STARK KANSAS CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Benchmark Litigation Recognizes Andrea DeField Among Nation’s Top Young Litigators

September 08, 2026 — Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
Hunton’s insurance coverage team is proud to celebrate the recognition of Andrea DeField on Benchmark Litigation’s 2026 40 & Under List, an annual ranking that highlights the nation’s leading litigators age 40 and under. Andrea was one of only six Hunton lawyers selected and was recognized in the South region. Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under List honors attorneys who have distinguished themselves through significant case work, client feedback, and peer review. This honor reflects Andrea’s reputation as one of the country’s leading policyholder-side insurance recovery litigators and her standing as a trusted advisor to companies facing some of today’s most complex insurance and risk management challenges. As head of Hunton’s cyber insurance practice, Andrea has built her career helping companies manage risk and maximize insurance recovery. Her practice spans the full spectrum of insurance-related issues, from advising clients on contractual risk transfer and insurance program design to representing policyholders in high-stakes coverage and bad faith disputes. She has guided clients through some of the most complex and widely publicized losses in recent years and helps companies recover under a broad range of insurance products, including D&O, professional liability, crime, property, cyber, and general liability policies. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

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

May 12, 2026 — Stephen J. Humes, Alicia M. McKnight, Jason Drogin Atwood & Andrew H. Jacobs - Gravel2Gavel
In January, we discussed the Statement of Principles jointly signed by the National Energy Dominance Council and governors across the mid-Atlantic region—framing accelerating demand (especially from large-scale data centers) as an emergency reliability issue for PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM), the nation’s largest power grid operator. That policy signal is now becoming a near-term, accelerated procurement and contracting exercise. On April 8, 2026, PJM notified stakeholders of a critical issue fast path reliability backstop procurement process. PJM subsequently released a request for information (RFI) with respect to a proposed Reliability Backstop Procurement (RBP)—a one-time mechanism intended to attract significant new capacity to address projected reliability shortfalls driven by large-load growth. RBP compresses what is often a multiyear market and regulatory conversation into a fast-moving set of commercial choices. Developers, large loads, utilities and capital providers should be preparing now for (i) an accelerated bilateral contracting window and (ii) a standardized PJM-led backstop procurement if bilateral deals do not clear enough capacity. Reprinted courtesy of Stephen J. Humes, Pillsbury, Alicia M. McKnight, Pillsbury, Jason Drogin Atwood, Pillsbury and Andrew H. Jacobs, Pillsbury Mr. Humes may be contacted at stephen.humes@pillsburylaw.com Ms. McKnight may be contacted at alicia.mcknight@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Atwood may be contacted at jason.atwood@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Jacobs may be contacted at andrew.jacobs@pillsburylaw.com Read the full story...

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GRSM Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2027

August 24, 2026 — Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani is pleased to announce that 183 of its attorneys were listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2027 Edition, six of whom received “Lawyer of the Year” recognitions. Additionally, 49 GRSM attorneys were recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2027. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on peer-review evaluations. For the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, results were determined using millions of confidential attorney evaluations. Ones to Watch adopts the same peer-review methodology. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

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$10.5M Settlement Ends George Washington Bridge Debris Liability Fight

September 15, 2026 — Bryan Gottlieb - Engineering News-Record
A $10.5-million settlement that recently came to light has ended a six-year legal fight over whether a truck part that may have been lying on the George Washington Bridge roadway for more than 10 minutes was there long enough for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to have found and removed it before it caused a catastrophic accident. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Bryan Gottlieb, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Gottlieb may be contacted at gottliebb@enr.com

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Voluntary Dismissal of an Indemnity Claim Does Not Make the Subcontractor a “Prevailing Party,” Washington Court of Appeals Holds

September 21, 2026 — Margarita Kutsin - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
In King County v. Walsh Construction Company II, LLC, No. 86503-0-I (Wash. Ct. App. Aug. 4, 2025), an unpublished decision from Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals, the Court affirmed the denial of a subcontractor’s request for prevailing-party attorney fees under an indemnity clause after the general contractor voluntarily dismissed its indemnity claims. Because the indemnity claim was no longer live and no determination of fault had occurred, the Court held that the trial court did not err in denying the request. ACS represented Walsh, the general contractor, in securing the denial of the fee request at the trial court that the Court of Appeals affirmed. A Pass-Through Indemnity Claim That Ended Before Fault Was Decided The dispute arose out of a public works contract under which King County hired Walsh Construction Company II, LLC (“Walsh”) to construct and install a conveyance pipeline. After the pipeline broke, King County sued Walsh for breach of contract and warranty, expressly identifying both Walsh and its subcontractor, Mears Group Inc., (“Mears”) as responsible. Walsh tendered defense and indemnity to Mears under the subcontract. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Margarita Kutsin, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Ms. Kutsin may be contacted at margarita.kutsin@acslawyers.com

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AI Data Centers Become City-Scale Infrastructure, Prompting New Industry Playbook

August 11, 2026 — Bryan Gottlieb - Engineering News-Record
AI data centers are no longer just buildings. They are increasingly reaching power-demand levels more commonly associated with municipalities, prompting industry groups to launch a new framework they say is needed to keep pace with rapidly changing power, cooling and reliability requirements. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Bryan Gottlieb, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Gottlieb may be contacted at gottliebb@enr.com

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Safeguarding Your Privileged Construction Information With a Clawback Agreement

June 08, 2026 — Laura Fraher - Construction Executive
For contractors and construction executives, a dispute that escalates to litigation brings risks that go well beyond the jobsite. When a dispute escalates to litigation, the attorney-client privilege is a critical protection to safeguard your interests. Disclosing privileged material can undermine your litigation position and, in some cases, negatively impact your business. In the construction context, this often includes sensitive communications about project delays, defect investigations, safety incidents or payment disputes—materials that can significantly impact both liability and reputation. During litigation, the discovery process requires the exchange of documents and data with your adversary. If privileged materials are disclosed to your adversary during discovery you risk the waiver of your privilege, which in plain terms means you lose the protection of the privilege and make the privileged information, and in some cases all other information related to the same subject matter, available to your adversary. It is critical that your attorney take steps to protect against the unintentional disclosure of privileged materials during discovery to avoid a waiver. Reprinted courtesy of Laura Fraher, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...
Ms. Fraher may be contacted at lfraher@barclaydamon.com

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Two Important Points Regarding the Miller Act

September 15, 2026 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
A recent Miller Act case, U.S. f/u/b/o Boundless Management Outsourcing Group, LLC v. Endurance Assurance Corp, 2026 WL 2241491 (D. Puerto Rico 2026), confirms two important points when it comes to the Miller Act. In this case, a subcontractor pursued a Miller Act payment bond lawsuit more than one year after its work was finished. The subcontractor also asserted a claim against the federal government. The lawsuit was dismissed. Below are two takeaway points to consider if you are dealing with a Miller Act payment bond lawsuit. First, as it relates the claim against the federal government, the federal district court followed authority that held that the Miller Act does NOT include a waiver of sovereign immunity against the federal government. “[T]he Court does not identify any clear language in the Miller Act expressly waiving the United States or its agencies’ sovereign immunity.” Endurance Assurance Corp., supra at *3. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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