ISELIN NEW JERSEY CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Balancing the Right to Repair With Evidence Preservation in Construction Defect Litigation

April 20, 2026 — Benton Wheatley & Anna Spicer - Construction Executive
Every major construction project comes with risk, whether it’s a warehouse build, a multifamily development or a major renovation. Parties tend to be aligned when things are proceeding as planned. But when something goes wrong—cracked concrete, water intrusion, systems that don’t perform as expected—those interests can quickly diverge. Property owners are often caught in the middle when construction defects surface. They’re expected to act quickly to limit damage and costs. But they also have legal obligations to preserve evidence and allow potentially responsible parties, such as contractors or designers, to observe testing, demolition and repairs. Additionally, owners often have duties to lenders and investors to fix problems promptly and pursue claims against those responsible. Meanwhile, contractors and other parties have obligations of their own—not to interfere with repairs and not to delay mitigation efforts while investigations are underway. What follows will examine how those competing responsibilities play out in construction defect disputes. Reprinted courtesy of Benton Wheatley & Anna Spicer, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

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Dallas County District Court Grants Kahana Feld’s Motion to Dismiss for Want of Prosecution

December 30, 2025 — Kahana Feld
Kahana Feld successfully obtained dismissal of a lawsuit in the 95th Judicial District Court of Dallas County. The Court granted our Motion to Dismiss for Want of Prosecution, agreeing that the plaintiff failed to diligently pursue their claims after more than 18 months of inactivity, despite an upcoming trial date. Our team demonstrated that the plaintiff had not initiated discovery or scheduled depositions, and furthermore, the delay was not excused by former counsel’s withdrawal. Consequently, the judge declined the plaintiff’s request for additional time and dismissed the case without prejudice. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Kahana Feld

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New Year’s Resolution: Engineering the “Tee-Up Day” for Complex Construction Mediations

February 17, 2026 — Joël Bertet - The Dispute Resolver
The construction industry is defined by its commitment to "Critical Path" scheduling. From the moment a project breaks ground, every stakeholder—from the MEP sub to the owner’s rep—is focused on sequencing. We know that you cannot hang drywall before the rough-in is inspected, and you cannot pour a slab-on-grade until the vapor barrier is verified. Yet, when these projects devolve into litigation, the legal community often abandons the logic of sequencing. We rush headlong into "The Mediation Day"—a high-stakes, expensive, one-day marathon where we expect dozens of parties, hundreds of insurance layers, and thousands of pages of expert reports to magically align into a settlement by 6:00 PM. As we open our calendars for the new year, it is time for a professional resolution. We must stop treating mediation as a single-day event and start treating it as a managed, sequenced process. The centerpiece of this resolution is the “Tee-Up Day.” Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Joël Bertet, ResolveBertet
Mr. Bertet may be contacted at joel@resolvebertet.com

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Five Payne & Fears Attorneys Named 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers

March 10, 2026 — Payne & Fears LLP
Five Payne & Fears attorneys have been named to the 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers list in recognition of their work across a range of practice areas. This honor reflects their dedication to their clients, depth of experience, and the high standard of service they bring to every matter. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Payne & Fears LLP

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Construction Liens and the “Substantial Performance” Doctrine

April 08, 2026 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
In a recent case dealing with a construction lien, the driving issue was whether the air conditioning contractor “substantially performed” before recording its construction lien against residential property. The importance here pertains to the substantial performance doctrine with respect to construction liens. The Third District Court of Appeal explained, with relevant citations, this doctrine as follows: Under Florida law, a contractor is entitled to a mechanic’s lien if he complies with all provisions of Chapter 713, governing construction liens, and “has substantially performed the contract.” Grant v. Wester, 679 So. 2d 1301, 1307 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996) (quotation omitted); Langley v. Knowles, 958 So. 2d 1149, 1151 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007) (“The substantial performance doctrine recognizes that a contactor who complies with all of the provisions of the contactor’s lien statute is entitled to enforce a lien if he has substantially, but not completely, performed his contractual obligations.”). Substantial performance is performance “so nearly equivalent to what was bargained for that it would be unreasonable to deny the promisee the full contract price subject to the promisor’s right to recover whatever damages may have been occasioned him by the promisee’s failure to render full performance.” Ocean Ridge Dev. Corp. v. Quality Plastering, Inc., 247 So. 2d 72, 75 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971). Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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2026 Construction Outlook: Dampening Outlook With Some Potential Bright Spots

