brenda Radmacher on Proposed Overhaul of California Construction Defect Law

June 29, 2026 — Brenda Radmacher - The Construction Seyt
Daily Journal (California) featured an article by Construction Law partner Brenda Radmacher, “A new path for construction defects in California.” The piece, published on June 15, 2026, examines Assembly Bill 1903 and its potential to significantly reshape California’s construction defect framework, particularly for common interest properties. The article highlights how AB 1903 would overhaul the state’s current right-to-repair system by mandating completion of prelitigation procedures, raising requirements for defect claims, strengthening developers’/builders’ rights to repair, and introducing a voluntary “certified building” program. The legislation aims to rebalance competing interests by reducing litigation-driven costs while preserving protections for homeowners. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Brenda Radmacher, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Ms. Radmacher may be contacted at bradmacher@seyfarth.com

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