ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

LA Scores Major Victory in a High-Exposure Premises Liability Action

July 06, 2026 — Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Our 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

---

AI Can Now Train the Soft Skills Construction Ignored

August 03, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
Most AEC professionals learn to work in teams and across teams through trial and error. There are, however, opportunities to better prepare for the real world with formal training. Until now, it has required human facilitators. Now, generative AI is emerging as a scalable alternative, which I’m also exploring. A Gap in Curricula When I studied architecture, most of the teamwork happened with co-students in the same department. However, one course focused on industrial projects where future architects and engineers collaborated on a simulated project. I’m not sure if a similar course is still in the curriculum, but it was certainly worthwhile and should have been much more extensive. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

---

Predict Risk, Not Incidents: A New Analytics Framework for Your Construction Safety Data

August 03, 2026 — Tabrez Zahoor - Construction Executive
Behind every “zero-incidents” company report, hidden hazards may already be accumulating—risks that could become serious injuries tomorrow. The question every executive should be asking is not, “Did anything go wrong last month?” It is: “Where is risk building on my projects right now?” Most construction organizations cannot answer that question. Not because the data does not exist—it does. Every active project generates daily inspection findings, labor records, near-miss reports and audit results. The problem is that standard safety systems collect this data and then report it in ways that make it operationally useless for prevention. They describe the past. They predict nothing. The predictive safety analytics framework (PSAF) is a practical, deployable system developed from years of applying data science to large-scale construction portfolio operations that takes the safety data construction organizations already collect and transforms it into a forward-looking risk signal. The result? A single weekly score that tells executives where risk is concentrating across their portfolio before anyone gets hurt. Reprinted courtesy of Tabrez Zahoor, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

---

Insurer Cannot Raise Issues on Appeal that Were Not Presented to the Trial Court

June 15, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The Florida Court of Appeals affirmed a judgment on a collapse claim for the insured, rejecting the insurer’s arguments that were not presented to the trial court. Homeowner’s Choice Prop. & Cas. Ins, Co. v. Oakes, 2026 Fl. App. LEXIS 2086 (Fl. Ct. App. March 18, 2026). The insured’s ceiling collapsed in the secondary home on the insured’s property. The claim was reported to the insurer, but coverage was denied after its investigation. The insured sued the insurer for breach of contract. Under the Additional Coverage provisions of the policy, collapse was covered if it was “abrupt.” An abrupt collapse was not covered, however, if exclusions for “Fungi, Wet or Dry Rot” and “faulty, inadequate or defective design, specifications, workmanship, repair, construction, renovation, remodeling, materials or maintenance” applied. The collapse provisions contained no language stating that the coverage granted in the provision was also subject to all the other exclusions in the policy. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

---

Snell & Wilmer’s San Diego Office Ranked #1 “Best Place to Work” by the San Diego Business Journal

September 01, 2026 — Snell & Wilmer
SAN DIEGO – Snell & Wilmer is proud to announce that its San Diego office has been named the #1 Best Place to Work in the Large Business category by the San Diego Business Journal as part of its 2026 Best Places to Work awards. The annual recognition honors outstanding employers across the San Diego region that are setting the standard for workplace culture and employee engagement. Rankings are based on confidential employee surveys conducted by Workforce Research Group, which evaluate organizations on leadership, corporate culture, communication, employee engagement, and other key workplace factors. “Being recognized as the #1 Best Place to Work in the Large Business category is an incredible honor because it reflects the experiences and feedback of our own team,” said Bardia Moayedi, managing partner of Snell & Wilmer’s San Diego office. “Our people are the foundation of everything we do, and this recognition speaks to the collaborative, inclusive, and supportive culture they have helped create. I am grateful to every member of our San Diego office for making this an exceptional place to build a career, serve our clients, and give back to our community.” Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Snell & Wilmer

---

Turning Expert Services into Products

July 20, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
A Finnish engineering, architecture, and project consulting company, AINS Group, recently opened an online store to purchase fixed-price services. The store presents specialist work in a product-like format, with fixed service names, defined scopes, and visible prices, such as a building history report, a zoning plan cost analysis, and a technical preliminary survey for a property transaction. Is this productization a smart move or a sign that expert services are being commoditized? Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

---

Voluntary Dismissal of an Indemnity Claim Does Not Make the Subcontractor a “Prevailing Party,” Washington Court of Appeals Holds

September 21, 2026 — Margarita Kutsin - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
In King County v. Walsh Construction Company II, LLC, No. 86503-0-I (Wash. Ct. App. Aug. 4, 2025), an unpublished decision from Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals, the Court affirmed the denial of a subcontractor’s request for prevailing-party attorney fees under an indemnity clause after the general contractor voluntarily dismissed its indemnity claims. Because the indemnity claim was no longer live and no determination of fault had occurred, the Court held that the trial court did not err in denying the request. ACS represented Walsh, the general contractor, in securing the denial of the fee request at the trial court that the Court of Appeals affirmed. A Pass-Through Indemnity Claim That Ended Before Fault Was Decided The dispute arose out of a public works contract under which King County hired Walsh Construction Company II, LLC (“Walsh”) to construct and install a conveyance pipeline. After the pipeline broke, King County sued Walsh for breach of contract and warranty, expressly identifying both Walsh and its subcontractor, Mears Group Inc., (“Mears”) as responsible. Walsh tendered defense and indemnity to Mears under the subcontract. Know What You’ve Built: An Interview with Timo Makkonen of Congrid

