BENTON PENNSYLVANIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Motion for Summary Judgment Granted in Significant California Public Utilities Suit

May 12, 2026 — Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Congratulations to Partner Mike D’Andrea and Associates Ruth Rasiah and Kaylah Abdullah in the Los Angeles office for obtaining a complete dismissal of their clients in a significant claim involving California’s Public Utilities regulations. After lengthy litigation, BWB&O’s Motion for Summary Judgment was granted against Claimant, Spectrum (Charter Communications), which resulted in a complete dismissal of the action against BWB&O’s clients. At issue was whether California’s Public Utilities Code shifted the common law duty to maintain certain utility equipment in residential areas within Southern California. After significant briefing, the Superior Court found that BWB&O correctly argued that the Public Utilities Code required utility companies, like Spectrum, to fully maintain utility equipment, and that private residents are not responsible for utility maintenance (even if the physical equipment is located on private property). Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

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In-House Insight at CSC

October 26, 2026 — Elaine Y. Lee - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Elaine Y. Lee, Partner in P&A’s Los Angeles office, sat down with Third Thursday to discuss effective collaboration with in-house counsel, strategies for resolving construction disputes, and the factors that can help determine the best path forward. This discussion previews her upcoming Construction Super Conference panel, “Same But Different: How In-House Legal Teams Vary in Approach, Role, and Decision-Making,” on December 2nd. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Elaine Y. Lee, Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Ms. Lee may be contacted at elee@pecklaw.com

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Nationwide Preliminary Injunction Ordering Department of Defense to Resume Review of Wind Energy Projects

September 21, 2026 — Victor J. Roehm III, Christopher P. Colyer & Sara M. Ajeti - Snell & Wilmer
On August 6, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted a preliminary injunction in Renewable Northwest v. Hegseth, Case No. 3:26-cv-01092-IM, ordering the Department of Defense (DoD) to resume processing wind energy project applications under the existing statutory and regulatory framework and staying DoD’s review freeze pending final adjudication on the merits. Background In 2011, Congress created the Military Aviation and Installation Assurance Siting Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse) within DoD to review wind energy projects that might affect military operations. When a wind project developer files an application with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the FAA refers it to DoD to determine whether the project poses an “unacceptable risk to the national security.” Reprinted courtesy of Victor J. Roehm III, Snell & Wilmer, Christopher P. Colyer, Snell & Wilmer and Sara M. Ajeti, Snell & Wilmer Mr. Roehm may be contacted at vroehm@swlaw.com Mr. Colyer may be contacted at ccolyer@swlaw.com Ms. Ajeti may be contacted at sajeti@swlaw.com Read the full story...

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Unable To Afford an Appellate Bond? You May Be “Indigent” And Qualify for a Discretionary Waiver or Reduction of the Bond Amount.

October 26, 2026 — Suzanne M. Nicholson - Wilke Fleury
One of the most frequent questions asked when a client is considering taking an appeal from an adverse judgment or order is whether that judgment or order is stayed pending appeal. The answer, not surprisingly, is “it depends.” While the general rule is that perfecting an appeal stays proceedings in the trial court, including enforcement of the judgment or order, there are many, many, exceptions to that rule. One such exception is a judgment or order for “money or the payment of money.” (CCP § 917.1) In such cases, a bond or undertaking is typically required to stay enforcement. The costs of such security can be significant. If you are using an admitted surety insurer, the amount of security required is 1 1/2 times the amount of the judgment. Obtaining a bond through an admitted surety will require that you have sufficient collateral to secure the bond, and sufficient funds to pay the associated premiums, which generally run between 1% and 3% of the total bond amount, per year. So, if you are appealing from a $1 million judgment, you will likely need $1.5 million in assets as collateral, and up to $30,000 per year for the premium. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Suzanne M. Nicholson, Wilke Fleury
Ms. Nicholson may be contacted at snicholson@wilkefleury.com

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Greg Katz Quoted in Insurance Journal Article About How Big Data & AI Are Driving Up Verdicts, Settlements

October 06, 2026 — Lewis Brisbois
National Managing Partner Greg Katz was recently quoted in an Insurance Journal article about how plaintiff's lawyers are harnessing big data and artificial intelligence to attempt to drive up jury awards and settlement demands. The article, titled "The Big Data/AI ‘Revolution’ Is Driving Up Verdicts, Settlements as Plaintiffs Buy In," points out that a growing number of personal injury and claims law firms, some of which are working with an influx of cash from investors and litigation funders, are using a multitude of high-tech tools to try to gain an advantage in litigation. They are using large online mock juries to test legal theories, big data to find sympathetic jurors and venues in which to try cases, and AI programs to analyze their own arguments and those of opponents. “They’re taking instincts and intuition out of the equation,” Mr. Katz told Insurance Journal. “They think they’ve come up with a different way to ring the bell and, in their words, add zeroes to awards.” Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

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Italian Court Convicts 32 in Morandi Bridge Collapse Case

August 25, 2026 — Bryan Gottlieb - Engineering News-Record
Former Autostrade per l'Italia CEO Giovanni Castellucci was sentenced to 12 years in prison July 16 after an Italian court handed down the first criminal verdicts stemming from the 2018 Morandi Bridge collapse in Genoa that killed 43 people. 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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Court Finds Potential Conflicts In Denying Insurer’s Motion to Dismiss Claim for Independent Counsel

October 12, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The District Court denied the insurer’s motion to dismiss the additional insured’s claim that the appointment of independent counsel was required. S. Cal. Edison Co. v. Travelers Prop. Cas. Co of Am., 2025 U.S. DIst. LEXIS 148495 (C.D Calif. July 15, 2025). Southern California Edison Company (SCE) entered a Master Services Agreement with its contractor, SASCO whereby SASCO agreed to provide services concerning electrical pole repair and replacement. SASCO was required to obtain primary and excess general liability policies and to name SCE as an additional insured. SASCO obtained such policies from Travelers, naming SCE as an additional insured. The policies limited coverage for SCE to covered damages arising from SASCO’s work. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

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Achieving Sustainability Through Design Build Delivery: Part II – A Framework for Managing Sustainability Objectives on Private Commercial Construction

October 06, 2026 — Jennifer Harris, Tiffany Harrod & Joshua Pruett - ConsensusDocs
Part I of this series traced the history and development of sustainability in construction and explained why design-build (“DB”) contracting is particularly well suited to achieve sustainability objectives. But selecting DB contracting does not by itself ensure a sustainable outcome. The parties must define their sustainability objectives with precision, establish measurable performance criteria and identify who will measure compliance with the criteria, and also draft contract terms that clearly and fairly allocate the associated responsibilities and risks. Otherwise, the completed project may fall short of its sustainability objectives and expose the parties to claims, disputes, and litigation. Part II offers a non-exhaustive list of practical guidance for addressing these issues and reducing those risks. This article references the ConsensusDocs 310 Green Building Addendum, in conjunction with an agreement between the Owner and the Design-Builder (e.g., ConsensusDocs 415)[1], [2] and AIA Document E204–2017 Sustainable Projects Exhibit,[3] together with AIA A141,[4] as its contractual baseline. The five-part framework that follows is a roadmap for allocating sustainability risk between private owners and design-builders: define the requirements, identify hidden performance guarantees, map out the sustainable objective, address third-party certification risk, and track performance against agreed benchmarks. Reprinted courtesy of Jennifer Harris, Peckar & Abramson, P.C., Tiffany Harrod, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Joshua Pruett, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Ms. Harris may be contacted at jharris@pecklaw.com Ms. Harrod may be contacted at tharrod@pecklaw.com Mr. Pruett may be contacted at jpruett@pecklaw.com Read the full story...

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