Anaheim California Construction Expert Witness Directory

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

New York Moves to Tighten Third-Party Practice: Key Changes to CPLR 1007

March 31, 2026 — Sophia L. Cahill - Sheppard
Effective April 18, 2026, the New York Legislature enacted the Avoiding Vexatious Overuse of Impleading to Delay (“AVOID”) Act, amending CPLR 1007—the statute that governs third-party practice. The amendment sharply limits when and how defendants can commence third-party actions, curbing the expansive discretion they previously enjoyed and targeting the late-stage impleaders that often upend case schedules. What Changes Before the AVOID Act was signed into law on December 19, 2025 (and subsequently modified by Chapter Amendments A9502 and S8809, signed by Governor Hochul on February 13, 2026[1]), CPLR 1007 gave defendants broad latitude to implead “any person who is or may be liable” for all or part of the plaintiff’s claim. CPLR 1007 specified no outside time limit for the initiation of a third-party claim; courts assessed only whether a defendant’s delay was undue—such as impleading months after the note of issue—and whether the plaintiff would suffer prejudice if the third-party action were not severed. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Sophia L. Cahill, Sheppard
Ms. Cahill may be contacted at scahill@sheppard.com

Parking Garage Partially Collapses in Dearborn, Mich., Trapping One

March 31, 2026 — Annemarie Mannion - Engineering News-Record
A multi-level parking garage that partially collapsed in Dearborn, Mich., is fenced off and the city has started the legal process allowed under state law to demolish the privately-owned structure due to alleged dangerous conditions. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Annemarie Mannion, Engineering News-Record
Ms. Mannion may be contacted at manniona@enr.com

John Palmeri and Peter Siachos Named to 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America

February 17, 2026 — Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani is proud to announce that Partners John Palmeri and Peter Siachos have been named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America for 2026. Their inclusion reflects their extensive trial experience, national leadership roles, and sustained excellence representing clients in complex, high-stakes matters. Now in its 21st year, the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America guide honors attorneys who lead the profession through exceptional advocacy, dedication to clients, and influence within their firms and communities. Selected through yearlong research, peer discussion, and robust nominations, the guide recognizes lawyers who continue to shape the legal landscape at the highest levels. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

Course of Conduct Can Serve as Waiver or Modification of Parties’ Contract

December 22, 2025 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
When you enter into a contract, the language in the contract means something. And if you don’t follow what the contract says, it will be used against you. It can be used to support the argument that you breached the contract. Or it can be used to demonstrate your lack of compliance with the contract does not entitle you to the recourse you are seeking. However, this does not mean under certain circumstances the language of the contract cannot be waived or modified by the parties’ course of conduct. In a recent dispute, an owner and contractor sued each other under a cost-plus contract. The contractor recorded a construction lien and moved to foreclose its construction lien. The owner claimed it was over-charged and claimed the contractor breached the contract. The contractor also claimed it was not timely paid with improperly withheld payment applications. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the contractor, which was affirmed on appeal based on the parties’ course of dealing:

The trial court concluded that, although the parties’ cost-plus contract required that all change orders be approved in writing, the summary judgment record established that this provision was routinely waived by the parties’ course of dealing: [owner] would orally request changes to the project; [contractor] would perform those changes; and [owner] would pay the invoices for those changes.

Moscato Corp. v. Mutchnik Construction Group, Inc., 411 So.3d 570 (Fla. 3d DCA 2025)

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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

The Economic Loss Rule and Tort Claims by Owners against Design Professionals

November 09, 2025 — Stu Richeson - The Dispute Resolver
This blog post looks at the question of when a project owner, who has a contract with the design professional, may assert an action against a design professional in negligence for purely economic losses. Actions against design professional can arise under a number of legal theories, but the two most common are contract and tort. Tort claims focus on duties imposed by law, while contract claims center on obligations agreed upon by the parties. The distinction often determines whether a plaintiff can recover purely economic losses and whether privity of contract is required. The distinction between contract and tort is significant due to the availability of different remedies, limitations periods, and burdens of proof. It is normally to a plaintiff's advantage to get both tort and contract claims before the trier of fact when the same facts will sustain either cause of action, because access to multiple theories of recovery may permit a plaintiff to avoid legal or remedial pitfalls which may apply to one cause of action but not another. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. v. Stone & Webster Eng'g Corp., 725 F. Supp. 656 (N.D.N.Y. 1989). Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Stu Richeson, Riess LeMieux
Mr. Richeson may be contacted at sricheson@rllaw.com

Leaders in Dispute Resolution Need to Make Unbiased Decisions for Mediation to Succeed

March 31, 2026 — Rick G. Erickson - Snell & Wilmer
As a mediator helping to settle construction disputes and as an arbitrator deciding outcomes of these disputes, I found certain lessons to be especially helpful after graduating last summer from the Executive Education program at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). The exceptional HKS curriculum included courses focused on negotiation strategies for multiparty disputes, decisive leadership during crisis, and human behavior affecting dispute resolution. In particular, our HKS class debated the impact of cognitive bias in dispute resolution, and we studied a central theme that decision-making is universally scientific. That is, parties making decisions in dispute resolution exhibit and rely upon empirical factors that good mediators and decision makers should appreciate and understand. Bias, for example, can cause key players to discount persuasive witnesses, admissible evidence, and reliable expert opinions that influence the outcome of a construction dispute. Biased decision makers may also choose to withhold key information from the mediator, as though doing so will help rather than hurt what is supposed to be an objective and diplomatic process. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Rick G. Erickson, Snell & Wilmer
Mr. Erickson may be contacted at rerickson@swlaw.com

ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES