ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Insurer Dispenses with Bad Faith Claim on Summary Judgment

June 22, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court granted the insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment because the insured failed to present evidence that the insurer failed to conduct a reasonable investigation. PSY Burger, LLC v. State Farm General Insurance Company, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66991(C.D. Cal. March 20, 2026). The insured’s commercial property suffered heavy damage from tropical storm Hilary. State Farm denied coverage to repair the damage. The insured sued State Farm alleging breach of contract and bad faith due to an inadequate investigation. Apparently, the insured did not retain an expert to opine on claims handling. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

---

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

---

Modern Building-Sundt $17M Claim Is Stranded by Hospital Bankruptcy

April 27, 2026 — Richard Korman - Engineering News-Record
A $16.9-million claim for work on a hospital addition by a joint venture of contractors Modern Building Co. and Sundt Construction is stuck and delayed indefinitely following the California hospital's December bankruptcy filing. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Richard Korman, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Korman may be contacted at kormanr@enr.com

---

Daily Journal Publishes Article by Brenda Radmacher on Proposed Overhaul of California Construction Defect Law

June 29, 2026 — Brenda Radmacher - The Construction Seyt
Daily Journal (California) featured an article by Construction Law partner Brenda Radmacher, “A new path for construction defects in California.” The piece, published on June 15, 2026, examines Assembly Bill 1903 and its potential to significantly reshape California’s construction defect framework, particularly for common interest properties. The article highlights how AB 1903 would overhaul the state’s current right-to-repair system by mandating completion of prelitigation procedures, raising requirements for defect claims, strengthening developers’/builders’ rights to repair, and introducing a voluntary “certified building” program. The legislation aims to rebalance competing interests by reducing litigation-driven costs while preserving protections for homeowners. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Brenda Radmacher, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Ms. Radmacher may be contacted at bradmacher@seyfarth.com

---

Global Insights Center: Monthly Newsletter

June 15, 2026 — Global Insights Center Staff - The Hartford
May in Review Last month, inflation moved higher, with Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rising to 3.8% year over year, up from 3.3% the prior month. The increase was driven primarily by energy prices, particularly gasoline, reflecting ongoing disruptions tied to the Middle East conflict. Labor market data were broadly stable. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3%, wage growth increased modestly to 3.6%, while job growth continued to be geographically concentrated in the Southern states, particularly cities in Texas. On an occupational basis, healthcare once again led job gains, especially in home health services, a trend we have consistently highlighted. Business formations increased during the month, with notable strength in e commerce and digital services firms. Manufacturing activity also improved, particularly in semiconductors, IT equipment, and natural gas–related energy infrastructure. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Global Insights Center Staff, The Hartford

---

The Who/What/How of Sealing Plans for Architects and Engineers (Law Note)

March 03, 2026 — Melissa Dewey Brumback - Construction Law in North Carolina
The proper use of professional seals in North Carolina is critical. Failure to follow the prescribed requirements can subject you or your Firm to a Board sanction. Did you know that the NC Board of Architecture and the NC Engineering Board have jointly prepared a fairly straightforward document that can tell you exactly what you need to know about sealing of plans? That document, the “Seal Brochure” (pdf) is available for download. Every state’s regulations are a little different (thank you Federalism!) so it is worth reviewing with your staff at regular intervals, especially if you do work across state lines. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Melissa Dewey Brumback, Ragsdale Liggett PLLC
Ms. Brumback may be contacted at mbrumback@rl-law.com

---

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

---

Insurer Cannot Dispose of Water Leak or Bad Faith Claims on Motion for Summary Judgment

July 20, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The insurer’s motion for summary judgment seeking to eliminate the insured’s claims for damage from a water leak, bad faith and punitive damages failed. Nargizyan v, State Farm General Ins. Co., 2026 Cal App. LEXIS 302 (Cal. Ct. App. April 15, 2026). The insured noticed tiles on his kitchen floor were warmer than usual. He found water dripping from the top of the crawl space under the house. He noticed water was “dripping in different places” but not pouring like a faucet. “There were too many places to count where water was dripping and there was water all over the place.” Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

---