Anaheim California Expert Witness Engineer Directory

9204 Meet 8850. Public Works Claims Processes Now Apply to Private Works, With Some Differences

November 21, 2025 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
Contractors working on public works projects are likely familiar with the statutory claims resolution process under Public Contract Code section 9204. Section 9204, which went into effect in 2017, and which has been amended a couple of times since, provides a claims resolution process for public works projects with the goal of resolving claims before litigation. Section 9204, which currently expires on January 1, 2027 (it has been extended once so far), provides for a three-step process: (1) submission of a claim by the prime contractor and response by the public entity; (2) if the claim is rejected in whole or in part by the public entity, a meet and confer conference between the prime contractor and public entity; and (3) if the claim is not resolved at the meet and confer conference, mediation (or other non-binding dispute resolution process) between the prime contractor and public entity. A similar statutory claims resolution process has now been enacted that applies to most private works projects. The bill, Senate Bill 440, goes into effect on January 1, 2026, and is codified at new Civil Code section 8850. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Texas Case Exposes Cracks in the Government Contractor Immunity Shield

November 09, 2025 — Elaine Silver - Engineering News-Record
It started with a horrific crash. Pedro Alfonso Castaneda, the mainstay of a Texas family of five, had finished shopping at a plumbing supply store on an August afternoon in 2019, when he pulled up in his Toyota Tacoma pickup at an intersection adjacent to a busy highway overpass construction project in Pinehurst, Texas. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Elaine Silver, Engineering News-Record
ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com

Subrogation Insight: Expert Testimony Admissible Despite Post-Loss Repairs

December 30, 2025 — Gus Sara - The Subrogation Strategist
In Ghaznavi v. Arby Constr., Inc., No. 14-24-00213-CV, 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 839, the Court of Appeals of Texas (Court of Appeals) considered whether the trial court properly excluded the plaintiffs’, Kambiz Moavenzadeh Ghaznavi and Anahita Nokkonejad (collectively, the Ghaznavis), liability expert. The case arose from a fire at the Ghaznavis’ residence. The trial court held that because the Ghaznavis’ expert did not physically inspect certain fire damaged areas before they were repaired, the expert’s testimony was unreliable and thus inadmissible. The Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s ruling, finding that the expert’s review of photographs of the repaired areas and his testimony explaining his opinions were sufficient to survive summary judgment. In this case, the Ghaznavis’ hired the defendant, Arby Construction Inc. d/b/a National Residential Services (Arby Constr.), to install new tiling in a corridor inside their home. The corridor was adjacent to the garage. While Arby Constr. was performing the work, the Ghaznavis asked the defendant to fix an outlet inside the garage that was not working. Arby Constr. installed a new wire that connected the outlet to the garage door opener at the ceiling of the garage. Less than 2 months later, a fire occurred in the garage area. The fire marshal placed the origin of the fire in the ceiling of the corridor adjacent to the garage. The fire marshal’s report stated that “faulty wiring in the corridor behind the garage” caused the fire. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gus Sara, White and Williams
Mr. Sara may be contacted at sarag@whiteandwilliams.com

Spain’s Sagrada Familia: Contemporary Construction Methods Speed Iconic Basilica to Completion

March 24, 2026 — Pam McFarland - Engineering News-Record
In 2014, the entity behind construction of one of the world’s most iconic churches—the wildly imaginative Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona, Spain—contacted global consultant Arup with a challenge: Could the firm help the project team update designs developed more than a century earlier, to ensure that a critical project component was built to be structurally sound? Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Pam McFarland, Engineering News-Record
Ms. McFarland may be contacted at mcfarlandp@enr.com

Identifying Unfair Clauses in Construction Contracts

February 17, 2026 — Curtis W. Martin - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
In 1979, virtually all projects were completed under form contracts. As I started practicing construction law, it seemed that most form contracts were generally fair. They were negotiated by industry groups and over the next 10-20 years they appeared to become fairer. We could and did compare provisions in the AIA documents, the Federal contract forms, and the EJCDC agreements. When we did, we found subtle differences, but broad similarities in their approach to contract risk allocation. Today many (most?) private projects are done with “manuscript” contracts – instruments tailored to the owner’s interests. And many public entities have developed their own contracts. And not all those clauses seem so fair. This month I focus on contract clauses that I consider unfair. And while unfairness, like beauty, may be in the eye of the beholder, I think that the clauses described below aptly fit that descriptor. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Curtis W. Martin, Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Mr. Martin may be contacted at cmartin@pecklaw.com

Weather Delay Claim - Owner Delay Pushes Contractor into Worse Seasonal Adverse Weather

November 04, 2025 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
In government contracting, a contractor is entitled to a time extension for “unusually severe weather.” However, this time extension is typically not compensable (meaning you get time, but not additional compensation). However, “a contractor may bring a claim for compensable delay when government delay pushes a contractor’s performance into a period of worse seasonal adverse-but not unusually severe-weather.” Appeals of - Thalle Construction Company, ASBCA No. 63685, 2025 WL 2496328, n.10 (ASBCA 2025) (citation omitted). In a recent appeal with the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, a contractor pursued a weather delay claim. The contractor sought 39 days of adverse weather between the adjusted contract completion date and the actual substantial completion date claiming that the government pushed the contractor’s last 262 days of performance into worse seasonal adverse weather. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (11/5/25) – Apartment Conversion Projects Surge, Targeted AI in Real Estate Increases and Hotel Lobby Urge End of Government Shutdown

December 02, 2025 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, government shutdown affects contractors, hotel construction stays flat, and more!

The total U.S. hotel construction pipeline stayed relatively flat year over year in the third quarter of 2025, while brand conversions saw record-high project totals. (Lara Ewen, Construction Dive)
Construction attorneys say some federal jobs during the government shutdown may require contractors to keep working, even if they’re not getting paid. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive)
The government shutdown has resulted in an estimated $650 million in lost hotel business, with each day of the shutdown costing the economy $31 million “in activity that would’ve been generated by hotel stays.” (Lara Ewen, Hotel Dive)

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Real Estate & Construction Law Team

Navigating Wind and Solar Development Opportunities on State and Private Lands During Uncertain Times for Renewable Energy

February 02, 2026 — Cara M. MacDonald, Robert G. Howard & Andrew Jacobs - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Recent executive actions and federal guidance have targeted wind and solar development, creating substantial uncertainty for the U.S. offshore wind industry and also reshaping the regulatory landscape governing onshore wind and solar development. Wind and solar projects on federal lands are now subject to heightened review processes and enhanced regulatory scrutiny. As a result, many developers are considering opportunities on state-owned and privately held lands rather than federal lands. 2025 Federal Executive Actions Impacting Wind and Solar At the federal level, renewable energy development on public lands is governed primarily by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The agency provides rights of way and leases (in designated leasing areas) for energy project development. Despite significant incentives for renewable energy development under the Biden administration, the Trump administration has deprioritized renewable energy in support of traditional energy sources like oil, gas and coal, as well as nuclear and geothermal energy. Reprinted courtesy of Cara M. MacDonald, Pillsbury, Robert G. Howard, Pillsbury and Andrew Jacobs, Pillsbury Ms. MacDonald may be contacted at cara.macdonald@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Howard may be contacted at robert.howard@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Jacobs may be contacted at andrew.jacobs@pillsburylaw.com Read the full story...

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