New Auburn Minnesota Construction Expert Witness Directory

Location, Location, Location — But Which One? The Few Words in Your Construction Contract that Pick Where You Fight

June 29, 2026 — Brad Sands - ConsensusDocs
Most professionals know the old real estate line: location, location, location. It turns out to be just as true for construction contracts as it is for property. Consider a recent case involving a project owner that hired two design firms for a project. When issues arose during construction, the owner sued the design firms in state court in Brazoria County, Texas, pursuant to the forum selection clause in the parties’ contracts. The defendants then removed the case to the federal district court in Galveston, a courthouse in a different county. But the owner wanted the case back in Brazoria County state court. Whether it got its wish came down to two words in the contract: “situated in.” This article is about words like those. A construction contract’s forum selection clause names the place for the fight nobody plans to have, and where that fight happens can shape how it goes. This article explains why the wording in your forum selection clause deserves careful reading before you sign a construction contract. It is not a deep dive into the mechanics of federal removal jurisdiction, and it is not an academic comparison of the terms “forum” and “venue.” Instead, it is a practical look at how courts actually read these clauses, so the location of a future fight is the one you intended. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Brad Sands, Jones Walker, LLP
Mr. Sands may be contacted at bsands@joneswalker.com

Soot Constitutes Property Damage

March 17, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Applying Missouri law, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the jury verdict awarding damages for the presence of soot after a fire. Maxus Metropolitan, LLC v. Travelers Property Cas. Co. of Am., 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 29921 (8th Cir. Nov, 17, 2025). A fire destroyed Phase 6 of a multi-building apartment complex known as the Metropolitan. At the time of the fire, all six phases of the Metropolitan were at various stages of completion, including some of which were occupied by tenants. Phase 6 was still under construction. The fire caused severe damage to Phase 5. The interiors of Phases 1-4 were unaffected by the fire. Maxus Metropolitan, the owner of the complex, had a policy with Travelers which covered up to $35 million in “direct physical loss, . . or damage.” The policy also provided coverage for up to $5 million in lost business income. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Massachusetts Settlement Targets Mortgage-Backed “Homeowner Benefit” Agreements

April 08, 2026 — A.J. S. Dhaliwal, Mehul N. Madia & Maxwell Earp-Thomas - Sheppard
On March 11, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced a consent order with a real estate-related lender’s subsidiary, and affiliated individuals resolving allegations that the company violated the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act by deceptively marketing mortgage-backed “Homeowner Benefit Agreements” to financially struggling homeowners. According to the complaint, the company offered homeowners relatively small upfront cash payments, typically less than $1,500, in exchange for a 40-year exclusive right to act as the listing broker if the homeowner later sold the property. The Attorney General alleged that the agreements also triggered substantial payment obligations upon other transfers, including death or foreclosure, and that the transactions were secured by recorded mortgages that could interfere with refinancing, home-equity access, or the ability to sell the home. The complaint further alleged that the company marketed the product to vulnerable consumers searching for loans or public benefits while obscuring the true nature of the transaction. Reprinted courtesy of A.J. S. Dhaliwal, Sheppard, Mehul N. Madia, Sheppard and Maxwell Earp-Thomas, Sheppard Mr. Dhaliwal may be contacted at adhaliwal@sheppard.com Mr. Madia may be contacted at mmadia@sheppard.com Mr. Earp-Thomas may be contacted at mearp-thomas@sheppard.com Read the full story...

Kamran Salour Named to Los Angeles Times' 2026 Legal Visionaries List

June 02, 2026 — Lewis Brisbois
Orange County Partner and Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice Co-Chair Kamran Salour was named to the Los Angeles Times' 2026 Legal Visionaries list, which honors the most innovative attorneys in Southern California. In announcing this year's Legal Visionaries, the Times said that Mr. Salour and his co-honorees "distinguish themselves not only through skilleand results but through an unwavering commitment to their clients, their craft and the communities they serve." "Their paths – shaped by rigorous education, defining cases and purposeful leadership – offer a deeper perspective on what sets true standouts apart," the Times' announcement stated. "Together, these visionaries exemplify a forward-thinking approach to the law, elevating both their profession and the people who depend on it." Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

Sausage-Making Often Relies on the Good Sense of the Chef Rather than the Recipe

June 23, 2026 — Garret D. Murai - California Construction Law Blog
Even for lawyers, the rules governing litigation can get complex and convoluted. Does something need to be filed? What needs to be filed? When is the deadline for filing? Simple questions with not always with straightforward answers. This was the case in R & J Sheet Metal, Inc. v. W.E. O’Neil Construction Co. of California, 111 Cal.App.5th 878 (2025), which involved sheet metal panels lost when they fell into the Port of Long Beach harbor. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret D. Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

The Deadline to File Suit on a Public Works Payment Payment Bond is Triggered by a Claimant’s Work on a Project Not by a Claimant’s Work Under a Contract

June 02, 2026 — Garret D. Murai - California Construction Law Blog
California law requires that prime contractors furnish a payment bond – providing for payment to lower-tiered subcontractors and suppliers – on state and local public works projects with a value in excess of $25,000. There are three conditions that must be satisfied when a claimant makes a claim against a payment bond on a public works project in California:

First, generally, the claimant must have served a preliminary notice, unless the claimant is a first-tier subcontractor or supplier;
The claimant must have “ceased to provide work” on the project; and
The claimant must file suit against the payment bond no later than six (6) months after the period in which a stop payment notice must be given or, in other words, the earlier of 270 days after completion of the public works project or 210 days after a notice of completion or cessation was recorded on a public works project.

In Tarlton & Sons, Inc. v. Great American Insurance Company, 111 Cal.App.5th 376 (2025), the 2nd District Court of Appeal examined whether a subcontractor timely filed a claim against a payment bond when a prime contractor was terminated and replaced by another prime contractor who the subcontractor continued to perform work for. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret D. Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Kahana Feld Announces Key Partner Additions Coast to Coast

June 22, 2026 — Kahana Feld
IRVINE, CA – June 10, 2026 – Kahana Feld is pleased to announce Yvette Davis, Evan Kalooky, Beth Obra-White, Sean Paden, Michael Parme, Jeffrey Schmid, and Julieanne Yanez have joined the firm as partners. Four of these partners are joining the San Diego office, which further strengthens the firm’s General Liability and Construction Litigation practices and enhances Kahana Feld’s ability to serve clients across a broad range of complex matters in the region. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Kahana Feld

Predict Risk, Not Incidents: A New Analytics Framework for Your Construction Safety Data

August 03, 2026 — Tabrez Zahoor - Construction Executive
Behind every “zero-incidents” company report, hidden hazards may already be accumulating—risks that could become serious injuries tomorrow. The question every executive should be asking is not, “Did anything go wrong last month?” It is: “Where is risk building on my projects right now?” Most construction organizations cannot answer that question. Not because the data does not exist—it does. Every active project generates daily inspection findings, labor records, near-miss reports and audit results. The problem is that standard safety systems collect this data and then report it in ways that make it operationally useless for prevention. They describe the past. They predict nothing. The predictive safety analytics framework (PSAF) is a practical, deployable system developed from years of applying data science to large-scale construction portfolio operations that takes the safety data construction organizations already collect and transforms it into a forward-looking risk signal. The result? A single weekly score that tells executives where risk is concentrating across their portfolio before anyone gets hurt. Reprinted courtesy of Tabrez Zahoor, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

NEW AUBURN MINNESOTA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES