Construction site expert witness Condominum expert witness High Springs Florida Florida Florida Expert Witness Engineer Directory

Winning Construction Disputes: Strategic Negotiation for Better Outcomes

February 19, 2025 — Mohamed Asker - The Dispute Resolver
Construction projects are inherently complex, and disputes seem to be inevitable. Whether it’s a disagreement over defective work, delayed payments, or unforeseen site conditions, effective negotiation can mean the difference between a favorable settlement and an expensive, drawn-out battle. While many in the industry rely on traditional bargaining tactics or the principles from “Getting to Yes,” Chris Voss’s “Never Split the Difference” provides a tactical, psychological approach that can give contractors, owners, and attorneys a decisive edge. 1. The Myth of Splitting the Difference The title of Voss’s book is a direct challenge to one of the most common, yet flawed, negotiation strategies: compromise. In construction disputes, parties often propose to “meet in the middle” as a quick resolution. However, as Voss warns, “A woman wants her husband to wear black shoes with his suit. But her husband doesn’t want to; he prefers brown shoes. So what do they do? They compromise, they meet halfway. And, you guessed it, he wears one black and one brown shoe.” In construction, this can mean accepting an unsatisfactory repair or agreeing to partial payment for incomplete work—neither of which truly resolves the issue. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Mohamed Asker, Fox Rothschild
Mr. Asker may be contacted at masker@foxrothschild.com

“You Can’t Make Me Pay!”

January 28, 2025 — Daniel Lund III - Lexology
Several years ago, Louisiana enacted a law prescribing a mandamus proceeding for unpaid contract sums purportedly owed by a public entity to a contractor – Louisiana Revised Statute 38:2191. The statute tackles both progress payments and final payment, distinguishing between the two and allowing withholding of a progress payment when there is “reasonable cause” to do so. On the other hand, at least one Louisiana appellate decision held on the topic of final payment: once a final payment amount is “due” per the statute – based upon passage expiration of the lien period following “formal final acceptance” – the act of making the final payment is purely ministerial and not subject to defenses. According to that court, a defense to payment based on assessed liquidated damages – because the damages were disputed by the contractor – could not trump the essence of the statute allowing the contractor to pursue mandamus to collect the final payment. More recently, on a public works levee project in Lafourche Parish, a dispute arose during the work concerning the means to secure material for constructing the levees. The net effect of the dispute entailed a major change in the contract price. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Daniel Lund III, Phelps
Mr. Lund may be contacted at daniel.lund@phelps.com

$2B Waldorf Astoria Renovation in NYC Resumes After Jobsite Fatality

February 12, 2025 — Emell D. Adolphus - Engineering News-Record
Construction work has resumed on a $2-billion hotel renovation in New York City nearly a week after a craftworker fell to his death and a full-stop work order was issued by the New York City Dept. of Buildings. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Emell D. Adolphus, ENR
Mr. Adolphus may be contacted at adolphuse@enr.com

Top U.S. Counties Most at Risk for Tornado Damage in 2025

May 19, 2025 — Kimberly Magerl - Home Gnome
Tornado frequency across the US varies, and some counties are in more danger than others. As the 2025 peak tornado season begins, Home Gnome uncovered which U.S. counties are most at risk for tornado damage. Using FEMA data, we analyzed nearly 950 counties with moderate to very high tornado risk. We considered six key factors, including tornado frequency, expected annual losses, average home age, and whether local building codes account for tornado resilience. For details on how we calculated the scores, see our methodology. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Kimberly Magerl, Home Gnome

Wary to the Unlicensed Contractor – You Are Sh*T Out of Luck

May 06, 2025 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Constructing licensing is governed under Florida Statutes Chapter 489. Under Florida Statute s. 489.128, an unlicensed contractor has NO rights or remedies. Stated differently, an unlicensed contractor is “sh*t out of luck!”. However, what’s been complicated, and it really shouldn’t be, is what contractors need to be licensed through the state of Florida by the Construction Industry Licensing Board (known as the CILB). A recent case out of Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal adds to the complication and serves as a reminder for contractors to be licensed in Florida. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

How Finns Cut Construction Lead Times in Half

December 17, 2024 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
Rakennustieto organized a Q&A on December 5, 2024, titled “Halving Construction Lead Times—Responsible or Irresponsible?” The discussion focused on speeding up residential construction and renovations. The experts answering questions were representatives from two Finnish contractors (COfLOW and Fira), a client organization (HOAS), a building materials retailer (STARK), and a research institute. Can you halve construction lead time without sacrificing quality? Jaana Matilainen of Rakennustieto asked the panelists whether halving construction time is a realistic goal today, whether they can provide any examples, and if the speed-up has increased or decreased quality. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

Splashdown: Fire-Weakened Beijing Bridge Deck Falls Into River

May 12, 2025 — Richard Korman - Engineering News-Record
A deck section on a 26-year-old tied-arch Beijing bridge collapsed into the Chaobai River April 23, when tie rods hanging from an arch to one side of the deck failed, Chinese agencies and news media reported. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Richard Korman, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Korman may be contacted at kormanr@enr.com

Updates to AIA Contract Applications

January 07, 2025 — Anand Gupta - Construction Law Zone Blog
The construction industry often relies on contract forms drafted by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). These AIA forms include agreements between owners, designers, consultants, contractors, subcontractors, and construction managers. Some prefer to use the forms in the stock form, but others prefer to modify the language to their benefit. These modifications can be made in Microsoft Word and uploaded into AIA’s current web-based system, ACD5, to create redlines against the standard AIA forms (Checked-Drafts) and final clean versions without the “DRAFT” watermarks. Law firms and clients keep repositories of these modified templates for future projects. A common issue with modifying documents offline in Microsoft Word and passing the documents back-and-forth between different email and document management systems is that the metadata of the forms becomes corrupted. AIA technical support then must reset the metadata, which takes hours or days. This delay can pose challenges to clients when they are up against a deadline. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Anand Gupta, Robinson+Cole
Mr. Gupta may be contacted at agupta@rc.com

CONSTRUCTION SITE EXPERT WITNESS CONDOMINUM EXPERT WITNESS HIGH SPRINGS FLORIDA FLORIDA FLORIDA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES