ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

ZEC 2.0: New York’s Zero Emissions Credit Program Gets an Extension and a Reboot

February 10, 2026 — Stephen J. Humes & Jason Drogin Atwood - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In a landmark move that could shape New York’s energy landscape for decades, state officials have taken steps to both preserve its existing nuclear power facilities and significantly expand its advanced nuclear capacity. These actions are part of a broader strategy to maintain grid reliability and meet both escalating energy demand and the state’s ambitious greenhouse gas reduction and zero carbon goals. Renewing the Zero Emissions Credit Program On January 22, 2026, the New York Public Services Commission (PSC) unanimously voted to extend and reboot the Zero Emissions Credit program (now called ZEC 2.0) to ensure that New York’s four upstate nuclear reactors maintain operations through 2049. The program, which began in 2016, is designed to provide revenue subsidies for legacy nuclear facilities that have been facing financial difficulties in New York’s competitive wholesale power markets. State officials have stated that the benefits of ensuring the continued operations of these reactors far outweigh the costs due to the lack of zero-emissions alternatives and the importance of ensuring grid reliability in the face of escalating energy demand from large loads like data centers. Reprinted courtesy of Stephen J. Humes, Pillsbury and Jason Drogin Atwood, Pillsbury Mr. Humes may be contacted at stephen.humes@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Atwood may be contacted at jason.atwood@pillsburylaw.com Read the full story...

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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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Mind The Gap!

November 04, 2025 — Daniel Lund III - JD Supra
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York addressed the scope of insurance coverage for workplace injuries on a Brooklyn, New York, construction project, holding that the project owner’s insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify the owner in a personal injury lawsuit stemming from a construction accident. The property owner hired a general contractor for a condominium project. In March 2020, an employee of one of the GC’s subcontractors was injured when a scaffold collapsed. The employee sued both the property owner at the general contractor in state court. The owner sought coverage and a defense from its commercial general liability insurer, but the insurer denied coverage, citing three exclusions: Contracted Persons, Independent Contractors, and Condominium. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Daniel Lund, Phelps
Mr. Lund may be contacted at daniel.lund@phelps.com

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Eleventh Circuit Permits Florida Restrictions on Property Ownership by Certain Foreign Nationals to Go Forward

January 13, 2026 — Minyao Wang - Lewis Brisbois Newsroom
New York, N.Y. (December 4, 2025) - On November 4, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a long-anticipated decision in Shen v. Simpson, upholding the constitutionality of a Florida law, SB 264, which restricts ownership of or investment in Florida real estate by individuals “domiciled” in the People’s Republic of China and to a lesser extent, other countries of concern (which are identified in the statute as Russia, North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria) who are not American citizens or green card holders. The restriction encompasses residential, commercial and agricultural real estate. Oral argument in the case was held on April 19, 2024, and it took the court almost one year and seven months to issue its opinion, an unusually long turn-around time. This Update follows previous Lewis Brisbois alerts on Florida’s law and legal challenges to it. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Minyao Wang, Lewis Brisbois
Mr. Wang may be contacted at Minyao.Wang@lewisbrisbois.com

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Groundbreaking New York Law Regulates Third-Party Litigation Funding for the First Time

February 02, 2026 — Nicholas P. Hurzeler - Lewis Brisbois
On December 19, 2025, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Consumer Litigation Funding Act (A804-C/S1104A) into law. The new statute takes aim at abusive third-party litigation funding practices statewide. For years, the unregulated "lawsuit loan" industry has acted as a silent inflator of claim values, forcing plaintiffs to reject reasonable settlement offers in order to pay back exorbitant interest. The new regulatory framework, effective June 17, 2026, introduces caps and transparency measures that may help stabilize settlement negotiations and curb artificially inflated demands. The law does not apply to contracts made before its effective date. Below are some of its most important provisions. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Nicholas P. Hurzeler, Lewis Brisbois
Mr. Hurzeler may be contacted at Nicholas.Hurzeler@lewisbrisbois.com

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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

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Traub Lieberman Attorneys Recognized in Hudson Valley Magazine’s 2026 Top Lawyers List

March 24, 2026 — Copernicus T. Gaza, Jonathan R. Harwood, Lisa M. Rolle, Lisa L. Shrewsberry, Christopher Russo & Hillary J. Raimondi - Traub Lieberman
Traub Lieberman is pleased to announce that six Partners from the White Plains, NY office have been included in the 2026 edition of the Hudson Valley Magazine’s Top Lawyers in the Hudson Valley list. This annual guide recognizes more than 270 of the region's leading attorneys. Insurance:

• Copernicus Gaza
• Jonathan Harwood
• Lisa Rolle
• Lisa Shrewsberry

Reprinted courtesy of Copernicus T. Gaza, Traub Lieberman, Jonathan R. Harwood, Traub Lieberman, Bremer Whyte Congratulates Nicole Nuzzo on OCBA Professionalism and Ethics Committee Appointment

Hunton Insurance Practice, Partners Recognized by The Legal 500

Florida’s Supreme Court Resolves Conflicting Appellate Court Decisions on Concurrent Causation

Construction Cybercrime Is On the Rise

Louisiana Court Applies Manifestation Trigger to Affirm Denial of Coverage

Denial of Coverage for Bulge in Wall Upheld

Managing Narrative, Capturing Context, and Building Together: Talking VR and AEC with David Weir-McCall

Co-Housing Startups Fly in the Face of Old-School NYC Housing Law

Not If, But When: Newly Enacted Virginia Legislation Bans “Pay-If-Paid” Clauses In Construction Contracts

Building the Future: Inside China’s Cutting-Edge Construction Innovations

Hunton Offers Amicus Support in First Circuit Review of “Surface Water” Under Massachusetts Law

Colorado HB 13-1090: Concerning Payment of Amounts Due Under a Construction Agreement

Index Demonstrates Increase in Builders’ Sentiment

COVID-19 Response: Recent Executive Orders Present Opportunities for Businesses Seeking Regulatory and Enforcement Relief and Expedited Project Development

They Say Nothing Lasts Forever, but What If Decommissioning Does?

“Incidental” Versus “Direct” Third Party Beneficiaries Under Insurance Policies in Which a Party is Not an Additional Insured

Edgewater Plans to Sue Over Pol
Got Licensing Questions? CSLB Licensing Workshop November 17th and December 15th

Damages to Property That is Not the Insured's Work Product Are Covered

Colorado Court of Appeals Enforces Limitations of Liability In Pre-Homeowner Protection Act Contracts

When is an Indemnification Provision Unenforceable?

Massachusetts Business Court Addresses Defense Cost Allocation and Non-Cumulation Provisions in Long-Tail Context

Building Group Has Successful 2012, Looks to 2013

Insurance Company Must Show that Lead Came from Building Materials

Get Creative to Solve Your Construction Company's Staffing Challenges

Justin Clark Joins Newmeyer & Dillion’s Walnut Creek Branch as its Newest Associate

Second Circuit Clarifies What Must Be Alleged to Establish “Joint Employer” Liability in the Context of Federal Employment Discrimination Claims

Greystone on Remand Denies Insurer's Motion for Summary Judgment To Bar Coverage For Construction Defects

BWB&O Partner Jack Briscoe and Associate Anoushe Marandjian Win Summary Judgment Motion on Behalf of Homeowner Client!

SB800 Not the Only Remedy for Construction Defects

The Risks and Rewards of Sustainable Building Design

Purse Tycoon Aims at Ultra-Rich With $85 Million Home

Use Your Instincts when Negotiating a Construction Contract

Nerves of Steel Needed as Firms Face Volatile Prices, Broken Contracts and Price-Gouging

Construction Defect Settlement in Seattle

How One Squirrel Taught us a Surprising Amount about Insurance Investigation Lessons Learned from the Iowa Supreme Court

Barratt Said to Suspend Staff as Contract Probe Continues

Prevailing Wages Don’t Stop at the Jobsite, Says Washington Court

ASHRAE Approves Groundbreaking Standard to Reduce the Risk of Disease Transmission in Indoor Spaces

The Trend in the Economic Loss Rule in Construction Defect Litigation

4 Ways the PRO Act Would Impact the Construction Industry

Rhode Island Examines a Property Owner’s Intended Beneficiary Status and the Economic Loss Doctrine in the Context of a Construction Contract

Eleven WSHB Attorneys Honored on List of 2016 Rising Stars

The Biggest Change to the Mechanics Lien Law Since 1963

NTSB Issues 'Urgent' Recommendations After Mass. Pipeline Explosions

Jury Trials and Mediation in Philadelphia County: Virtually in Person

Defective Panels Threatening Profit at China Solar Farms: Energy

EO or Uh-Oh: Biden’s Executive Order Requiring Project Labor Agreements on Federal Construction Projects

Contractor's Agreement to Perform Does Not Preclude Coverage Under Contractual Liability Exclusion

Groundbreaking on New Boulder Neighborhood

South African Building Industry in Line for More State Support

Drowning of Two Boys Constitutes One Occurrence

Turning Back the Clock: DOL Proposes Previous Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Definition

Even Fraud in the Inducement is Tough in Construction

Federal Public Works Construction Collection Remedies: The Miller Act Payment Bond Claim

Part of the Whole: Idaho District Court Holds Economic Loss Rule Bars Tort Claims Related to Water Supply Line that was Part of Home Purchase

Insurer Prohibited from Bringing Separate Contribution Action in Subrogation to Rights of Suspended Insured

Are “Green” Building Designations and Certifications Truly Necessary?

Predicting Our Future with Andrew Weinreich

Connecticut Court Clarifies a Limit on Payment Bond Claims for Public Projects

Colorado Court of Appeals Finds Damages to Non-Defective Property Arising From Defective Construction Covered Under Commercial General Liability Policy

Congratulations 2025 DE, MA, MD, NJ, NY, and PA Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

Attorney Writing Series on Misconceptions over Construction Defects

Court of Appeals Rules that HOA Lien is not Spurious, Despite Claim that Annexation was Invalid

Senior Living Facility Makes Construction Defect Claims

Edward Beitz and William Taylor Recognized by US News – Best Lawyers as a "Lawyer of the Year"

Ensuing Loss Provision Does Not Salvage Coverage