ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Additional Insured’s Claim for a Defense Is Dismissed

December 22, 2025 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court dismissed the additional insured’s complaint seeking a defense against a personal injury case. Piece Mgmt., Inc. v. Atlantic Casualty Ins. Co., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205589 (S.D. N. Y. Oct. 18, 2025). The underlying plaintiff, Mustafaa Dais alleged that he was injured when a glass door collapsed onto him as he exited BJ’s Restaurant. Dais sued BJ’s seeking damages for his injuries. He later amended his complaint to add Piece Management, Inc. the property’s management company, and Narway, Inc., the company hired to install the glass door. Under the subcontract between Piece and Narwy, Narway was required to maintain a general liability policy and to add Piece as an additional insured. Narway obtained the required policy from Atlantic Casualty Insurance Company. 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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New LA Home Designs, Reimagined By Fire

January 13, 2026 — Patrick Sisson - Bloomberg
One year after wildfires tore through neighborhoods in Los Angeles County, killing at least 31 people and destroying more than 10,000 buildings, architects and developers are rethinking what home looks like in LA, and how resilient residential architecture evolves. Recovery from the costly disaster is a long way away. So far, hundreds of new homes have been submitted for permitting, but it’s a process shaping out to be an uneven one, based on damage, insurance and wealth. Affected homeowners are grappling with the details of fire-resilient construction and landscaping techniques, along with some more fundamental questions about what their communities should look like. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Patrick Sisson, Bloomberg

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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (3/18/25) – Data Center Frenzy, China’s Expanding REIT Market and Tariff-Affected Construction Costs

March 31, 2026 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, relistings reached highest total in a decade, Florida State Legislature passes bill to increase the state’s housing supply, data center construction adapts to changes and more!

• The data center construction frenzy and a new, potentially larger highway bill were top of mind for builders during the latest round of contractor earnings calls and financial reports. (Joe Bousquin, Construction Dive)
• Tariffs and associated policy uncertainty have increased construction costs and delayed leasing and investment choices. (J.P. Morgan)
• Relistings hit the highest January figure since Redfin began tracking this metric a decade ago. (Diana Olick, CNBC).

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

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Lost in Translation: AEC Tech’s Missing Role

May 12, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
I once visited a construction site where the contractor’s headquarters had commissioned a tech company to build an on-site quality-inspection application. The developer had admitted to the site engineer that they had never set foot on a construction site before. The engineer showed me what he was actually using: his own phone camera and an Excel sheet. The new app did not map to how work actually happened on site. This is not an isolated story. The vendor builds something technically coherent but operationally disconnected. The client, somewhere up the chain, had fallen in love with the idea of the solution before anyone had built an honest business case for it. The result is a tool that gets demonstrated at a board meeting but isn’t used in the field. 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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Reminder: FOLLOW Your Well Drafted Contract Provisions

February 17, 2026 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
I have early and very often stated that your contract is the basis for everything relating to your construction project. Everything from “no damages for delay” clauses to attorney fees to indemnity are found in those documents. A well drafted construction contract sets the expectations for the project clearly and, aside from just making it easier on everyone for a successful project, will ease things should there be any dispute later. However, all of the great drafting and pre-construction negotiation in the world won’t do you a bit of good if you don’t follow those provisions. I can’t count the number of times that a contractor or subcontractor has read and even understood the construction documents but then put the contract in the drawer and didn’t look at it again. Your experienced construction attorney, while helpful at the drafting and negotiation stages and beyond, cannot help do the work. Your lawyer can help you negotiate and highlight the notice provisions of the contract but cannot provide that notice to the Owner or General Contractor when you have a claim. In short, the best contract in the world is only as good as those that are following it. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

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

December 30, 2025 — William L. Porter - Porter Law Group
This is the third article in a series of four articles discussing how to properly fill out the four California construction releases described in California Civil Code 8132 – 8138. Let me start by noting that in addition to practicing construction law for more than 35 years, I chaired the committee of California construction attorneys who revised those sections of the California Civil Code dealing with this release form and many other construction forms as part of Senate Bill 189 in 2010. I also wrote the first version of this release form and made it free to the public well before the new law took effect in 2012. With this background, let me note a few things about the Conditional Waiver and Release on Final Payment form to help you avoid mistakes that might prevent you from achieving the intended effect of the form or releasing claim rights to a greater extent than you intend. At the end of this article is a copy of the form itself which includes numbers coinciding with the instructions I will give below. A live electronically fillable version of the form is available on our firm’s website (www.porterlaw.com) under the “Forms” section. It is free and you can fill it out on your screen before printing it out and signing it. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of William L. Porter, Porter Law Group
Mr. Porter may be contacted at bporter@porterlaw.com

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Fort Lauderdale Associate Secures Summary Judgment in Rare Premises Liability Win

February 23, 2026 — Lewis Brisbois Newsroom
Fort Lauderdale associate Kyle Hollander recently secured a summary judgment victory for his client, Winn-Dixie, in a contested premises liability case. This was a hotly disputed liability case of water on the floor near an ice cooler with surveillance footage of a customer constantly bringing bags of ice to and from the cooler to the register. The plaintiff unknowingly stepped into the area of dripped melted ice and fell. Kyle successfully argued based on the plaintiff’s own deposition testimony and the surveillance footage that Winn-Dixie didn’t have the requisite actual notice. Additionally, Kyle argued that the brief duration the condition remained on the floor was legally insufficient to establish constructive notice under Florida law. The Court agreed, finding that the evidence would not survive a directed verdict and granting summary judgment in favor of the defense. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

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If You Get ‘Reported to the Board’ for Your Professional License (Law Note)

January 21, 2026 — Melissa Dewey Brumback - Construction Law in North Carolina
The NC Board of Architecture and the NC Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (as well as other Boards, including the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors) have grievance procedures in which anyone – client or not—can fil
English v. RKK. . . The Saga Continues

White and Williams LLP is Proud to Host the 20th Anniversary Virginia Barton Wallace Award and Reception

#12 CDJ Topic: Am. Home Assur. Co. v. SMG Stone Co., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75910 (N. D. Cal. June 11, 2015)

Do Municipal Gas Bans Slow the Clean Hydrogen Transition in Real Estate?

California Cracking down on Phony Qualifiers

General Contractor Intervening to Compel Arbitration Per the Subcontract

The G2G Year in Review: 2020

Housing-Related Spending Made Up Significan
Happenings in and around the West Coast Casualty Seminar

In Kansas City, a First-Ever Stadium Designed for Women’s Sports Takes the Field

Intricacies of Business Interruption Claim Considered

Caltrans Hiring of Inexperienced Chinese Builder for Bay Bridge Expansion Questioned

Partner John Toohey is Nominated for West Coast Casualty’s Jerrold S. Oliver Award of Excellence!

Construction Firm Sues Town over Claims of Building Code Violations

Traub Lieberman Attorneys Recognized as 2021 New York – Metro Super Lawyers®

Hawaii Court of Appeals Remands Bad Faith Claim Against Title Insurer

Colorado Supreme Court Rules that Developers Retain Perpetual Control over Construction Defect Covenants

California Ranks As Leading State for Green Building in 2022

Homeowner Survives Motion to Dismiss Depreciation Claims

Building Industry Association of Southern California Announces 2025 Legends Nominees

Eighth Circuit Affirms Judgment for Bad Faith after Insured's Home Destroyed by Fire

Reasonableness of Liquidated Damages Determined at Time of Contract (or, You Can’t Look Back Again)

Top Five Legal Mistakes in Construction

When Delays Cost More Than Time: Understanding Consequential Damages

Miller Act Claim for Unsigned Change Orders

Chambers USA 2021 Ranks White and Williams as a Leading Law Firm

Prefatory Contract Language Cannot Be Used to Create an Ambiguity with Operative Provisions

Florida Courts Inundated by Wave of New Lawsuits as Sweeping Tort Reform Appears Imminent

School District Settles Construction Lawsuit

A Word to the Wise: The AIA Revised Contract Documents Could Lead to New and Unanticipated Risks - Part II

IoT: Take Guessing Out of the Concrete Drying Process

Traub Lieberman Partner Eric D. Suben Obtains Federal Second Circuit Affirmance of Summary Judgment in Insurer’s Favor

What ENR.com Construction News Gained the Most Views

Cold Weather Causes Power Blackouts, Disruptions on Jobsites

A New Tariffs Twist: Aggressive Enforcement of False Claims Act Violations Could Potentially Trip Up Construction Companies

California Levies $1 Billion Assessment on Insurers for LA Fires

Know your Obligations: Colorado’s Statutory Expansions of the Implied Warranty of Habitability Are Now in Effect

140 Days Until The California Consumer Privacy Act Becomes Law - Why Aren't More Businesses Complying?

Veolia Agrees to $25M Settlement in Flint Water Crisis Case

Wendel Rosen’s Construction Practice Group Welcomes Quinlan Tom

Florida Lawmakers Fail to Reach Agreement on Condominium Safety Bill

$31.5M Settlement Reached in Contract Dispute between Judlau and the Illinois Tollway

Manhattan Condo Resale Prices Reach Record High

Mortgage Whistleblower Stands Alone as U.S. Won’t Join Lawsuit

Things You Didn't Know About Your Homeowners Policy

Save A Legal Fee? Sometimes You Better Talk With Your Construction Attorney

Construction Defects and Warranties in Maryland

Hawaii Supreme Court Finds Climate Change Lawsuit Barred by “Pollution Exclusion”

Court Holds That Parent Corporation Lacks Standing to Sue Subsidiary’s Insurers for Declaratory Relief

Stay of Coverage Case Appropriate While Court Determines Arbitrability of Dispute

White and Williams Elects Four Lawyers to Partnership, Promotes Six Associates to Counsel

Town Concerned Over Sinkhole at Condo Complex

Apartment Projects Fuel 13% Jump in U.S. Housing Starts

Los Angeles Construction Sites May Be on Fault Lines

Randy Okland Honored as 2019 Intermountain Legacy Award Winner

Salt Lake City Turns Winter Olympic Bid Into Statewide Bond Boom

Understanding Common Risk-Shifting Provisions in Construction Contracts

When Business is Personal: Negligent and Intentional Interference Claims