ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Construction Robotics Works Where Variation Ends

August 11, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
BuiltWorlds published its 2026 Robotics Top 50 this summer, and the list is genuinely wide. Fifty solutions across nine categories, from 3D printing and prefabricated component manufacturing to earthmoving, demolition, material transport, layout, installation, inspection, and drilling. The honorees come from sixteen countries. It looks like robotics has finally spread across the whole project lifecycle. However, having vendors in nine categories does not mean that contractors are robotizing their work en masse. Zacua Ventures, in its 2026 construction robotics report, estimates that on-site robotics accounted for less than 0.03% of global construction spending in 2025. Zacua says: “That is not a failed market. It is a market at the beginning of an adoption S-curve”, while warning that its estimates rest on private vendor data and may be high if vendors overstate how widely their machines are deployed. 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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Project Labor Agreements: A New Bid Protest Forum Split

May 14, 2026 — Dirk D. Haire, David P.J. Timm and Michael J. Brewer - ConsensusDocs
Advertisements often include a disclaimer: “individual results may vary.” Similarly, lawyers are notorious for saying “it depends.” The mandatory Project Labor Agreement (“PLA”) regulations have recently placed into context this adage as it applies to federal contract bid protests, with very different results depending on which forum – the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) versus the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) – different contractors have selected to bring PLA bid protests. Over the last two years, over 30 protesters have successfully achieved removal of mandatory PLAs from large-scale federal construction contracts based on two landmark bid protest decisions issued by the COFC. Similar challenges to PLAs at the GAO, however, have not been successful in removing PLAs, highlighting an emerging trend that the COFC is often a more effective relief forum than GAO for government construction contractors. Reprinted courtesy of Dirk D. Haire, Burr & Forman LLP, David P.J. Timm, Burr & Forman LLP and Michael J. Brewer, Burr & Forman LLP Mr. Haire may be contacted at dhaire@burr.com Mr. Timm may be contacted at dtimm@burr.com Mr. Brewer may be contacted at mbrewer@burr.com Read the full story...

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Your AEC Firm Has a Memory Problem. Here Is How to Fix It

June 01, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
AEC companies trying to operationalize AI often find they lack the data foundation on which to build. There may be an abundance of data hidden in documents, but you can’t reliably use it for AI. The lack of data quality was a key topic discussed at the AI in AEC 2026 conference. During the event, I met many experts working to solve this problem, including Pavlina Nikolova, Egnyte‘s EMEA AEC Practice Lead. The chat and her presentation highlighted the challenges and ways to overcome them. 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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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

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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (7/15/26) – The World Cup’s Effect on Commercial Real Estate, Megadeals Lift CRE Sales and Algorithmic Pricing Lawsuits Continue

July 27, 2026 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, DOT earmarks $1.73B in BUILD grants, federal housing bill becomes law, data center surge cools off, and more!

• Data center planning cooled off month over month from “extraordinary levels” to start the summer, while other areas of construction finally picked up a little steam. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive)
• The U.S. Department of Transportation announced $1.73 billion in 2026 BUILD grants covering 127 projects across 50 states, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, Guam and Puerto Rico. (Joe Bousquin, Construction Dive)
• As algorithmic pricing lawsuits continue to play out around the country, more apartment owners and managers have settled. (Julie Strupp, Multifamily Dive)

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

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The Great Escape: Non-Invalidation Clauses and Property Damage Claims

October 20, 2026 — Abigail Smith & Kaarthiga Manimaran - SDV Fenchurch
At their core, non-invalidation clauses (“NICs”) recognise an important commercial reality: an insured cannot control everything that happens at its premises. In the event that an insured finds itself in breach of a condition or warranty owing to events that have increased the risk of damage to its property, but which were outside its authority, knowledge or beyond its control, a NIC may prevent the insurer from avoiding the claim. For that reason, they’re an important tool in an insured’s coverage arsenal. Although there is relatively little caselaw on NICs, their purpose was recognised in The Seashell of Lisson Grove Ltd v Aviva Insurance Ltd [2011] EWHC 1761 (Comm) (on which we wrote a previous article – The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: #26 The Good: The Seashell of Lisson Grove Ltd v Aviva) Reprinted courtesy of Abigail Smith, SDV Fenchurch and Kaarthiga Manimaran, SDV Fenchurch Ms. Smith may be contacted at abigail.smith@sdvfenchurch.uk Ms. Manimaran may be contacted at kaarthiga.manimaran@sdvfenchurch.uk Read the full story...

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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
Second Circuit Affirms Win for General Contractor on No Damages for Delay Provision

No Coverage for Negligent Misrepresentation without Allegations of “Bodily Injury” or “Property Damage”

Jury's Verdict for Loss Caused by Collapse Overturned

U.K. Developer Pledges Building Safety in Wake of Grenfell

Excess Must Defend After Primary Improperly Refuses to Do So

Insurer Has Duty to Defend Sub-Contractor

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Chambers USA 2022 Ranks White and Williams as a Leading Law Firm

Deductibles Limited to Number of Suits Filed Against Insured, Not Number of Actual Plaintiffs

Beyond the COI: The Importance of an Owner's or Facilities Manager's Downstream Insurance Review Program

Things You Didn't Know About Your Homeowners Policy

Documenting Contract Changes in Construction

Terminating Contracts for Convenience — “Just Because”

Fifth Circuit Finds Duty to Defend Construction Defect Case

Federal District Court Finds Coverage Barred Because of Lack of Allegations of Damage During the Policy Period and Because of Late Notice

Eastern District of Pennsylvania Clarifies Standard for Imposing Spoliation Sanctions

Design and Construction Defects Not a Breach of Contract

Eleventh Circuit Asks Georgia Supreme Court if Construction Defects Are Caused by an "Occurrence"

The Pandemic of Litigation Sure to Follow the CoronavirusGillotti v. Stewart (2017) 2017 WL 1488711 Rejects Liberty Mutual, Holding Once Again that the Right to Repair Act is the Exclusive Remedy for Construction Defect Claims

Chutes and Ladders...and Contracts.

Highest Building Levels in Six Years in Southeast Michigan

Professional Services Exclusion Bars Coverage After Carbon Monoxide Leak

Insured's Experts Excluded, But Insurer's Motion for Summary Judgment Denied

Coverage Rejected Under Owned Property and Alienated Property Exclusions

The Federal Freeze Playbook: Key Steps for Government Contractors Amid a Potential Federal Funding Freeze

The Potential (Second) Death of Project Labor Agreements

Manhattan Developer Wants Claims Dismissed in Breach of Contract Suit

Steel Makeover Under Way for Brooklyn's Squibb Footbridge

Woman Files Suit for Property Damages

California Imposes New Disabled Access Obligations on Commercial Property Owners

Government Claiming Contract Is Void Ab Initio by Contractor Knowingly Making False Statements

Designing, Constructing and Converting Data Centers and Crypto Mines

New York Court Holds That the “Lesser of Two” Doctrine Limits Recoverable Damages in Subrogation Actions

How to Defend Stucco Allegations

Living With a Millennial. Or Grandma.

Court Adopts Magistrate's Recommendation to Deny Insurer's Summary Judgment Motion in Collapse Case

Temecula Office Secures Approval for Development of 972-Acre Community on Behalf of Pulte Homes

Firm Announces Remediation of Defective Drywall

Over 70 Lewis Brisbois Attorneys Recognized in 4th Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America

Construction and Contract Issues Blamed for Problems at Anchorage Port

A Homeowner’s Guide to Recovering After the Palisades Fire

Hunton Andrews Kurth Associate Cary D. Steklof Selected to Florida Trend’s Legal Elite Up & Comers List for 2019

Hunton Insurance Lawyer, Jae Lynn Huckaba, Awarded Miami-Dade Bar Association Young Lawyer Section’s Rookie of the Year Award

Jason Feld Awarded Volunteer of the Year by Claims & Litigation Management Alliance

Florida Litigation Team Delivers Crushing Summary Judgment Victory for National Home Builder

Policyholders' Coverage Checklist in Times of Coronavirus

Sixth Circuit Rejects Claim for Reverse Bad Faith

Hydrogen Powers Its Way from Proof of Concept to Reality in Real Estate

Mediating is Eye Opening

Haight has been named a Metropolitan Los Angeles Tier 1 “Best Law Firm” in four practice areas and Tier 2 in one practice area by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” in 2020

Pennsylvania Court Finds that Two Possible Causes Can Prove a Product Malfunction Theory of Liability

Don’t Kick the Claim Until the End of the Project: Timely Give Notice and Preserve Your Claims on Construction Projects

No Duty to Defend Construction Defect Claims

‘I’m a Scapegoat,’ Says Former CEO of Dubai Construction Firm

The Unwavering Un-waivable Implied Warranty of Workmanship and Habitability in Arizona

Get Your Contracts Lean- Its Better than Dieting

Australia Warns of Multi-Billion Dollar Climate Disaster Costs

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules that Insurance Salesman had No Fiduciary Duty to Policyholders

Segal McCambridge Expands West Coast Presence with the Addition of 36 Attorneys from Chapman Glucksman to Los Angeles Office

Nine ACS Lawyers Recognized as Super Lawyers

Sixth Circuit Finds No Coverage for Property Damage Caused by Faulty Workmanship

No Duty to Defend Additional Insured for Construction Defects

What Should Business Owners Do If a Customer Won’t Pay

Quick Tip: Don’t Indemnify for Breach of Contract

Insurance Law Alert: California Supreme Court Limits Advertising Injury Coverage for Disparagement

Spearin Doctrine Can Apply in Design-Build Context

GRSM Women Attorneys Named Finalists in Three Categories at 2025 Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards

Decades of WCC Seminar at the Disneyland Resort