February 17, 2026 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
According to Dodge Construction Network’s Outlook 2026 Ebook, “the construction industry came roaring into 2025” – with large government investments through the Infrastructure Bill and the CHIPS Act (promoting investment in the domestic semiconductor industry), as well as outsized spending on data centers to support cloud and AI technology – but “throttled back significantly” due to “rapid changes to economic and fiscal policies.” These changes include short-term cost impacts due to tariffs and labor impacts due to the federal government’s immigration crackdown and long-term concerns following enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) which is anticipated to add $3.4 trillion to the federal deficit over ten years. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

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Applicability of Florida’s Building Code Is a Question of Law

November 21, 2025 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
The application of Florida’s Building Code is a question of law for the court. It’s NOT a question for a witness to determine. In a recent personal injury dispute dealing with the tripping and falling on a public sidewalk, a key issue included the application of Florida’s Building Code on a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) project. Summary judgment was granted for the defendants where a major portion of the ruling was based on the inapplicability of Florida’s Building Code to the public sidewalk. Even though the plaintiff had an expert witness that opined that the Florida Building Code did apply, the trial court rejected this opinion in determining the Code did not apply:

Whether the Florida Building Code is applicable to this case ultimately is a question of law belonging to the court, not the witness. See Lindsey v. Bill Arflin Bonding Ag., Inc., 645 So. 2d 565, 568 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994) (“The legal effect of a building code presents a question of law for the court, not a question of fact for the jury.”); see also Edward J. Seibert, A.I.A. Architect & Planner, P.A. v. Bayport Beach & Tennis Club Ass’n, Inc., 573 So. 2d 889, 891-92 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990) (“An expert should not be allowed to testify concerning questions of law and the interpretation of the building code presented a question of law. It was the duty of the trial court to interpret the meaning of the code . . . .” (citations omitted)). As such, it was the responsibility of the trial court to determine whether the building code applies to the sidewalk in this case and whether the code provided evidence of negligence. See Martin v. Omni Hotels Mgmt. Corp., No. 6:15-cv-1364-ORL-41KRS, 2017 WL 2928154, at *4 (M.D. Fla. April 19, 2017) (“Accordingly, [the expert] may not testify as to the applicability or inapplicability of any provision of the Florida Building Code. This Court will determine what provisions, if any, are applicable to the facts of this case.”).

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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Outer Banks Homes Collapsing Is Just a Taste of What’s to Come

December 22, 2025 — Mark Gongloff - Bloomberg
On Sept. 20, 2024, a four-bedroom, three-bathroom beach house in Buxton, North Carolina, in the heart of the Outer Banks, sold for $580,000. On Oct. 28 this year, the house, known as Mermaid’s Rest, collapsed into the ocean. It was one of five homes swallowed that day by high waves churned up by an offshore storm. Few things demonstrate how climate change is already upending lives and fortunes quite like watching somebody’s stately vacation home topple into the drink. But Outer Banks houses like Mermaid’s Rest (a striking example first dug up by the New York Times but just one of many such cases), are mere showroom models for the havoc that rising seas are already threatening. First, let’s get one caveat out of the way: Barrier islands like the Outer Banks are always changing shape, regardless of the climate. Homes built on the shores of such islands have always been at risk of eventually sliding off the edge like a quarter in one of those coin-pusher arcade games. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Mark Gongloff, Bloomberg

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