ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Five Payne & Fears Attorneys Named 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers

March 10, 2026 — Payne & Fears LLP
Five Payne & Fears attorneys have been named to the 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers list in recognition of their work across a range of practice areas. This honor reflects their dedication to their clients, depth of experience, and the high standard of service they bring to every matter. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Payne & Fears LLP

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EPA, Maryland Sue DC Water Over Massive Potomac River Sewage Spill

May 14, 2026 — Jim Parsons - Engineering News-Record
The state of Maryland and the federal government have filed separate lawsuits against the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), both alleging that the agency’s failure to address longstanding deterioration in the Potomac Interceptor contributed to a weeklong release of more than 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River this past January. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Jim Parsons, Engineering News-Record
ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com

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Yet Another Reason That Your Contract Matters

February 10, 2026 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
I have discussed on several occasions the fact that construction contracts matter. The words in contracts matter and, in Virginia (as well as other states), most provisions, if not all will be enforced to the letter. Recently, the Western District of Virginia federal court ruled in a way that reminded me of another reason for a well-drafted contract. In Rockingham Precast, Inc. v. American Infrastructure – Maryland, Inc. the Western District of Virginia Court considered a motion to transfer the venue to Maryland filed by American Infrastructure. The plaintiff, Rockingham Precast, a Virginia-based company sued in Virginia. American Infrastructure conceded that VA could be a proper forum for the lawsuit but argued that the form was much too inconvenient and costly for the party and non-party witnesses and that the cost made the forum an unfair place to try the case. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

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Texas Voids Out-of-State Forum and Choice of Law Clauses in Construction Contracts

March 17, 2026 — Conor G. Bateman - Snell & Wilmer
The Texas Legislature amended statutes impacting construction contracts for projects located in Texas to declare any forum selection clause or choice of law provision “void as against public policy,” and mandate venue for any litigation or arbitration shall be in the Texas county in which the work is performed. The parties may stipulate to a different venue only after the dispute arises. Forum selection clauses and choice of law provisions are common in construction contracts. Frequently, general contractors based in other jurisdictions require subcontractors to sign contracts designating the contractor’s preferred venue for any dispute. These contracts may also select the law of another state to govern the contract. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Conor G. Bateman, Snell & Wilmer
Mr. Bateman may be contacted at cbateman@swlaw.com

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

January 06, 2026 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Can the federal government declare a contract “void ab initio” or void from the beginning? Yes, if the government can “prove that the contractor (a) obtained the contract by (b) knowingly (c) making a false statement.” MLB Transportation v. U.S., 2025 WL 2962897, *8 (Fed.Cl. 2025) (citation omitted).

Where a contractor “obtained [a] contract by knowingly falsely stating that it was a small business … [the] government contract [is] tainted from its inception by fraud [and] is void ab initio.” The general rule that “a Government contract tainted by fraud or wrong-doing is void ab initio … protects the integrity of the federal contracting process and safeguards the public from undetectable threats to the public fisc.” A contract found to be void ab initio has “no legal effect,” and is “[n]ull from the beginning, as from the first moment when a contract is entered into.”

MLB Transportation, supra (citations omitted).

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

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One Industry, One Goal: Construction Safety Week 2026

May 05, 2026 — Maggie Murphy - Construction Executive
Construction safety has long been a top priority across the industry. Yet fatality rates have remained stubbornly flat for more than a decade. Steven Carter, global health and safety director at Gilbane chair company for Construction Safety Week 2026—believes the industry has reached a pivotal moment. This year’s theme—”All In Together: Recognize. Respond. Respect.”—is a unified call to action for owners, designers, contractors and craft professionals around a shared, risk-based approach to preventing serious injuries and fatalities. In a recent interview with Construction Executive, Carter discusses why the industry must move beyond incremental improvements, how technology and AI can support better planning and what it will take to create a true culture of psychological safety on jobsites. Reprinted courtesy of Maggie Murphy, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

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Sausage-Making Often Relies on the Good Sense of the Chef Rather than the Recipe

June 23, 2026 — Garret D. Murai - California Construction Law Blog
Even for lawyers, the rules governing litigation can get complex and convoluted. Does something need to be filed? What needs to be filed? When is the deadline for filing? Simple questions with not always with straightforward answers. This was the case in R & J Sheet Metal, Inc. v. W.E. O’Neil Construction Co. of California, 111 Cal.App.5th 878 (2025), which involved sheet metal panels lost when they fell into the Port of Long Beach harbor. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret D. Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

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Construction and Design Contracts—They Are More Important Than You Might Think! (Law Note)

January 26, 2026 — Melissa Dewey Brumback - Construction Law in North Carolina
As regular readers of this Blog know, contracts are extremely important for all parties involved in a construction project. While verbal contracts can be enforced, a written contract, which is finely-tuned to your specific project, can save you a lot of time and money later on if the proverbial poo hits the fan. I recently read AIA’s take on contracts, in their Construction Risk Brief (which you should subscribe to [free] if you have not already). Their featured article is on “Best Practices for Construction Contracts”. In the piece, they discuss 7 key points to address in each contract. I concur for the most part, although want to point out that some of them (such as the regular monitoring and documentation bullet point) are deserving of their own post, as there is a *lot* that can and does go wrong during the construction administration phase. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Melissa Dewey Brumback, Ragsdale Liggett PLLC
Ms. Brumback may be contacted at mbrumback@rl-law.com

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