Insufficient Notice of Commencement and Construction Lien Rights
August 03, 2026 —
David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal UpdatesWhen 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 NorrisMr. Adelstein may be contacted at
dma@kirwinnorris.com
Communication Gaps Can Cost Construction Firms in the Data Center Boom
June 02, 2026 —
Mike Lewis - Construction ExecutiveThe
data center construction boom is transforming the construction industry at a historic pace. Fueled by cloud computing, artificial intelligence and relentless demand for digital infrastructure, data centers have become one of the fastest-growing project types in the built environment. Billions of dollars are flowing into new facilities and expansions, creating unprecedented opportunities for construction firms positioned to deliver reliably.
But opportunity alone does not guarantee success. As competition intensifies, communication failures and poor information management are emerging as some of the most common (and costly) reasons firms lose margins, miss deadlines or fail to secure repeat work. In data center construction, where schedules are compressed and tolerance for error is minimal, even small breakdowns in communication can have outsized consequences.
Reprinted courtesy of
Mike Lewis, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
Read the full story...
Rogue AI — Is Your Company Prepared?
September 28, 2026 —
Michael S. Levine - Hunton Insurance Recovery BlogThe recent wave of "rogue AI" incidents should be a wake-up call for every business leader and risk manager paying attention.
Recent accounts document a sobering reality: AI systems from multiple leading AI developers have each escaped controlled testing environments and caused real-world harm—compromising outside infrastructure, exploiting third-party vulnerabilities, and even canceling another person's reservation to help a user jump a waitlist. These aren't hypotheticals from a sci-fi movie. They happened this summer.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLPMr. Levine may be contacted at
mlevine@hunton.com
New Executive Order on AI Innovation and Security: Key Takeaways for the Construction Industry
June 15, 2026 —
Richard R. Volack & Denis Serkin - Peckar & Abramson, PCOn June 2, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security.” At its core, the Order is a cybersecurity and national-security measure rather than a broad regulation of how private companies develop or use AI. It directs federal agencies to harden government systems against AI-enabled cyber threats, establishes voluntary frameworks for collaboration between the federal government and the AI and critical-infrastructure sectors, and strengthens criminal enforcement against the malicious use of AI.
Notably, the Order expressly disclaims any intent to create a “mandatory governmental licensing, preclearance, or permitting” regime for the “development, publication, release, or distribution of new AI models.” Instead, the Executive Order seeks to “promote AI innovation and security” by working with the private sector to modernize government and private-sector information systems and harden them against external threats, protect intellectual property from exploitation or theft, and cultivate American AI capabilities.
Reprinted courtesy of
Richard R. Volack, Peckar & Abramson, PC and
Denis Serkin, Peckar & Abramson, PC
Mr. Volack may be contacted at rvolack@pecklaw.com
Mr. Serkin may be contacted at dserkin@pecklaw.com
Read the full story...
Insureds’ Altering Dates for Hailstorm Damage Justifies Denial of Claim
June 02, 2026 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiThe Firth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the insurer due to the insureds’ failure to establish the date of loss after a hailstorm. Cutchall v. Chubb Lloyds Ins. Co. of Texas, 2026 WL 625633 (5th Cir. March 5, 2026).
In September 2021, the Cutchalls made a claim on their policy for interior water damage due to a hailstorm that breached their roof. Chubb retained two engineers to inspect the home, but neither found evidence that a hailstorm caused the damage. Instead, the engineers concluded a variety of other causes, such as poor ventilation and as-built defects, caused the damage. Because Chubb concluded that some of these other causes were covered by the policy, it paid only for the covered portions.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Over 50 Lewis Brisbois Attorneys Recognized in 7th Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America
September 01, 2026 —
Lewis Brisbois56 Lewis Brisbois attorneys across 26 offices have been named to the 7th edition of “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America.” Congratulations to the following attorneys on this recognition!
You can see the full list of Lewis Brisbois attorneys named to Best Lawyers' 33rd edition of The Best Lawyers in America
here.
Akron, OH
- Partner Meleah M. Skillern - Commercial Litigation
Atlanta, GA
- Partner Catherine Crawley - Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; and Transportation Law
- Associate Davis Lackey - Insurance Law; and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Lewis Brisbois
Building More Than a Ramp: HHMR and the Home Builders Foundation
September 15, 2026 —
Colorado Construction Litigation BlogLast Friday, four members of the Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell team traded briefs, depositions, and construction litigation files for lumber, drills, and a day on a jobsite.
HHMR attorneys Ricky Nolen, Amanda Tynan, Kyle Thompson, and Tanner Davis participated in the
Home Builders Foundation’s 2026
Blitz Build, helping construct an accessibility ramp for Andrea, a Denver-area resident whose mobility challenges had made something most of us take for granted extraordinarily difficult: leaving her own home independently.
The day after the build, the volunteers received an e-mail from HBF’s Terrina Reiber with an unusual request: set an alarm for 10:00 the next morning.
At 10:00 on a Saturday, she explained, they might be running errands, meeting a friend, or simply deciding what to do with the day.
When the alarm went off, she asked them to think about Andrea.
Because Andrea could now make that same choice.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell
ACEC Supports BUILD America 250 Act as Important First Step on Surface Reauthorization
May 26, 2026 —
The American Council of Engineering CompaniesWASHINGTON -- 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.