Strausstown Pennsylvania Expert Witness Engineer Directory

It’s That Time of Year: Contract Review Time

February 02, 2026 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
My father used to make me wash the family cars every weekend . . . rain or shine. The nice thing about washing a car in the rain is that you don’t need to dry it. Once, while sudsing up one of the family cars in the rain I spotted a couple of Jehovah Witnesses making house calls along our street. As they approached our house, they looked at me, said something to one another, and decided membership probably wasn’t a good fit for our family. If my dad saw that he probably would have thought that was reason enough to have me wash the family cars in the rain. Obviously, I never mentioned it to him. This is all a rather nostalgic way of reminding myself to get off my duff. The holidays are over. There’s stuff needing doing. Whether you like it or not. Like updating my contracts. You might consider doing the same. A few suggestions: Retention For certain private works construction contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2026, retention is now capped at 5%, mirroring the 5% retention cap on state and local public works construction contracts. The 5% retention cap applies to contracts between owners and direct contractors, between direct contractors and subcontractors, and between subcontractors. So, basically, everyone up and down the construction change. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

California’s Fair Payment Act: What Every Owner, Developer, and Contractor Should Know About SB 440

November 18, 2025 — Matthew DeVries - Best Practices Construction Law
While most states have enacted various forms of prompt payment laws for construction projects, California Senate Bill 440, known as the Private Works Change Order Fair Payment Act, marks a pivotal change in how payment obligations related to change orders are handled on private construction projects. Signed into law on October 10, 2025 by Governor Newsom, its implementation will affect owners, developers, contractors, and subcontractors alike. Importantly, it sets clear standards for processing change-order claims, imposing decisive deadlines and remedies. The Big Picture SB 440, effective for private contracts beginning on January 1, 2026, establishes a formal claim resolution process for work stemming from change orders on private projects. Key provisions include:

A contractor or subcontractor may submit a claim (for a time extension or additional compensation) and the owner must provide a written statement within 30 days identifying disputed and undisputed portions.

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Matthew DeVries, Buchalter
Mr. DeVries may be contacted at mdevries@buchalter.com

Cross-Office Team Secures Summary Judgment Win in Negligence Action with $2M Demand

December 02, 2025 — Lewis Brisbois Newsroom
St. Louis, Mo. (October 15, 2025) - St. Louis Managing Partner Tracy Cowan and Kansas City Partner Jonathan Craig secured a summary judgment win in a Missouri negligence action with a $2 million demand. The plaintiff alleged he fell on uncleared ice on the client hotel’s parking lot and sustained a shoulder injury that required significant surgical intervention and loss of use. The Lewis Brisbois team’s aggressive discovery revealed that there was significantly more to the story, including that the plaintiff had made several trips back and forth on the hotel’s allegedly icy parking lot prior to injuring himself. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

Traub Lieberman Attorneys Recognized as 2026 Illinois Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars

February 02, 2026 — Traub Lieberman
Traub Lieberman is pleased to announce that two Partners from the Chicago, IL office have been selected to the 2026 Illinois Super Lawyers list. In addition, two Associates have been named to the 2026 Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. 2026 Illinois Super Lawyers

Brian Bassett – Insurance Coverage
Dana Rice – Insurance Coverage

2026 Super Lawyers Rising Stars

Timothy Crane – Insurance Coverage
Anthony Morelli – Civil Litigation

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Traub Lieberman

Tariffs As Taxes — What Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump Means for Contractors and the WSDOT Specifications

March 17, 2026 — Brett M. Hill - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
In October 2025, we explored a pressing question for public works contractors: should post-contract award tariffs be reimbursable? The crux of that analysis was whether tariffs imposed after contract award constitute a tax under the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Standard Specifications, triggering reimbursement under Section 1-07.1(5)B (“tax changes”). Since then, a landmark Supreme Court ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump has clarified the legal nature of tariffs in a way that could significantly affect this debate. In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, 607 U.S. (2026), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed whether the President had the authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to unilaterally impose broad tariffs on imports. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Brett M. Hill, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Mr. Hill may be contacted at brett.hill@acslawyers.com

Kahana Feld Attorney Andrea Vosough Named to 2026 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) Phenoms Under 40 List

November 09, 2025 — Eva Paulson - Kahana Feld
IRVINE, CA - Oct. 22, 2025 - Kahana Feld is pleased to announce that attorney Andrea Vosough was named as one of 10 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) Phenoms Under 40 for 2026. She will also be a finalist for CLM’s Young Professional of the Year award, with the winners announced at the CLM Annual Conference in Orlando in March 2026. Vosough is a member of Kahana Feld’s General Liability practice group, primarily representing local and national restaurants, trucking companies, public entities, small businesses, and individuals. She serves on CLM’s Young Professional Advisory Board, which provides resources and guidance for emerging professionals, encourages participation in professional development, and helps shape the next generation of attorneys. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Eva Paulson, Kahana Feld
Ms. Paulson may be contacted at epaulson@kahanafeld.com

Elliott Backed Venture Sues Lloyds Over Avant Cladding, Times Reports

February 17, 2026 — Eamon Farhat - Bloomberg
Elliott Investment Management and British housing tycoon Jeff Fairburn, joint-venture partners in UK homebuilder Avant Homes Group, are suing Lloyds Banking Group Plc over who should pay to fix properties that fail to meet post-Grenfell fire-safety standards, the Times reported. Avant, which faces remediation costs of at least £107 million ($146 million) for potentially dangerous cladding, argues that Lloyds should shoulder part of the bill because most of the developments were built before 2014, when the homebuilder was under the bank’s ownership, the Times reported. Cladding has become a contentious issue in the UK following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, in which dozens died after flames spread rapidly through flammable exterior cladding on the West London high-rise, laying bare deep failures in Britain’s building safety regulations. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Eamon Farhat, Bloomberg

Collapse Claim Dismissed as Untimely

January 26, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The insureds’ suit for coverage due to a collapse of their barn was dismissed while the bad faith against the insurer survived. Funaro v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 227346 (W. D. Pa. Nov 19, 2025). The insureds’ barn was insured by State Farm. The insureds alleged that the barn roof collapsed from the weight of snow, causing damage to the structure of the barn itself and the contents of the barn (including a custom French stove that the insureds alleged was worth between $90,000 and $100,000). Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

STRAUSSTOWN PENNSYLVANIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES