We’re Burning Tokens to Clean Up Bad PDFs
August 24, 2026 —
Aarni Heiskanen - AEC BusinessLast Thursday, researchers from Tampere and Aalto universities reported on preliminary results of two AI- and digitalization-related projects. One project demonstrated how AI can automate the Bill of Materials process; the other tried to quantify the impact of data-driven construction and AI. The conclusion was that AI-powered automation can dramatically increase productivity, but unevenly. However, the substantial benefits may come from better outcomes rather than project efficiency.
Various standards, company-specific practices, project-specific schemas, and traditions are designed for humans to comprehend. 2D drawings and text documents as PDF files, Excel sheets, and design and planning software have the information, but not the data in ideal form for automation.
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Aarni Heiskanen, AEC BusinessMr. Heiskanen may be contacted at
aec-business@aepartners.fi
Court Denies Cross Summary Judgment Motions on Coverage for Odors in Newly Purchased Home
October 06, 2026 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiThe federal district court denied cross motions seeking to establish whether the policy covered damage due to smells in the insureds’ newly purchased home. Akina v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Ins. Co., 2026 U.S Dist. LEXIS 162817 (W. D. Wash. July 22, 2026).
Plaintiffs bought a home in May 2024 but never conducted an inspection before purchasing the property. Before moving in, plaintiffs secured a homeowners’ polilcy from State Farm.
After moving in, plaintiffs began noticing smells in the house and started suffering from health symptoms. Plaintiffs learned from neighbors that the prior occupants had been witnessed in “drug activity.” Plaintiffs moved out of the house and had testing done. The home tested positive for methamphetamine pollution.
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Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Beyond the Storm: How Non-Hurricane Catastrophes Expose Florida’s Construction Defect Blind Spot
August 11, 2026 —
Franchesco “Frank” Soto & Amanda L. Gonzalez - Ball JanikOn June 8, 2026, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the Gulf near the coast of Cuba, the largest instrumentally recorded earthquake in the Gulf since seismic monitoring began in 1950. Buildings swayed, offices were evacuated, and many residents along the east coast of Florida, from Miami-Dade to Jacksonville, felt the ground shake. Although no tsunami followed and reported structural damage was limited, this event exposed a blind spot that Florida property owners, developers, and their counsel cannot afford to ignore: catastrophic stress on Florida buildings does not always come in the form of a named storm.
Florida property owners have grown accustomed to preparing for wind, storm surge, floods, and torrential rain. Far less attention is paid to earthquakes, sinkholes, tornadoes, hail, and non-tropical flooding, each of which can place unexpected stress on buildings not designed with those forces top of mind and can trigger deficiencies in buildings that were not otherwise known, expose design failures, and create an urgency for both insurance claims and subsequent litigation.
Non-Hurricane Triggers of Latent Defects
Seismic activity is the clearest example. Florida’s building code accounts for wind loads, not seismic forces, meaning even a moderate earthquake can reveal weaknesses in curtain wall systems, structural connections, or foundations that were already marginal. Sinkholes, driven by Florida’s karst limestone geology, remain a persistent threat, particularly in Central Florida, where subsurface voids can undermine foundations without warning. Non-tropical flooding, like the record rainfall that flooded South Florida in June 2024, can intrude through building envelopes and waterproofing systems that were never stress-tested for such volumes of water. Tornadoes and hail, while more localized, can cause roofing and envelope failures that mimic, mask, or trigger latent construction defects.
The Litigation and Coverage Disputes That Follow
When one of these events strikes a building already carrying undisclosed or unresolved construction defects, the resulting disputes become considerably more complex. Property owners and associations must move quickly to document existing conditions and distinguish damage caused by the event from pre-existing defective construction, the same causation issue that arises in the hurricane context under Chapter 558, but often without the benefit of established precedent or adjuster experience with these less common events.
Insurance coverage disputes frequently follow close behind. Carriers may dispute whether an earthquake, flood, or other peril is covered at all, particularly where policies contain earthquake or flood exclusions requiring separate endorsements, or anti-concurrent causation language that can bar coverage entirely when a covered peril combines with an uncovered one, such as pre-existing defective construction, to cause a loss. Sinkhole claims carry their own statutory framework under Florida law, requiring specific testing protocols and reporting before a claim is compensable. Developers and contractors, in turn, may find themselves defending Chapter 558 claims while simultaneously litigating with their own carriers over defense and indemnity obligations.
Practical Risk Mitigation Strategies
Property owners, associations, and developers can take several concrete steps to reduce their exposure. First, maintain thorough documentation, including engineering reports, maintenance logs, and photographs, well before any event occurs. This documentation is often the deciding factor in causation disputes. Second, engage structural engineers and consultants immediately following any seismic event, unusual flooding, or storm damage, regardless of whether a hurricane is involved. Prompt inspection preserves evidence and can help prevent inadvertent waiver of construction defect claims. Third, review insurance policies regularly with counsel or a broker to confirm earthquake, flood, and sinkhole coverage matches the property’s actual risk profile, rather than assuming a standard property policy responds to every peril. Fourth, avoid rushing to remediate before conditions are documented and/or before consulting counsel. Well-intentioned repairs can inadvertently compromise evidence needed to prove a defect claim.
The June earthquake was a reminder that Florida’s catastrophic risk profile extends beyond hurricane season. Property owners, associations, and developers who build readiness plans around all forms of catastrophic stress, not just named storms, will be far better positioned when the next unexpected event occurs.
Franchesco “Frank” Soto is a partner in
Ball Janik’s Construction Defect Practice Group in Miami. He may be reached at fsoto@balljanik.com.
Amanda L. Gonzalez is a litigation attorney in
Ball Janik’s Construction Defect Practice Group in Miami. She may be reached at agonzalez@balljanik.com.
The GKN Aerospace Chemical Release and the Laws Designed to Address It
July 06, 2026 —
Sean M. Sherlock - Snell & WilmerOn May 21, 2026, a 34,000-gallon storage tank at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove, California began leaking methyl methacrylate (MMA), a volatile and highly flammable industrial chemical used to manufacture high-strength acrylic plastics. GKN Aerospace makes advanced military and commercial transparencies, such as aircraft canopies, windshields, cabin windows, bullet-resistant glass, and spacecraft windows.
In polymer chemistry lingo, MMA is known as a monomer. Monomers are like individual links to a chain. Under the right conditions they link up (react) with each other to form long-chained polymers, or plastics. MMA is an unstable monomer that requires controlled storage conditions to avoid setting off a polymerization (chain) reaction.
According to early reports, the MMA tank at GKN Aerospace overheated. The cause of the overheating is not yet clear, but the overheating may have created conditions enabling the MMA to initiate polymerization, which in turn generated heat, which in turn generated pressure, activating the tank’s pressure-relief system and releasing MMA vapor into the atmosphere. Concerns about a runaway reaction, massive release, and explosion led the Orange County Fire Authority to order evacuation of approximately 40,000 residents and closure of thirteen schools.
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Sean M. Sherlock, Snell & WilmerMr. Sherlock may be contacted at
ssherlock@swlaw.com
Los Angeles Times Ranks Lewis Brisbois Third Largest Firm in LA County, Largest for Litigation
June 08, 2026 —
Lewis BrisboisThe Los Angeles Times has ranked Lewis Brisbois the third largest firm in LA County by attorney headcount, and first for number of litigation attorneys.
Lewis Brisbois, whose Los Angeles office is led by Co-Managing Partners Jana I. Lubert and Kathleen Walker, has 273 attorneys working in LA County, including 167 partners.
The firm ranked No. 1 for Litigation in the county, with 206 attorneys under the leadership of Partner Craig Holden.
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Lewis Brisbois
Ahlers Cressman & Sleight named one of the Top 50 Construction Law Firms
August 11, 2026 —
Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLCAhlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC is pleased to announce its fifth consecutive year of recognition by Construction Executive as one of The Top 50 Construction Law Firms.
Since its first publication in 2003, Construction Executive magazine has served as the leading source for news, market developments, and business issues impacting the construction industry. Construction Executive established the rankings by asking over 600 U.S. construction law firms to complete a survey. Constructive Executive’s data collection includes: 2025 revenues from the firm’s construction practice; the number of attorneys in the firm’s construction practice; the percentage of the firm’s total revenues derived from its construction practice; the number of states in which the firm is licensed to practice; the year in which the construction practice was established; and the number of construction industry clients served during the fiscal year 2025.
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Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
New Report Outlines Roadmap for Construction Jobsites to Cut Carbon Emissions by 2040
April 20, 2026 —
PCL ConstructionDenver, Colo., April 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new industry report outlines five practical steps that, when implemented together, could reduce construction jobsite emissions by up to 75% without compromising cost, schedule or performance. Grounded in real operational data from 617 construction projects across the U.S. and Canada, Growing and Greening Canadian Construction represents the most comprehensive sector-wide analysis of jobsite emissions conducted to date.
The report was developed through a collaboration among leading general contractors, including
PCL Construction, in partnership with the Transition Accelerator, an organization that drives projects, partnerships, and strategies to promote economic competitiveness in a carbon‑neutral world. The report focuses specifically on emissions from construction jobsite activities and reflects a shared commitment to advancing practical, scalable solutions for the industry.
About PCL Construction
PCL is a group of independent construction companies that operates throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Australia. As one of the largest contracting organizations in North America, PCL completes more than $9.9 billion USD in work annually, building projects that shape communities. The company’s 100% employee ownership model fuels a culture of commitment for clients in the buildings, civil infrastructure, heavy industrial and solar markets. With a strategic presence in more than 30 major centers, PCL’s leadership teams consistently drive innovation and set new benchmarks for excellence, bringing unparalleled skill to every project. Watch us build at PCL.com.
About the Transition Accelerator
The Transition Accelerator works with 300+ partner organizations across Canada to build out pathways to a prosperous low-carbon economy and avoid costly dead-ends along the way. We help governments and industry harness the global shift towards clean growth to secure permanent jobs, abundant energy, and strong regional economies across the country. By connecting systems-level thinking with real-world analysis, we’re enabling a more affordable, competitive, and resilient future.
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Generic Complaint Alleging Bad Faith is Insufficient
August 24, 2026 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiThe federal district court granted the insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings after determining that the insured’s claims for bad faith and unfair claims settlement practices were insufficiently pled. Navia v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111261 (W.D. N. C. May 20, 2026).
The insured submitted a claim for damages to real property owned by the insured allegedly caused by Hurricane Helene. State Farm advised the insured that only some of the claimed damages were covered by the policy and payment for such damages were denied because the estimate for the covered damages did not exceed the policy’s deductible. The insured sued asserting claims for breach of contract, bad faith, and unfair claim settlement practices.
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Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
