Anaheim California Construction Expert Witness Directory

The LA Fires Destroyed 11,000 Homes. Less Than 10% Have Permits to Rebuild

October 27, 2025 — Michelle Ma & John Gittelsohn - Bloomberg
Of the thousands of residents needing to rebuild after this year’s California wildfires, Andy Weyman would seem especially well positioned. The TV and stage director had remodeled his Malibu home just five years earlier and had city-approved blueprints in hand, with the same architect set to oversee reconstruction. Yet eight months after the Palisades Fire destroyed almost 600 Malibu houses, the city has issued only two rebuilding permits. Weyman needed geological tests to ensure the stability of his bluff-top lot. Construction costs are roughly double his insurance coverage. In August, his architect died. Reprinted courtesy of Michelle Ma, Bloomberg and John Gittelsohn, Bloomberg Read the full story...

Hunton Insurance Coverage Attorneys Top Benchmark Litigation 2026 Guide

November 09, 2025 — Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
Benchmark Litigation has recognized the following members of Hunton’s insurance coverage team as Litigation Stars: practice head Syed S. Ahmad, partner Walter J. Andrews, and special counsel Lorelie (Lorie) S. Masters. Benchmark’s Litigation Star recognizes individuals who possess a strong case record and are consistently recommended by clients and peers as reputable and effective litigators. In addition, Benchmark named partner Geoffrey Fehling on its Future Stars list, which recognizes individuals who are consistently referenced by peers and clients as litigators who are building their reputations in the market. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Top Developments 2025 - Issue 4

December 22, 2025 — John S. Anooshian, Paul A. Briganti, Elizabeth L. Ferguson, Alexandra M. George & Haley S. Newman - The Complex Insurance Coverage Reporter
“ARISING OUT OF” Rowe v. State Mut. Ins. Co., 2025 Me. LEXIS 89 (Me., Sept. 23, 2025) Maine Supreme Court, in the premises liability context, holds that an exclusion in a mobile homeowners policy for injury or damage "arising out of a premises . . . that is not an insured location'” precluded coverage for underlying negligent failure-to-warn claims. The court looked to authority from a workers compensation case, where it stated that “the term ‘arising out of' employment means that there must be some causal connection between the conditions under which the employee worked and the injury, or that the injury, in some proximate way, had its origin, its source, or its cause in the employment. . . . [T]he employment need not be the sole or predominant causal factor for the injury and . . . the causative circumstance need not have been foreseen or expected.” In this case, it found there to be “an immediate relationship between the injury and a condition of the uninsured premises” (specifically, a gap created by the owner-insured at the entrance to a mobile home), and rejected the claimant’s argument that the injury instead arose from the insureds’ negligent conduct in failing to warn. Separately, the court held that the property did not qualify as an “insured location,” reasoning it was not listed in the declarations and there was no evidence the insureds had resided there or acquired it for use as a residence. Reprinted courtesy of John S. Anooshian, White and Williams LLP, Paul A. Briganti, White and Williams LLP, Elizabeth L. Ferguson, White and Williams LLP, Alexandra M. George, White and Williams LLP and Haley S. Newman, White and Williams LLP Mr. Anooshian may be contacted at anooshianj@whiteandwilliams.com Mr. Briganti may be contacted at brigantip@whiteandwilliams.com Ms. Ferguson may be contacted at fergusone@whiteandwilliams.com Ms. Newman may be contacted at newmanh@whiteandwilliams.com Read the full story...

Insurer Granted Summary Judgment, in Part, After Partial Payment of Claim

February 10, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The insurer was awarded summary judgment, in part, after paying a portion of the insured’s claim for hurricane damage. Taylor v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 231406 (S.D. Ala. Nov. 24, 2025). The Taylors’ home was damaged by Hurricane Sally. They submitted a claim under their homeowners’ policy to State Farm. They reported trees collapsing onto the house and blocking the front door, broken windows and doors, water damage and the roof collapsing in certain rooms of the house. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