No Coverage for Sink Hole Loss

Condo Collapse Spurs Hometown House Member to Demand U.S. Rules

Contractor Wins in Arbitration Only to Lose Before the Superior Court on Section 7031 Claim

Evaluating Smart Home Technology: It’s About More Than the Bottom Line

Older Homes for Sale in California Now Come With Wildfire Warnings

Connecting IoT Data to BIM

Muir named Brown and Caldwell Eastern leader

Do Not Lose Your Mechanics Lien Right Through a Subordination Agreement

‘Revamp the Camps’ Cabins Displayed at the CA State Fair

The Biggest Thing Keeping Young Homebuyers out of the Market Isn't Student Debt

SCOTUS Opens Up Federal Courts to Land Ow
Nine Firm Members Recognized as Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

Contractor Pleads Guilty to Disadvantaged-Business Fraud

Perspectives from Pioneers: Kenneth C. Gibbs

White and Williams LLP Recognized on the List of Largest Law Firms in Greater Philadelphia

Aecmaster’s Digital Twin: A New Era for Building Design

Nevada Senate Minority Leader Confident about Construction Defect Bill

How AI Can Become a Design Adviser

Construction Picks Up Post-COVID and So Do Claims (and A Construction Lawyer Can Help)

Alexus Williams Receives Missouri Lawyers Media 2021 Women’s Justice Pro Bono Award

How to Properly Fill Out and Use the Conditional Waiver and Release on Progress Payment Form Used in California Construction

Avoid the Headache – Submit the Sworn Proof of Loss to Property Insurer

The Status of OSHA’s Impending Heat Stress Standard

BHA Has a Nice Swing

Illinois Legislature Passes Bill Allowing Punitive Damages In Most Wrongful Death Actions

HHMR: A Retrospective — Chapter One (2001–2025)

David M. McLain named Law Week Colorado’s 2015 Barrister’s Best Construction Defects Lawyer for Defendants

Intentionally Set Atlanta Interstate Fire Closes Artery Until June

Colorado Court of Appeals to Rule on Arbitrability of an HOA's Construction Defect Claims

Reversing Itself, Alabama Supreme Court Finds Construction Defect is An Occurrence

Construction Suit Ends with Just an Apology

Plaintiff’s Mere Presence in Area Where Asbestos is Present Insufficient to Establish Bystander Exposure

What is Toxic Mold Litigation?

Top 10 Insurance Cases of 2024

Statutes of Limitations May be the Colorado Contractors’ Friend

Hamptons Home Up for Foreclosure That May Set Record

Vinny Testaverde Alleges $5 Million Mansion Riddled with Defects

Contractor Wins in Arbitration Only to Lose Before the Superior Court on Section 7031 Claim

MGM Seeks to Demolish Harmon Towers

Motion to Dismiss Insureds' Counterclaim on the Basis of Prior Knowledge Denied

Congratulations to all of our 2023 Attorneys Named as Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

Insured's Complaint for Breach of Contract and Bad Faith Adequately Pleads Consequential Damages

Public Works Bid Protests – Who Is Responsible? Who Is Responsive?

Not so Fast! How Does Revoking Acceleration of a Note Impact the Statute of Limitations?

Randy Okland Honored as 2019 Intermountain Legacy Award Winner

The AVOID Act: A New Timeline for Liability in New York Construction Projects

Let the 90-Day Countdown Begin

An Expert’s Qualifications are Important

Late Filing Contractor Barred from Involving Subcontractors in Construction Defect Claim

Boston Team Obtains Complete Defense Verdict for Engineering Firm in Professional Liability Matter

What Buyers Want in a Green Home—and What They Don’t

Know Your Obligations Under Both the Prime Contract and Subcontract

No Second Chance: Colorado Court of Appeals Bars Indemnity Claim Under Doctrine of Claim Preclusion

Nationwide Immigrant Strike May Trigger Excusable Delay and Other Contract Provisions

Safety, Technology Combine to Change the Construction Conversation

COVID-19 Impacts on Subcontractor Default Insurance and Ripple Effects

OSHA Announces Expansion of “Severe Violator Enforcement Program”

Effective Strategies for Reinforcing Safety Into Evolving Design Standards

Get Construction Defects in Writing

Motion to Strike Insureds' Experts Denied, Claims under Fair Claims Settlement Act Survives Summary Judgment

'Time to Be Human': Paul Doherty Talks Tech and Architecture