Anaheim California Expert Witness Engineer Directory

Trump Replaces Architect to Lead $300 Million Ballroom Design

December 30, 2025 — Skylar Woodhouse - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump has tapped a new architect to help plan his $300 million White House ballroom wing, assigning the former lead designer to a consultant role in the high-profile and controversial project. Shalom Baranes Associates, a Washington-based architecture firm, will design the ballroom that will be built in place of the demolished East Wing, according to a White House official. James McCrery, who was previously named to lead the project, will remain in a consulting role. “Shalom is an accomplished architect whose work has shaped the architectural identity of our nation’s capital for decades and his experience will be a great asset to the completion of this project,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Skylar Woodhouse, Bloomberg

Environmental Due Diligence - What's The Hold Up?

November 18, 2025 — W. Tyler Lloyd - The Dispute Resolver
Construction projects do not occur overnight. Regardless of project size, projects take anywhere from months to years to design, build, and complete. Perhaps one portion of the construction project that is always subject to criticism, particularly on large infrastructure projects, is environmental review and the applicability of environmental laws, requiring specific environmental thresholds, and the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). Contractors are well aware of the timeline and potential impacts that NEPA review might have on a project, and many contractors and national groups have expressed a desire to ensure that NEPA does not interfere with or altogether block the deployment of large infrastructure projects. On federal funded or assisted projects, contractors must comply with strict environmental oversight because the project is tied to federal funding or federal agency accountability. Contractors must also comply with environmental and sustainability mandates under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”). The FAR requires federal construction project contracts to include clauses concerning hazardous materials, emergency planning, waste reduction, environmental management systems, and greenhouse gas disclosures. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of W. Tyler Lloyd, Stites and Harbison, PLLC
Mr. Lloyd may be contacted at tlloyd@stites.com

The Failure to Pursue a Construction Lien Does Not Create a “Gotcha” Argument

October 06, 2025 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Just because a party does not pursue its lien rights, or waives it lien rights, or satisfies its lien, does NOT mean the party is foreclosed of its other rights, such as breach of contract or unjust enrichment. Florida’s Construction Lien Law even states that it is “cumulative to other existing remedies and nothing contained in this party shall be construed to prevent any lien or assignee under any contract from maintaining an action thereon at law in like manner as if he or she had no lien for the security of his or her debt, and the bringing of such action shall not prejudice his or her rights under this part, except as herein otherwise expressly provided.” See Fla. Stat. s. 713.30. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Contractor Turns Former Sears Into Interim High School Following Palisades Wildfires

December 15, 2025 — Jamie Macartney - Construction Executive
On January 7, 2025, the unthinkable happened. Massive wildfires tore through areas of Los Angeles County, burning over 57 acres, leaving lives in shambles as beloved homes and businesses were gone instantly. An evident strain was the destruction the fires set on Palisades Charter High School—colloquially known as Pali High—which left approximately 2,500 students without a campus to go to. This resulted in a return to online learning, a setting too familiar as five years earlier, these students were ripped from their educational experience because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Building schools is in the DNA of C.W. Driver, so when the firm saw the damage to Pali High, the team rushed to create a temporary campus—Pali High South. Through a partnership with design firm Gensler, the former Sears retail building—a Santa Monica landmark—was transformed into a safe, fully equipped learning environment for 2,500 Pali High students just three months after the fires took place. Reprinted courtesy of Jamie Macartney, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

Four Steps to Effectively Manage Rising Risk of Construction Liability Claims

October 06, 2025 — David Chmiel - Construction Executive
A priority for every construction firm, regardless of size, is the effective management of risk. The industry is rife with dangers, more than any other. Too often, risks - of various types - are underestimated or overlooked, making it critical to closely follow and manage policies and practices to guard against them. What has complicated construction’s risk-management challenge has been the environment for liability claims - which have grown in frequency and complexity. Part of the problem is a booming market as costs rise and workers are hard to find, pressuring project timelines and budgets and resulting in more claims. Construction work itself leads to higher claims than in other industries, with total lost time severity for claims 50% higher than average. Natural disasters are worsening, and engineering claims also have a role. And construction-related workers compensation mega claims (over $2 million) are prevalent, in 2024 accounting for over 2% of total loss dollars - over $1 billion. Reprinted courtesy of David Chmiel, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

When Is a Survival Clause Absolutely Necessary?

October 20, 2025 — Scott L. Baker - Los Angeles Litigation Blog
Beginnings and endings in the business world are delicate things. Whether initiating a business deal and partnership or terminating an employee, business owners must take great care to secure their business and adhere to California law. A contract will inform and outline these business relationships, from beginning to end. However, just because a contract ends does not mean the terms included in it should. That is when a survival clause will be critical. What are the Basics of a Survival Clause? As discussed above - and in a previous blog post - a survival clause defines what terms of a contract will continue to be enforced even after a contract ends. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Scott L. Baker, Baker & Associates
Mr. Baker may be contacted at slb@bakerslaw.com

Preparation Is Key: How Condo and Homeowner Associations Can Protect Their Communities Amid Hurricane Season

September 23, 2025 — Franchesco Soto & Amanda L. Gonzalez - Daily Business Review
As the hurricane season ramps up in Florida and forecasters predict an above-average number of storms as late summer and fall approaches, condominium and homeowner associations must be strategic and prepared to protect their communities and mitigate risk. In the last 20 years, Florida has been hit by devastating hurricanes, including Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Wilma (2005), and Hurricane Irma (2017), which have caused significant damage and disruption to condominium associations and homeowners associations in the Miami area. On its own, Hurricane Irma is estimated to have caused $50 billion in damage. Due to their strong winds, heavy rainfall, and even storm surges, these hurricanes caused widespread flooding, power outages, and property damage for owners and tenants who own or reside within a condominium association or homeowner association. Handling the aftermath of a hurricane can be chaotic and can cost associations more than they expected to repair. Although preparing for hurricane season in South Florida is second nature for most, here are some key steps associations should consider when conducting their storm preparation reviews. Reprinted courtesy of Franchesco Soto, Ball Janik LLP and Amanda L. Gonzalez, Ball Janik LLP Mr. Soto may be contacted at fsoto@balljanik.com Ms. Gonzalez may be contacted at agonzalez@balljanik.com Read the full story...

Toolbox Talk Series: GenAI Document Review

January 06, 2026 — Brendan J. Witry - The Dispute Resolver
This month's installment of the Toolbox Talk Series explored the use of Generative AI in document review, which as construction lawyers know can be voluminous. Jack Bandlow and Travis Olson from BRG provided an overview of how lawyers can use GenAI to make document review in construction litigation more efficient. Like other uses of GenAI, it is a tool that is not designed to replace lawyers. Rather it helps eliminate or reduce mundane or tedious tasks that are not the highest and best use of a lawyer's time. The AI-powered document review platforms are designed to recognize patterns in documents and transforms words and text into "vectors" to group concepts with similar meanings. For example, whereas a traditional keyword search for "weather delay" will only return hits on that keyword, a search utilizing vectoring will also search for conceptually similar terms, even if the keyword does not match. These tools can use natural language searches to return results that a responsive to the prompt. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Brendan J. Witry, Laurie & Brennan LLP
Mr. Witry may be contacted at bwitry@lauriebrennan.com

ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES