Potential Gap in Workers Compensation Immunity Statutory Framework
June 02, 2026 —
David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal UpdatesWorkers compensation insurance is important. As an owner, you want to ensure the contractors you hire have workers compensation insurance. Assuming you hire a contractor that is statutorily exempt from workers compensation, you want to make sure, no exception, that any subcontractor that is hired has workers compensation insurance. (Regardless, you always want subcontractors to have workers compensation insurance.). In construction, the prime contractor serves as the “
statutory employer” for purposes of workers compensation insurance.
With workers compensation comes
workers compensation immunity.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
David Adelstein, Kirwin NorrisMr. Adelstein may be contacted at
dma@kirwinnorris.com
New Law Prompts ABC Minnesota/North Dakota to Design New Telecommunications Safety Training Program
June 29, 2026 —
Grace Calengor - Construction ExecutiveOn the first day of the year, a
Minnesota law requiring installers of underground telecommunication infrastructure broadband, fiber or phone lines (when projects utilize directional drilling, and/or work is being conducted within 10 feet of existing utilities) to undergo a 40-hour certification went into effect.
Originally passed in mid-2024 and proposed to go into effect in July 2025, the law’s requirements were postponed until January 2026, giving
ABC Minnesota/North Dakota—in partnership with
NCCER and the
Minnesota Cable Communications Association—time to roll out their
Safety Qualified Underground Telecommunications Installer training program, which would ensure the workforce of their contractor members were certified.
Reprinted courtesy of
Grace Calengor, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
Read the full story...
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...
Congratulations to Reno Partner Karen Baytosh for Securing a Complete Dismissal via a Motion for Summary Judgment
July 13, 2026 —
Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLPBWB&O is proud to announce that Reno Partner Karen Baytosh received a significant victory on behalf of the firm’s Developer Client in a high-exposure personal injury matter.
Plaintiff, a teenager, was struck by an intoxicated driver while walking her dog at night, sustaining catastrophic injuries requiring 24-hour critical care for the remainder of her life. Plaintiff’s Guardian brought suit against the drunk driver and her husband, the City, and BWB&O’s Developer Clients, alleging that the City and Developers failed to improve street lighting and install a sidewalk that would have prevented the accident.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Damage from Frozen Pipes Excluded from Coverage
March 31, 2026 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiApplying Texas law, the federal district court found there was no coverage for damage to the insured’s commercial building due to the bursting of frozen pipes. Barona v. State Farm Lloyds, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 257379 (S.D. Texas Dec. 12, 2025).
Freezing weather froze Barona’s plumbing fixtures, causing significant water damage to the commercial property when the plumbing eventually expanded and burst. State Farm sent an inspector. During the inspection, Barona stated that he turned off the heat to his building but did not shut off the water supply or drain the pipes. State Farm denied covered based on the policy’s exclusion for frozen plumbing.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Why Construction Tendering Needs Specialized Intelligence
March 31, 2026 —
Aarni Heiskanen - AEC BusinessThe construction industry has never lacked data; it lacks usable intelligence at the moments that matter most. In the high-stakes phases of tendering and pre-construction, the industry still relies on manual “Control-F” searches through thousands of pages of unstructured documents.
I recently spoke with
Herman Smith, a civil engineer and former Chief Digital Officer at Multiconsult, who left the corporate world to solve this specific bottleneck. His startup,
Volve, isn’t just another AI wrapper; it is a specialized “drill” designed to penetrate the complexity of construction documentation.
The Paradox of Digitalization without a Productivity Boost
For years, the AEC industry has faced a frustrating paradox: we have more digital tools than ever, yet productivity has not improved. Herman observed this from the inside, managing hundreds of unique software licenses while seeing companies struggle to adapt to new workflows.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Aarni Heiskanen, AEC BusinessMr. Heiskanen may be contacted at
aec-business@aepartners.fi
LA Scores Major Victory in a High-Exposure Premises Liability Action
July 06, 2026 —
Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLPOur firm is proud to announce a decisive defense victory obtained by Partner
Daniel Crespo and Associate
Lauren Landau for our client in a high-exposure premises liability action arising from a 2022 incident at an active school construction site in Perris, California. On March 10, 2026, the Riverside County Superior Court granted Summary Judgment in full for our client, dismissing all claims brought by Plaintiff, who alleged she tripped and fell over a curb while picking up her daughter from school and sustained ankle and wrist injuries as a result.
Through meticulous preparation and the strategic use of construction plans, contractual documents, and onsite surveillance video evidence, our team demonstrated that our client had no ownership, possession, or control over the portion of the existing sidewalk where the incident occurred, with construction plans unambiguously designating the area as pre-existing concrete outside our client’s scope of work, and the Construction Services Agreement expressly reserving control over all existing site improvements to the school district.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Balancing the Right to Repair With Evidence Preservation in Construction Defect Litigation
April 20, 2026 —
Benton Wheatley & Anna Spicer - Construction ExecutiveEvery 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
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