AIA Waivers Under Fire: Why Post-Completion Losses May Still Be Actionable

January 26, 2026 — Lian Skaf - The Subrogation Strategist
On its face, the power of a waiver of subrogation clause in a construction contract is profound. It bars otherwise actionable – and sometimes egregious – losses resulting from contractor carelessness before they can ever get started. One question courts have long battled with is the limits to the lasting effects of such a waiver. Whether the waiver power can be transferred amongst parties, applied to third parties or used with policies taken out after construction completion are among the few grey areas that have kept subrogation practitioners and the courts busy. Recently, a federal court in Idaho clarified its position on the power to waive subrogation. In Seneca Ins. Co. v. McAlvain Constr., Inc., No. 1:24-cv-00340-BLW, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 251777 (D. Idaho), the United States District Court for the District of Idaho (District Court) addressed whether a subrogation waiver in an AIA construction contract, signed between an owner and the general contractor, applied to the subsequent owner of a building. In doing so, the court looked at the limiting language of the waiver as well as the contractual posture of the subsequent owner. Ultimately, the court found the waiver inapplicable, denying the motion for summary judgment of Defendant, Cross-Plaintiff McAlvain Construction, Inc. (McAlvain). Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Lian Skaf, White and Williams
Mr. Skaf may be contacted at skafl@whiteandwilliams.com

Court Conditionally Grants Mandamus Relief to Compel Appraisal

February 02, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court conditionally granted the insurer’s writ of mandamus to compel an appraisal after the trial court denied the insurer’s motion to compel appraisal. In re Am. Zurich Ins. Co., 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 8932 (Tex. Ct. App. Nov. 20, 2025). The insureds, Jay Steinfeld and Barbara Winthrop (Steinfeld) ,hired Southhampton Group to build their home. Construction began in 2021. Southhampton Group obtained a builder’s risk policy from Zurich which named Steinfeld as an additional insured. Shortly before completion of the home, Sheet Metal Crafts, a subcontractor working on the home’s roof, caused a fire that substantially damaged the home. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Kahana Feld Attorney Andrea Vosough Named to 2026 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) Phenoms Under 40 List

November 09, 2025 — Eva Paulson - Kahana Feld
IRVINE, CA - Oct. 22, 2025 - Kahana Feld is pleased to announce that attorney Andrea Vosough was named as one of 10 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) Phenoms Under 40 for 2026. She will also be a finalist for CLM’s Young Professional of the Year award, with the winners announced at the CLM Annual Conference in Orlando in March 2026. Vosough is a member of Kahana Feld’s General Liability practice group, primarily representing local and national restaurants, trucking companies, public entities, small businesses, and individuals. She serves on CLM’s Young Professional Advisory Board, which provides resources and guidance for emerging professionals, encourages participation in professional development, and helps shape the next generation of attorneys. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Eva Paulson, Kahana Feld
Ms. Paulson may be contacted at epaulson@kahanafeld.com

Climate Superfund Litigation: Courts Split on Venue and Intervention in New York and Vermont Cases

October 27, 2025 — Amanda G. Halter, Ashleigh Myers & Jillian Marullo - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Coalitions of Republican-led states, industry associations led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and, most recently, the U.S. Department of Justice are testing “climate superfund” laws that aim to recover billions from carbon majors for climate adaptation costs. Recent rulings in lawsuits challenging the New York and Vermont statutes have split cases across courts and reached opposite outcomes on intervention: In New York, cases are being split between the Northern and Southern Districts and intervention efforts by nonprofits have been blocked, while in Vermont, the district court has allowed environmental organizations to join the defense of the statutes in two cases. Southern District of New York Splits the Cases On September 8, Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil ordered transfer of the Chamber of Commerce’s suit - joined by the American Petroleum Institute, the National Mining Association, and the Business Council of New York State - to the Northern District. The court found the case “substantially similar” to West Virginia v. James, the coalition suit brought by 22 states and four industry groups, and concluded that efficiency and consistency favored transfer under both 28 U.S.C. 1404(a) and the first-filed rule. Reprinted courtesy of Amanda G. Halter, Pillsbury, Ashleigh Myers, Pillsbury and Jillian Marullo, Pillsbury Ms. Halter may be contacted at amanda.halter@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Myers may be contacted at ashleigh.myers@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Marullo may be contacted at jillian.marullo@pillsburylaw.com Read the full story...

ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES