DEFIANCE MISSOURI CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Battle Looms as Feds Order Washington State Coal Plant to Stay Open

January 21, 2026 — Tim Newcomb - Engineering News-Record
Just days away from closure and a $600-million remake as a gas-powered facility, an independent power producer-owned coal-fired power plant in Washington state is ordered by the Trump administration to remain open through mid-March 2026—and likely longer—setting up a battle with state and company officials. Shutdown of the 730-MW plant, operating since 1972, was timed to comply with a state law banning coal power generation in 2026 and beyond. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tim Newcomb, Engineering News-Record
ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com

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Mind The Gap!

November 04, 2025 — Daniel Lund III - JD Supra
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York addressed the scope of insurance coverage for workplace injuries on a Brooklyn, New York, construction project, holding that the project owner’s insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify the owner in a personal injury lawsuit stemming from a construction accident. The property owner hired a general contractor for a condominium project. In March 2020, an employee of one of the GC’s subcontractors was injured when a scaffold collapsed. The employee sued both the property owner at the general contractor in state court. The owner sought coverage and a defense from its commercial general liability insurer, but the insurer denied coverage, citing three exclusions: Contracted Persons, Independent Contractors, and Condominium. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Daniel Lund, Phelps
Mr. Lund may be contacted at daniel.lund@phelps.com

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Texas Case Exposes Cracks in the Government Contractor Immunity Shield

November 09, 2025 — Elaine Silver - Engineering News-Record
It started with a horrific crash. Pedro Alfonso Castaneda, the mainstay of a Texas family of five, had finished shopping at a plumbing supply store on an August afternoon in 2019, when he pulled up in his Toyota Tacoma pickup at an intersection adjacent to a busy highway overpass construction project in Pinehurst, Texas. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Elaine Silver, Engineering News-Record
ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com

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The Difference Between Seasonal Adverse Weather and Unusually Severe Weather (and How Contractors Can Protect Against Both)

October 21, 2025 — Matthew DeVries - Best Practices Construction Law
Picture this: A contractor is nearly finished with a major dam stabilization project, but a series of Owner-directed changes pushes the last phase of the work into late fall and early winter. Instead of working through the relatively dry conditions expected in the original schedule, the contractor is suddenly battling weeks of rain and freezing temperatures. Crews are slowed, costs increase, and productivity suffers. That’s exactly what occurred in the recent decision of Thalle Construction Co., ASBCA Nos. 63685, 63721, 63734 (Aug. 13, 2025). In that case, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals recognized that government delays had arguably pushed the contractor’s performance into a period of worse seasonal adverse weather than it would have faced under the original schedule. The Board distinguished between two types of weather:

• Seasonal adverse weather: Normal, recurring patterns like rainy seasons or winter freezes, which are foreseeable and must be built into a contractor’s plan. If government delay extends performance into these months, the contractor may recover additional time and compensation.
• Unusually severe weather: Extraordinary, unforeseeable events such as record-breaking storms or extreme floods. Under standard clauses, this type of weather typically entitles the contractor to time only (excusable delay), not money.

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Matthew DeVries, Buchalter
Mr. DeVries may be contacted at mdevries@buchalter.com

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CA Civil Code § 8850: What Private Multi-state Owners and Developers Building in California in 2026 Need to Know

January 26, 2026 — Anand Gupta - Construction Law Zone Blog
Owners and developers building in California must be aware of a new statute, CA Civil Code § 8850, which takes effect for contracts entered into, on, and after January 1, 2026. The statute will likely apply to most private construction projects; however, a carve-out exists for residential projects that are not mixed use and are four stories or less. When a contractor—or, with proper authorization, a subcontractor—submits a claim related to payment, time extensions, damages, or change orders (encompassing the majority of construction disputes), the owner must provide a written response within 30 days. This response must clearly state which portions of the claim are disputed and which are not. The owner has 60 days from the date of its response to issue payment for those undisputed amounts. Late payments will accrue interest at a rate of two percent per month. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Anand Gupta, Robinson & Cole
Mr. Gupta may be contacted at agupta@rc.com

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Super Lawyers Names Five White and Williams LLP Attorneys to its Metro New York Lists

December 02, 2025 — White and Williams LLP
White and Williams LLP is proud to announce that five attorneys in the firm’s New York City office have been recognized on the 2025 Metro New York Super Lawyers and Rising Star lists. This recognition highlights our attorney's exceptional legal acumen, and their commitment to client service excellence. Lawyers are selected for inclusion in Metro New York Area Super Lawyers and Rising Stars through a process that considers independent research, peer recognition and the professional achievements of attorneys from more than 70 practice areas. No more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of White and Williams LLP

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Seven Kahana Feld Attorneys Selected to 2025 New York Metro Super Lawyers Lists

November 18, 2025 — Eva Paulson - Kahana Feld
NEW YORK - Oct. 30, 2025 - Kahana Feld is pleased to announce that Tim Capowski was included in the 2025 edition of New York Metro Super Lawyers and Sean Harriton, Rachael Marvin, Sarah Pavlini, Mariah Smith, Christopher Theobalt, and Sofya Uvaydov were included in New York Metro Rising Stars. 2025 New York Metro Super Lawyers Tim Capowski was awarded for his work in Appellate Law. Capowski is a partner at Kahana Feld and chair of the firm’s National Appellate Litigation & Consulting Group. He has spent the better part of three decades at the forefront of the insurance defense bar. He has litigated hundreds of appeals and thousands of motions in state and federal and appellate courts throughout New York and around the country. He handles a variety of complex litigation including catastrophic property and casualty claims, construction defect, professional liability, labor and employment law, mass torts, insurance coverage, and more. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Eva Paulson, Kahana Feld
Ms. Paulson may be contacted at epaulson@kahanafeld.com

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EPA and Army Corps Propose Revised Definition of “Waters of the United States”

December 30, 2025 — Ashleigh Myers & Jillian Marullo - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
For decades, the phrase “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) has dictated whether a wetland, stream, or pond falls within federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Two years and a change in administration later, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have returned with a new proposal aimed at aligning the rulebook with the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. EPA and restoring a degree of predictability to one of the most litigated terms in environmental law. According to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle, the proposal represents a “faithful” implementation of Sackett, one that narrows federal reach to waters that are relatively permanent and wetlands that are indistinguishably connected to them. The agencies call it a step toward clarity and economic growth; others will undoubtedly call it a new chapter in an ongoing jurisdictional saga. Reprinted courtesy of Ashleigh Myers, Pillsbury and Jillian Marullo, Pillsbury Ms. Myers may be contacted at ashleigh.myers@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Marullo may be contacted at jillian.marullo@pillsburylaw.com Read the full story...

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