Chippewa County Wisconsin Construction Expert Witness Directory

Bad Faith Claim Survives Summary Judgment

June 08, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court denied the insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment on the insured’s bad faith claim, but granted the motion on the insured’s claim for punitive damages. Serbian Orthodox Church v. Brotherhood Mut. Ins. Co., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58234 (S.D. Cal. March 19, 2026). On February 1, 2023, the Church filed a claim for water damage with Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company (BMIC). The claim was based on rain and wind that caused extensive water intrusion into the Sanctuary, damaging its plaster walls and ceilings and fresco paintings. The claim was assigned to Patrick Hurley. Hurley sent a letter discussing potential bars to coverage and requesting further information and documents from the Church. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Lewis Brisbois Welcomes Clients and Community Leaders to New Garden City Office Opening

July 27, 2026 — Lewis Brisbois
On July 15, Lewis Brisbois hosted a ribbon-cutting event for its new Garden City office, which opened in April to serve the Long Island community and beyond. The event was attended by more than 100 people, including Lewis Brisbois attorneys and staff as well as clients, local business and government leaders, Nassau County Supreme Court judges, and members of the press. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman delivered remarks and cut the ribbon for the office. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

“He Chose…Poorly: How Bad DSC Clauses Lead to Project Doom in the Last Crusade of Construction Risk”

March 10, 2026 — Curt Martin & Lee Banta - ConsensusDocs
“We do not follow maps to buried treasure, and X never, ever marks the spot.” That’s the advice that Indiana Jones offered in the Last Crusade film. But what’s beneath the surface isn’t just important to adventure archaeologists. It has real-world application to our industry, where success depends on the stability of materials below the surface. The study of geology and soils has ancient roots. Egyptians relied on soil stability for the pyramids; Rome built a continent-wide roadway system utilizing subgrade preparation techniques; Medieval builders implemented a rudimentary foundation pier system; Henri Gautier studied what is now called the “angle of repose” for French retaining walls in the early 18th Century. Through the 19th Century, contractors bore the risk of the stability of their work, and the attendant peril of unforeseen site conditions. But in the early 20th Century, design trades continued to develop increased understanding of soil and underground conditions. In the 1920’s US federal contracts began employing “differing site conditions” clauses, which provided for cost/time adjustments if subsurface conditions differed from expectations. Industry forms followed the federal policy, and these clauses became almost universally accepted. Reprinted courtesy of Curt Martin, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Lee Banta, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Mr. Martin may be contacted at cmartin@pecklaw.com Mr. Banta may be contacted at lbanta@pecklaw.com Read the full story...

Location, Location, Location — But Which One? The Few Words in Your Construction Contract that Pick Where You Fight

June 29, 2026 — Brad Sands - ConsensusDocs
Most professionals know the old real estate line: location, location, location. It turns out to be just as true for construction contracts as it is for property. Consider a recent case involving a project owner that hired two design firms for a project. When issues arose during construction, the owner sued the design firms in state court in Brazoria County, Texas, pursuant to the forum selection clause in the parties’ contracts. The defendants then removed the case to the federal district court in Galveston, a courthouse in a different county. But the owner wanted the case back in Brazoria County state court. Whether it got its wish came down to two words in the contract: “situated in.” This article is about words like those. A construction contract’s forum selection clause names the place for the fight nobody plans to have, and where that fight happens can shape how it goes. This article explains why the wording in your forum selection clause deserves careful reading before you sign a construction contract. It is not a deep dive into the mechanics of federal removal jurisdiction, and it is not an academic comparison of the terms “forum” and “venue.” Instead, it is a practical look at how courts actually read these clauses, so the location of a future fight is the one you intended. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Brad Sands, Jones Walker, LLP
Mr. Sands may be contacted at bsands@joneswalker.com

HHMR Honored as a 2026 Denver Business Journal Best Places to Work Recipient

March 10, 2026 — David McLain - Colorado Construction Litigation Blog
We are pleased to share that Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell has been named a 2026 Denver Business Journal Best Places to Work honoree, a recognition grounded entirely in direct feedback from our own team members. The Denver Business Journal Best Places to Work program, in partnership with Quantum Workplace, ranks organizations based on anonymous employee engagement survey results that measure culture, leadership, communication, trust, team dynamics, and satisfaction. This year’s list includes 65 companies across the Denver metropolitan area, judged by the people who know these workplaces best: their employees. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David McLain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell
Mr. McLain may be contacted at mclain@hhmrlaw.com

Limitations of Liability Provisions in Construction Contracts: A Means to Manage Risk and Limit Financial Exposure

June 23, 2026 — Ellen Chapelle, Richard Reizen, Hannah Batsche - Construction Executive
Taking a cue from architects and engineers, construction contractors have started inserting limitation of liability clauses in their construction contracts to manage risk and limit financial exposure. This article will address the specific risks that can be limited through an LOL, tips for negotiating the LOL terms with reluctant owners to cover those specific risks, how to limit unintended consequences of an LOL (such as relieving an insurer of its obligations to cover certain losses), and approaches to setting the amount of the liability cap in the LOL. Addressing Particular Risks An LOL can address a wide range of risks, including:

Damages for delay
Liability for non-conforming or defective work
Liability for third-party bodily injury or property damage
Liability excluded by a general liability policy (e.g., pollution and cyber liability)
Liability related to intellectual property

The Deadline to File Suit on a Public Works Payment Payment Bond is Triggered by a Claimant’s Work on a Project Not by a Claimant’s Work Under a Contract

June 02, 2026 — Garret D. Murai - California Construction Law Blog
California law requires that prime contractors furnish a payment bond – providing for payment to lower-tiered subcontractors and suppliers – on state and local public works projects with a value in excess of $25,000. There are three conditions that must be satisfied when a claimant makes a claim against a payment bond on a public works project in California:

First, generally, the claimant must have served a preliminary notice, unless the claimant is a first-tier subcontractor or supplier;
The claimant must have “ceased to provide work” on the project; and
The claimant must file suit against the payment bond no later than six (6) months after the period in which a stop payment notice must be given or, in other words, the earlier of 270 days after completion of the public works project or 210 days after a notice of completion or cessation was recorded on a public works project.

In Tarlton & Sons, Inc. v. Great American Insurance Company, 111 Cal.App.5th 376 (2025), the 2nd District Court of Appeal examined whether a subcontractor timely filed a claim against a payment bond when a prime contractor was terminated and replaced by another prime contractor who the subcontractor continued to perform work for. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret D. Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Buffalo, NY Stadium Work Resumes After Suspects ID'ed in $150K Graffiti Vandalism

March 17, 2026 — Emell D. Adolphus - Engineering News-Record
Construction work is back on track at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., after police identifed, but did not arrest two suspects in connection with $150,000 in property damage that paused work for nearly one week at the $2.1 billion stadium project, said the Gilbane Building Cos. and Turner Construction joint venture building it for the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Emell D. Adolphus, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Adolphus may be contacted at adolphuse@enr.com

CHIPPEWA COUNTY WISCONSIN CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES