ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

50 State Matrices | 2026 Edition

March 03, 2026 — Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
GRSM’s 50 State Legal Matrices provide a comprehensive, state-by-state snapshot of statutory law across all 50 U.S. states. Spanning critical areas such as indemnification, contractor licensing, labor standards, statute of limitations, and more, this resource enables businesses and counsel to quickly identify key legal requirements and variations across jurisdictions. Designed as a practical starting point rather than definitive legal advice, the Matrices help multi-state operators and attorneys navigate the complex patchwork of laws that can vary dramatically from one state to another. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

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Bad Faith Claim Dismissed as Insurer’s Actions Found Reasonable

December 08, 2025 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The insured’s bad faith claims failed as the court found that the insurer’s handling of the claim was reasonable. Terrazas v. State Farm Lloyds, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 201925 (W.D. Tex. Oct. 20. 2025). Plaintiff filed a claim with State Farm when her home suffered hail damage. Claims Specialist Denice Gomez was assigned to inspect, but she was unable to access the roof. She inspected the interior of the home and found water damage and observed hail damage on the garage doors. Ms. Gomez retained SeekNow to complete the roof inspection. 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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US Energy Dept. Withdraws Federal ‘Zero-Emissions Building’ Definition

December 22, 2025 — Bryan Gottlieb - Engineering News-Record
The U.S. Dept. of Energy has withdrawn the Biden-era federal definition of a “zero-emissions building,” marking another step in the Trump administration’s rollback of climate-focused initiatives and creating uncertainty for states, cities and owners that had informally used the guidance in project planning. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Bryan Gottlieb, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Gottlieb may be contacted at gottliebb@enr.com

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Successful KF Defense Results in Dismissal with Prejudice

January 13, 2026 — Elliott Wright & William "Pat" Durland - Kahana Feld
Kahana Feld Partner Elliott Wright and Senior Counsel William “Pat” Durland secured a major victory for their client with a complete dismissal of all claims by establishing that the Plaintiff failed to satisfy the Texas Tort Claims Act’s jurisdictional prerequisites through our Plea to the Jurisdiction. Our Plea to the Jurisdiction demonstrated that governmental immunity applies unless a Plaintiff can prove a clear and unambiguous statutory waiver, and that the Plaintiff bears the burden of pleading and proving such a waiver. In this case, we showed that the Plaintiff provided no timely statutory notice as required by §101.101 of the TTCA and the City Charter’s six-month notice requirement, making jurisdiction impossible to invoke. Without proper notice—formal or actual—the court has no power to hear the case, and the defect cannot be cured by amendment.  Reprinted courtesy of Elliott Wright, Kahana Feld and William "Pat" Durland, Kahana Feld Mr. Wright may be contacted at ewright@kahanafeld.com Mr. Durland may be contacted at wdurland@kahanafeld.com Read the full story...

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Microscopic Soot, Major Win: Policyholder Coverage Expands

January 06, 2026 — Scott P. DeVries & Natalie Reed - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
In a recent opinion, the 8th Circuit rejected an insurer’s attempt to expand insurer victories in a COVID-19 context to other more traditional claims of property damage. Reaffirming long standing principles, the court held soot and water damage associated with a fire constituted “direct physical loss or damage” under a commercial property insurance policy. The policyholder, Maxus Metropolitan, sued their insurer, Travelers, which had refused to reimburse Maxus for remediation costs associated with a fire at their building. The dispute arose after one of six buildings in a complex owned by Maxus caught fire. Travelers covered part of the damage for the building that caught fire. However, seven months after the fire, Maxus learned of soot and water damage throughout the other five buildings, some of which were under construction and some that had residents. The commercial property policy Travelers issued to Maxus covered up to $35 million in “direct physical loss…or damage.” Travelers refused to reimburse for the remediation and in response Maxus sued Travelers for breach of contract and vexatious refusal to pay in Missouri. Reprinted courtesy of Scott P. DeVries, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP and Natalie Reed, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Mr. DeVries may be contacted at sdevries@hunton.com Ms. Reed may be contacted at nreed@hunton.com Read the full story...

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AI Adoption in Construction: A UK Practitioner’s View

April 20, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
I recently talked with Chris Brady, an AI adoption consultant based in Birmingham, UK, who has spent 18 years working in construction. Two years ago, he began integrating AI into his work with contractors and SMEs, initially as an add-on service, and it has since become his main business. Chris now runs Metrix, an AI consultancy focused on UK construction companies, alongside two other ventures: Trade Upskill, an education platform for construction professionals, and ctrldash.ai, a compliance-automation SaaS for construction SMEs, both of which are soon to launch. What struck me most in our conversation was how grounded his approach is, built on years of direct industry experience rather than arriving from outside with a technology solution looking for a problem. 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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What Startup Funding Reveals About the Future of Construction Technology

December 02, 2025 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
If the seeds of tomorrow’s construction technology are sown today, what does the future look like? Nymbl Ventures’ Q3 2025 ConTech Market Report reveals interesting data on the ConTech scene. A Growth Curve First of all, Construction Tech (“ConTech”) is performing well compared to other built environment technologies. According to Nymbl, VC investment in the built environment increased by around 27% year-over-year through Q3 2025, with the ConTech category leading the way. ConTech investments in the first three quarters totaled about $3.7 billion, more than twice the amount during the same period in 2024. Later-stage (post-Series A) deals accounted for 80% of funding in the third quarter. This suggests the market is moving from early experimentation to scaling and validating technologies in construction. 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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On Checks and Balances

March 03, 2026 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
It’s called “checks and balances” for a reason. And, generally, it works well so long as there are clear boundaries between the “co-equal” branches of government. In Associated General Contractors of California, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations, 108 Cal.App.5th 243 (2025), the 3rd District Court of Appeals upheld a set of regulations issued by the California Apprenticeship Council that contradicted an earlier 2015 ruling of the Court of Appeals. The Associated General Contractors of California Case At issue in the case was California’s Prevailing Wage Law which requires public works contractors to hire a certain ratio of apprentices. The purpose of the apprenticeship requirements is to maintain the pipeline of skilled tradespeople on taxpayer-funded projects. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

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