ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

New Survey Reveals Overwhelmingly Optimistic Results on the Use of AI in Construction

May 14, 2026 — Construction Executive
On December 5, 2025, CMiC and Dodge released a survey asking over 6,000 companies across various sectors of the construction industry their stance on artificial intelligence—whether they use it or not; whether they like it or not; whether they have or are planning to implement it or not; and so on. Considering its reputation for skepticism and reluctance when it comes to adopting new forms of technology, the construction industry pleasantly surprised CMiC and Dodge with its answers to these questions, with 87% of contractors believing AI will have a meaningful impact on construction. “The research indicates the construction industry is nearing a tipping point for AI adoption,” says Steve Jones, senior director of industry insights at Dodge Construction Network, who sat down with Construction Executive to delve further into the survey questions and answers and what the industry’s current position on them means for AI’s future role in construction. Reprinted courtesy of Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

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Trend Continues Where Unlicensed Contractors Have No Recourse

July 13, 2026 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
There’s been a recent trend in Florida case law that has figuratively “killed” unlicensed contractors. Here’s another one. The moral to this trend and case is simple: make sure you have the proper licenses prior to serving as a contractor under Florida law. Trying to be cute, as seemed to be the situation in this case with a creative argument, is not an argument that will carry the day and your resources will be devoted to being creative versus the ultimate merits of the dispute. In Ramindesign, LLC v. Skarzynski, 2026 WL 1649571 (S.D.Fla. 2026) an owner of real property hired a company to design and construct a spec home on the property. The company and its owner were NOT licensed contractors. The contract stated the company was serving as a “spec developer” and referred to it as the contractor throughout the contract. Other than this, the contract was set up as a cost plus a fee. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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USDOT’s DBE Interim Final Rule: How It Affects Current and Out-to-Bid DOT and Airport Projects

June 15, 2026 — Zachary F. Jacobson - The Construction Seyt
In our April 16, 2026 post, we discussed the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Interim Final Rule (IFR) concerning Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) certification, specifically as it concerns transportation and airport projects in California. This post addresses a broader question: What does the IFR mean for current and out-to-bid DOT projects operating under pre-existing DBE goals? The answer is that the IFR did more than change who qualifies as a DBE. It also changed how federally funded transportation and airport projects must be handled during the re-evaluation period. This affects active contracts, pending procurements, airport projects, design-build teams, and anyone relying on old assumptions about DBE goals and counting of DBE and ACDBE credit. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Zachary F. Jacobson, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Mr. Jacobson may be contacted at zjacobson@seyfarth.com

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Georgia HB 676: A Bill Property Owners and Contractors Should Watch

March 24, 2026 — Robert Lafayette - The Construction Seyt
Property owners, contractors, and others dealing with mechanics and materialmen’s liens in Georgia should keep an eye on HB 676, which is currently making its way through the Georgia General Assembly. The bill aims to curb misuse of the lien process and provide additional remedies to those challenging a frivolous lien filing. What HB 676 Would Do HB 676 would add a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 44-14-366.6) to the mechanics and materialmen’s lien statutes. If a lien is filed “without substantial justification or that is not made in good faith or that is made with malice or a wrongful purpose,” this new Code section would impose a fine of $1,500 per lien on the lien claimant, in addition to any attorney’s fees or court costs incurred by the party challenging the lien. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Robert Lafayette, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Mr. Lafayette may be contacted at rlafayette@seyfarth.com

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Data Center Construction and the AEC Partner of the Future

April 14, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
During my involvement in designing mobile phone production facilities, the speed of design and construction was critical. Any delay could directly translate into lost revenue. That same logic now applies to data centers, though the stakes are much higher. Instead of optimizing physical production lines, we are constructing infrastructure for digital production. The global data center capacity is expected to nearly double by 2030, and with this level of demand, the traditional project-by-project delivery model begins to show its limitations. Data centers are no longer isolated projects in the traditional sense. They are evolving into repeatable, scalable production systems, making them ideal environments for AEC process and business model innovation. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

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Location, Location, Location — But Which One? The Few Words in Your Construction Contract that Pick Where You Fight

June 29, 2026 — Brad Sands - ConsensusDocs
Most professionals know the old real estate line: location, location, location. It turns out to be just as true for construction contracts as it is for property. Consider a recent case involving a project owner that hired two design firms for a project. When issues arose during construction, the owner sued the design firms in state court in Brazoria County, Texas, pursuant to the forum selection clause in the parties’ contracts. The defendants then removed the case to the federal district court in Galveston, a courthouse in a different county. But the owner wanted the case back in Brazoria County state court. Whether it got its wish came down to two words in the contract: “situated in.” This article is about words like those. A construction contract’s forum selection clause names the place for the fight nobody plans to have, and where that fight happens can shape how it goes. This article explains why the wording in your forum selection clause deserves careful reading before you sign a construction contract. It is not a deep dive into the mechanics of federal removal jurisdiction, and it is not an academic comparison of the terms “forum” and “venue.” Instead, it is a practical look at how courts actually read these clauses, so the location of a future fight is the one you intended. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Brad Sands, Jones Walker, LLP
Mr. Sands may be contacted at bsands@joneswalker.com

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Seventh Circuit, With an Assist From the Illinois Supreme Court, Finds That “Pollution Exclusion” Bars Coverage For Emissions Allowed Under Regulatory Permit

April 20, 2026 — Jason Taylor - Traub Lieberman Insurance Law Blog
In Griffith Foods Int’l Inc. v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA, 24-1217 & 24-1223 (7th Cir. Mar. 13, 2026), the Seventh Circuit addressed the meaning and scope of a pollution exclusion in a standard-form commercial general liability insurance policy for underlying injuries caused by ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions. The insurance dispute arose out of underlying tort litigation involving bodily injury claims, including cancer, allegedly caused by emissions of ethylene oxide over a 35-year period from 1984 through 2019 by Griffith Foods International and later Sterigenics U.S. The pollution exclusion at issue generally barred coverage for “bodily injury” arising out of the discharge, dispersal, release or escape of smoke, vapors, soot, fumes, acids, alkalis, toxic chemicals, or other irritants, contaminants or pollutants. Interpreting similar exclusions, the Illinois Supreme Court has previously held that the standard CGL pollution exclusion bars coverage for bodily injuries caused by traditional environmental pollution (essentially industrial emissions of pollutants), but not by more commonplace emissions (such as carbon monoxide from a residential furnace or excess chlorine in a backyard swimming pool). See American States Insurance Co. v. Koloms, 177 Ill. 2d 473 (Ill. 1997). In Griffith Foods, the District Court initially concluded that the pollution exclusion did not apply because the companies emitted EtO pursuant to a permit issued by the IEPA. The District Court reached this latter conclusion by applying Erie Insurance Exchange v. Imp
Updates to AIA Contract Applications

AAA Revises its Construction Industry Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures

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HOA Foreclosure Excess Sale Proceeds Go to Owner

Construction Defect Lawsuits Hinted for Dublin, California

Federal Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Blocking State's Enforcement of New Law Banning Mandatory Employee Arbitration Agreements

ACI 318-25 Structural Concrete Code Update Adds Sustainability Guide, Performance-based Wind Design

California Supreme Court Addresses “Good Faith” Construction Disputes Under Prompt Payment Laws

Drug Company Provides Cure for Development Woes

It Ain’t Over Till it’s Over. Why Project Completion in California Isn’t as Straightforward as You Think


Defend Trade Secret Act of 2016–-Federalizing Trade Secret Law

Factor the Factor in Factoring

Contractors May be Entitled to Both Prompt Payment Act Relief and Prejudgment Interest for a Cumulative 24%!

Statute of Limitations Bars Lender’s Subsequent Action to Quiet Title Against Junior Lienholder Mistakenly Omitted from Initial Judicial Foreclosure Action

If You Can’t Dazzle Em’ With Brilliance, Baffle Em’ With BS: Apprentices on Public Works Projects

Carrier Has Duty to Defend Claim for Active Malfunction of Product

UConn’s Law-School Library Construction Case Settled for Millions

Appeals Court Rules that CGL Policy Doesn’t Cover Subcontractors’ Faulty Work

Landlords Beware: Subordination Agreements

State And Local Bid Protests: Sunk Costs and the Meaning of a “Win”

Reminder: Quantum Meruit and Breach of Construction Contract Don’t Mix

The NAR asks FAA to Amend their Drone Rules for Real Estate Use

Presenting a “Total Time” Delay Claim Is Not Sufficient

Despite Health Concerns, Judge Reaffirms Sentence for Disbarred Las Vegas Attorney

Fort Lauderdale Associate Secures Summary Judgment in Rare Premises Liability Win

Hawaii Construction Defect Law Increased Confusion

Gordon & Rees Ranked #4 of Top 50 Construction Law Firms in the Nation by Construction Executive Magazine

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (8/14/24) – Commercial Real Estate AI, Hotel Pipeline Growth, and Housing Market Improvements

Kentucky Court Upholds Arbitration Award, Denies Appeal

There is No Claims File Privilege in Florida, Despite What Insurers Want You to Think

Not to Miss at This Year’s Archtober Festival

Haight Attorneys Selected to 2018 Southern California Rising Stars List

MapLab: Why More Americans Are Moving Toward Wildfire

Locals Concerns over Taylor Swift’s Seawall Misdirected

Illinois Supreme Court Holds that Constructions Defects May Constitute “Property Damage” Caused By An “Occurrence” Under Standard CGL Policy, Overruling Prior Appellate Court Precedent

Consultant’s Corner: Why Should Construction Business Owners Care about Cyber Liability Insurance?

Some Work Cannot be Included in a Miller Act Claim

Trucks looking for Defects Create Social Media Frenzy

XL Group Pairs with America Contractor’s Insurance Group to Improve Quality of Construction

Contractor Turns Former Sears Into Interim High School Following Palisades Wildfires

Godfather Charged with Insurance Fraud

Grupo Mexico Spill Sparks Public Scrutiny of $150 Million Mop-Up

Puerto Rico Grid Restoration Plagued by Historic Problems, New Challenges

Even Toilets Aren’t Safe as Hackers Target Home Devices

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

Update Coverage for Construction Defect Claims in Colorado

Poor Record Keeping = Going to the Poor House (or, why project documentation matters)

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine Addresses Earth Movement Exclusion

Owner’s Obligation Giving Notice to Cure to Contractor and Analyzing Repair Protocol

Watch Your Step – Playing Golf on an Outdoor Course Necessarily Encompasses Risk of Encountering Irregularities in the Ground Surface

When Does it End?

Anatomy of a Construction Dispute- A Wrap Up

Do Not File a Miller Act Payment Bond Lawsuit After the One-Year Statute of Limitations

Hospital Inspection to Include Check for Construction Defects

Connecticut Supreme Court Finds Duty to Defend When Case Law is Uncertain

Monitoring Building Moisture with RFID – Interview with Jarmo Tuppurainen

Ambiguity Kills in Construction Contracting

White House Hopefuls Make Pitches to Construction Unions

Construction Law Firm Opens in D.C.

No Signature, No Problem: Texas Court Holds Contractual Subrogation Waiver Still Enforceable