FRAMING EXPERT WITNESS ROOFING EXPERT EXPERT WITNESS FORENSIC ARCHITECT EXPERT WITNESS BALDWIN FLORIDA FLORIDA FLORIDA FLORIDA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Demolition Started for Boston’s $200M Professional Women’s Soccer Stadium Renovation Despite Looming Trial

April 01, 2025 — Johanna Knapschaefer - Engineering News-Record
Work on a public-private partnership to renovate Boston’s dilapidated White Stadium kicked off weeks before a scheduled trial over the controversial $200 million project. Located in Franklin Park—the centerpiece of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace—the 11,000-seat stadium is being built for a professional women’s soccer team, Boston Public School athletes and community use. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Johanna Knapschaefer, ENR
ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com

---

GRSM Houston Office Recognized as Outstanding Diverse Organization by Houston Business Journal

March 25, 2025 — Laura E. De Santos - Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Houston office has been recognized as an Outstanding Diverse Organization by the Houston Business Journal. Honored organizations are celebrated for their diverse workforces and their proactive efforts to promote and champion diversity within their communities and industries. “It is a tremendous honor for Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to be recognized by the Houston Business Journal as an Outstanding Diverse Organization,” said Laura De Santos, Office Managing Partner of the firm’s Houston office. “At GRSM, we believe that diversity strengthens our firm, enhances our client service, and drives meaningful progress within the legal profession.” Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Laura E. De Santos, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP
Ms. De Santos may be contacted at ldesantos@grsm.com

---

From Fantasy to Fact: Cristina Andersson on Our Robotic Future

April 29, 2025 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
In this episode of the AI AEC Show, I sat down with Cristina Andersson, a Finnish robotics pioneer whose journey from educator to EU-level robotics strategist is as fascinating as it is inspiring. From launching the EU Robotics Week in Finland to advising ministries on AI and robotics in healthcare, Cristina has a front-row seat to the robotics revolution. Our conversation dove into the current state and future of robotics, especially as service robots become more intelligent and ubiquitous. Cristina highlighted how robots could free up medical professionals from mundane tasks, like hauling laundry or managing logistics, allowing them to focus on patient care. We also touched on the construction sector’s cautious but growing adoption of robotics. Cristina envisions robots monitoring job sites, sorting demolition waste, and helping workers as exoskeletons to reduce physical strain. It starts with fantasy, she said, then fact-finding and ROI calculations. But it always begins with imagination. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

---

GRSM Named to 2025 “Best Companies to Work For” List by U.S. News & World Report

March 10, 2025 — Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, the only full-service law firm with offices and attorneys in all 50 states, has been named in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report’s list of the Best Companies to Work For: Law Firms edition. GRSM is one of only 232 law firms nationwide to earn the Best Companies to Work for distinction. The second annual U.S. News law firm rankings evaluate how individual law firms meet employee needs compared to industry peers. The list considers factors such as the quality of pay and benefits, work-life balance and flexibility, job and company stability, physical and psychological comfort, belongingness and esteem, and career opportunities and professional development. This marks the firm’s second consecutive year being recognized on this list. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

---

Requirements For Professional Engineers Practicing in Connecticut

March 04, 2025 — Bill Wilson - Construction Law Zone
Many out-of-state professional engineering companies practice engineering in Connecticut and may not be aware of all the requirements to do so. Connecticut has certain requirements for corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) engaging in the practice of engineering. The applicable law, General Statutes §§ 20-306a and 20-306b, requires that (1) the personnel who act as engineers on behalf of the company must be either licensed in Connecticut or exempt from Connecticut’s license requirements, and (2) the company must have been issued a certificate of registration by the State Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (State Board). Professional engineering firms must be registered with the Secretary of State as a domestic or foreign firm prior to applying for registration from the State Board. In addition, no less than two-thirds of the individual members of an LLC or owners of a professional corporation must be individually licensed as professional engineers in Connecticut. The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection maintains a list of all professional engineers licensed in Connecticut and all State Board registrations. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Bill Wilson, Robinson & Cole LLP
Mr. Wilson may be contacted at wwilson@rc.com

---

The Ghosts of Tariffs Past May Help Us in the Future

January 07, 2025 — Kellie Ros - ConsensusDocs
The havoc material tariffs have caused the construction industry is nothing new. President-Elect Donald Trump imposed heavy tariffs on steel and aluminum in his first administration in 2016. While the tariffs themselves were not wholly unexpected, the ripple effect of those tariffs (coupled with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic) caused unexpected challenges for the construction industry. Those included allocating the risk of the additional costs caused by tariffs, supply and demand issues, grappling with escalation clauses, and navigating fixed price projects. The industry must now utilize the lessons learned from the rear-view mirror to strategically prepare for what was promised to be a second round of tariffs come January 2025. Tariffs’ Impacts on Material Prices Everywhere New or increased tariffs have the potential to raise prices for a wide range of construction inputs. Based on simple supply and demand principles, this includes inputs produced domestically that compete with foreign imports. For example, if a 20% tariff is imposed on Chinese steel, contractors may look to procure Brazil or U.S. steel in an effort to cut their costs. Such a rush to those less-costly alternatives may result in a supply shortage or an increase in prices in the marketplace across the globe. This occurred in 2016 when material prices indirectly related to the inputs on which the tariffs were imposed even increased. Contractors may be well served to get ahead of anticipated price increases and purchase materials now or take other actions in negotiating contracts to protect themselves. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Kellie Ros, Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Ms. Ros may be contacted at kros@pecklaw.com

---

Cross-Office Team Secures Summary Judgment for Clients in Construction Loan Fraud Case

April 15, 2025 — Lewis Brisbois Newsroom
St. Louis, Mo./Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (April 7, 2025) - St. Louis Partner Alejandro P. Frank and Ft. Lauderdale Partner Katina Hardee, with assistance from St. Louis Associate Aidan Hayward, recently secured summary judgment in the Circuit Court for Palm Beach County, Florida on behalf of two clients in a construction loan fraud case. The Court accurately determined that neither of the Lewis Brisbois clients owed a duty to the plaintiffs to prevent the alleged fraud from occurring. The case arose out of a residential construction project and the loan associated with the same. The construction loan agreement required the plaintiff-borrowers and their general contractor to submit draw requests to one of the Lewis Brisbois clients, the disbursing agent, in order to facilitate the construction loan draw process. However, the plaintiffs and their general contractor permitted the construction manager to submit the draw requests without supervision by either the plaintiff-borrowers or the general contractor. The construction manager then allegedly defrauded the plaintiff-borrowers, who were not paying attention to the loan disbursement process. The other Lewis Brisbois client, a draw request inspector, and the disbursing agent were only in privity of contract with the lender, and had no interactions with the plaintiff-borrowers or the general contractor throughout the construction process. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

---

Veolia Water Technologies, Inc. v. Antero Treatment LLC: Colorado Court of Appeals Addresses Fraud in Design-Build Contracts

March 11, 2025 — David McLain - Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
The Colorado Court of Appeals recently issued a significant decision in Veolia Water Technologies, Inc. v. Antero Treatment LLC, 2024 COA 126, clarifying the scope of the economic loss rule and the role of fraudulent misrepresentation in design-build contracts. The case serves as a cautionary tale for both owners and contractors about the importance of transparency and diligence in contractual agreements. Background of the Dispute The dispute arose from a contract between Antero Treatment LLC (“Antero”), a subsidiary of Antero Resources Corporation, and Veolia Water Technologies, Inc. (“Veolia”) for the construction of a wastewater treatment facility in Pennsboro, West Virginia. The facility was designed to treat wastewater from hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) operations by separating solids and crystallizing them into waste salt, which could then be landfilled, leaving water clean enough for reuse or surface discharge. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David McLain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell
Mr. McLain may be contacted at mclain@hhmrlaw.com

---