Anaheim California Expert Witness Engineer Directory

Kahana Feld Named to the Orange County Register 2024 Top Workplaces List

January 14, 2025 — Linda Carter - Kahana Feld
ORANGE COUNTY – Dec. 31, 2024 – Kahana Feld is pleased to announce that the firm has been named a 2024 Top Workplace by the Orange County Register. This is the second year in a row that Kahana Feld has been named to the Orange County Top Workplaces list. The Top Workplaces list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey. The confidential survey uniquely measures the employee experience and its component themes, including employees feeling Respected & Supported, Enabled to Grow, and Empowered to Execute. “Inclusion on this list is a testament to Kahana Feld’s dedication to employee satisfaction,” said Firmwide Managing Partner Amir Kahana. “Having a positive and supportive culture has always been a top priority for us, and it will continue to be a driving force in our growth and success.” Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Linda Carter, Kahana Feld
Ms. Carter may be contacted at lcarter@kahanafeld.com

Bremer Whyte Sets New Precedent in Palos Verdes Landslide Litigation

August 26, 2024 — Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
In what is believed to be a groundbreaking new precedent, Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara’s Los Angeles litigation team has obtained a landmark ruling on behalf of residents in the “Portuguese Bend” neighborhood of Palos Verdes, California. Congratulations to Partner Michael D’Andrea and Senior Associate Shelly Mosallaei in receiving this result for our clients. Plaintiff, a real estate developer, sued a number of local residents and property owners, including our client, alleging that their failure to address landslides and geological disturbances around Plaintiff’s property constituted a legal trespass and nuisance. Plaintiff alleged that its plans to develop multiple lots in Palos Verdes was thwarted because Defendant’s soil and land encroached onto Plaintiff’s property. Plaintiff’s suit against multiple residents created an uproar in the community regarding who was ultimately responsible (if anyone) for natural soils movement that has plagued this neighborhood for years. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Dolores Montoya, Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

When Every Drop Matters, Cities Turn to Watertech

November 25, 2024 — James B. Bobotek - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
We all need water to survive—but access to the liquid lifeline isn’t always a given. With a shifting climate and ever-increasing agricultural and industrial demands on this limited commodity, UNICEF predicts that by 2025, half of the world’s population could be living in areas facing water scarcity. On top of the obvious resource drains, many countries are losing surprising amounts of potable water to leaks. For example, in the United States alone, an estimated 6 billion gallons of treated drinking water seep out of its supply every day due to aging pipelines and undetected leaks. “Smart” water innovations may offer conservation solutions, though. As part of an overall smart city scheme, where internet of things (IoT) devices work hand-in-hand with AI to improve daily life, many municipalities are giving their water systems a makeover. From new meters to irrigation and pipeline maintenance, we look at some of the key intelligent technologies that endeavor to improve how we harness our water supply. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of James B. Bobotek, Pillsbury
Mr. Bobotek may be contacted at james.bobotek@pillsburylaw.com

Construction Defect Claim Survives Insurer's Summary Judgment Motion Due to Lack of Evidence

December 23, 2024 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court denied the insurer's motion for summary judgment on a construction defect claim due to lack of evidence. Statesboro Erectors, Inc. v. Owners Ins. Co., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176555 (N.D. Ga. Sept. 30, 2024). Griffco was the general contractor for a construction project. King Steel was hired as the "steel fabricator." King Steel subcontracted with Statesboro Erectors to complete certain construction work at the site. Statesboro agreed to the complete, proper and safe erection of the structural steel. A steel collapse occurred at the construction site. According to King Steel, the collapse "appeared to have occurred due to lack of temporary cables or bracing for steel columns." Because of the collapse, King Steel was required to supply additional materials to replace the structural damage caused by the collapse. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Why Being Climate ‘Positive’ Is the Buzzy New Goal of Green Building

December 10, 2024 — Olivia Rudgard - Bloomberg
The three buildings, dotted around Norway, couldn’t look more different: a soaring timber-and-concrete obelisk in Porsgrunn; a squat, two-story Montessori school on the edge of a forest in Drøbak; and a concrete and glass wedge-shaped office in Trondheim, just a few hundred miles from the edge of the Arctic Circle. But they share a distinctive feature. Each has a roof perfectly tilted to squeeze out every possible drop of solar energy. They are called Powerhouses, and the initiative behind them claims they are all “energy positive”: The upfront energy “cost” of each building, and that of later demolition and disposal, is expected to be made back over the building’s lifetime. Powerhouses sometimes draw from the grid, especially in winter, but in the long Nordic summer days they give back many times over, overspilling excess solar energy into surrounding homes and businesses. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Olivia Rudgard, Bloomberg

Attention Contractors: U.S. Department of Labor Issues Guidance on Avoiding Discrimination When Using AI in Hiring

November 25, 2024 — Matthew DeVries - Best Practices Construction Law
I recently blogged about the use of AI and ChatGBT in the construction industry. Today’s guest post by Alexandra Shulman and Leah Lively addresses the recent guidance by the USDOL on the issue of using AI when hiring in recruitment, which is applicable to those constructions who use AI in the recruitment process. AI in hiring: About 80% of U.S. and almost all Fortune 500 companies use AI-powered hiring software. AI may be used to target online advertising for job opportunities and to match candidates to jobs on employment platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Indeed). AI may also be used to reject or rank applicants using automated resume screening and chatbots based on knockout questions, keyword requirements, or specific qualifications or characteristics. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Matthew DeVries, Buchalter
Mr. DeVries may be contacted at mdevries@buchalter.com

New York Construction Practice Team Obtains Summary Judgment and Dismissal of Labor Law Claims

October 01, 2024 — Lewis Brisbois Newsroom
New York, N.Y. (August 23, 2024) – In Trujillo-Cruz v. City of New York, et al., New York Partner Inderjit Dhami, a member of New York Partner Meghan A. Cavalieri’s Construction Practice Team, recently obtained summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff's Labor Law §240(1), §241(6) and §200 claims dismissing the entire case against national developer and construction company clients. The plaintiff alleged to have sustained injuries as the result of a construction site accident occurring on July 11, 2018, while in the scope of his employment as a laborer in connection with the construction/renovation of a residential apartment building in Brooklyn, New York. Specifically, the plaintiff alleged that he was injured when he was coming down from a ladder and fell on a 2”x 4”, causing him disabling injuries. The plaintiffs’ counsel articulated a $3 million settlement demand. Labor Law §240(1) imposes absolute liability on a defendant where an injured worker engaged in the performance of covered construction work establishes that a safety device proved inadequate to shield him from elevation-related harm, and that the defendant’s failure to provide an adequate safety device proximately caused the injuries alleged. The plaintiff first testified that he stepped on the 2” x 4” after he came down off of the ladder, but his counsel then prompted him to recalibrate his testimony by asking whether the accident arose when he was coming down the ladder or after he had come down off of the ladder. The plaintiff changed his testimony, alleging that the accident arose as he was coming down the ladder and that he remained partially on the ladder when he stepped on the piece of formwork and fell. Inderjit argued that the plaintiff’s reframing of his deposition testimony was immaterial for purposes of the Labor Law § 240 (1) analysis. Irrespective of whether the plaintiff was on solid ground or had one foot on the ladder at the time of the occurrence, his Labor Law § 240 (1) claim was unavailing in that the accident did not arise as a result of the type of extraordinary elevation-related peril protected by Labor Law § 240 (1). Justice Maslow agreed and dismissed the plaintiff’s Labor Law § 240 (1) claims. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

Singer Akon’s Multibillion-Dollar Futuristic City in Africa Gets Final Notice

September 02, 2024 — Katarina Hoije & Fred Ojambo - Bloomberg
A single arched concrete block juts out of a field in Senegal where R&B singer Akon first laid the foundation stone for his $6 billion metropolis four years ago. The West African nation granted the artist 136 acres of land on its Atlantic Coast in 2020 to build his Akon City — envisioned as a real-life Wakanda, the fictional country from Marvel Studios’ Black Panther films. Complete with condominiums, amusement parks and a seaside resort in gravity-defying skyscrapers rising above the rural landscape, Akon City would run on solar power and his Akoin cryptocurrency, the American-Senegalese singer said during a flashy presentation in Senegal’s capital, Dakar. Today, goats and cows graze the deserted pasture 60 miles south of Dakar, and authorities are growing increasingly impatient. Reprinted courtesy of Katarina Hoije, Bloomberg and Fred Ojambo, Bloomberg Read the full story...

ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES