Anaheim California Construction Expert Witness Directory

Why the Total Recordable Incident Rate Doesn’t Tell the Whole Safety Story

November 09, 2025 — David Tibbetts - Construction Executive
TRIR - total recordable incident rate - has long served as the standard metric for tracking workplace injuries. However, events with the potential to result in a serious injury and fatality - or SIF-potential - demand more attention than standard metrics provide. While TRIR has long been used as a benchmark for safety performance, it doesn’t reflect the presence of high-risk exposures that could lead to life-altering or fatal outcomes. TRIR remains a key safety metric, but recognizing and responding to SIF-potential events is essential for organizations committed to true safety excellence. A Tale of Two Projects For example, look at how an overreliance on TRIR can impact two separate jobsites. Both projects have worked 150,000 hours with a significant amount of high-risk activities including site work, steel erection, precast concrete and curtain wall installation. Reprinted courtesy of David Tibbetts, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

Construction of $3B Data Center in North Dakota Spurs Annexation Battle

January 13, 2026 — Annemarie Mannion - Engineering News-Record
Construction of a $3-billion data center on a 320-acre site in southeastern North Dakota has sparked an annexation dispute between the small city where it is being built and its much larger neighbor, Fargo. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Annemarie Mannion, Engineering News-Record
Ms. Mannion may be contacted at manniona@enr.com

Congratulations to Arizona Managing Partner John Belanger and Associate Ryan Leibel on Securing a Win at Arbitration!

August 05, 2025 — Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
This case arose from an incident that occurred on the premises of BWB&O’s client, a large wholesale retailer. Plaintiff alleged that she suffered serious injuries resulting from a slip and fall that occurred inside a warehouse owned by BWB&O’s client. Plaintiff asserted a negligence claim against BWB&O’s client under a theory of premises liability, alleging that BWB&O’s client had actual knowledge of the substance on which Plaintiff slipped, and that the warehouse failed to remedy the same. It was undisputed that BWB&O’s client had prior knowledge of the substance. However, Plaintiff conceded at her deposition that an employee of BWB&O’s client had warned Plaintiff of the substance moments before the slip and fall occurred. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Dolores Montoya, Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

Tenn. Court of Appeals Finally Clarifies Contractor Licensing Laws, Holding An “Underlicensed” Contractor Is Violation of Tennessee’s Consumer Protection Act

September 23, 2025 — Matthew DeVries - Best Practices Construction Law
The title of this post says it all. No need for a catchy story about my kids or a play on words. In what had been an often debated issue in trial courts across Tennessee, the Court of Appeals recently weighed in on the issue of whether an underlicensed contractor (one who contracts beyond the monetary limitation of its license) can form the basis of a claim under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), Tenn. Code Ann. 47-18-101 et seq. The Setup. In Zelenik v. Crowell Homebuilding LLC, (Aug. 14, 2025), the Court held that a contractor that exceeds its monetary licensing limit at the time of contracting violates the Contractor’s Licensing Act (“CLA”), Tenn. Code Ann. 62-6-101 to -139 (2019 & Supp. 2024). The Court went on to hold that the trial court properly held that a violation of the CLA, in turn, constituted a violation of the TCPA. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Matthew DeVries, Buchalter
Mr. DeVries may be contacted at mdevries@buchalter.com

CARB Issues Proposed Climate Disclosure Regulations

January 13, 2026 — Michael S. McDonough, Ashleigh Myers & Karen Eskander - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
On December 9, 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) issued proposed regulations and a staff report for California’s comprehensive climate disclosure laws, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253) and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (SB 261). These proposed regulations come less than a month after the Ninth Circuit issued an injunction temporarily halting enforcement of SB 261, at least until a January 9, 2026, hearing on the plaintiffs’ requested longer-term injunction through the remainder of the First Amendment challenge to the laws. The draft regulations would adopt some, but not all, of the provisions proposed by CARB in its public workshops on the laws to date, and notably would scale back applicability to those companies above a threshold level of sales in the state. The proposed regulations also define key terms, establish the program fee structures, explain fee enforcement and set initial reporting timelines. The written comment period begins on December 26, 2025, and ends on February 9, 2026. CARB will hold a public hearing on the proposed regulations on February 26, 2026 at 9 a.m. PST. Reprinted courtesy of Michael S. McDonough, Pillsbury, Ashleigh Myers, Pillsbury and Karen Eskander, Pillsbury Mr. McDonough may be contacted at michael.mcdonough@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Myers may be contacted at ashleigh.myers@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Eskander may be contacted at karen.eskander@pillsburylaw.com Read the full story...

Traub Lieberman Partner Jessica Kull Obtains Favorable Arbitration Award In Year-Long High-Stakes Construction Defect Case

November 09, 2025 — Jessica N. Kull - Traub Lieberman
Traub Lieberman Partner Jessica Kull and the Traub Lieberman litigation team obtained an extremely favorable outcome in a highly contentious construction defect arbitration hearing on behalf of their client, a well-known general contractor, LG Construction Group LLC (“LG”). The litigation lasted a total of 6 years, with the arbitration evidentiary hearing portion continuing for 12 months. In 2019, the Claimant, a wealthy homeowner, filed an arbitration demand against both LG and the luxury brand architecture firm that she hired to construct a multi-million-dollar lakefront home in Wilmette, Illinois. The Claimant alleged construction defects totaling approximately $13 million in damages. Her claims included alleged defects to the exterior and interior of the home. In turn, Jessica filed third-party claims against approximately 20 subcontractors involved in performing the work. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Jessica N. Kull, Traub Lieberman
Ms. Kull may be contacted at jkull@tlsslaw.com

Trust, But Verify: Addressing Risk of Non-Payment by Owners

December 08, 2025 — William Underwood - ConsensusDocs
Receiving payment is an important piece of any for-profit business. And construction contractors are no exception. But sometimes payments do not arrive on time (or, worse yet, not at all), even when a contractor has done everything right. Ensuring that owners have the ability to pay invoices when they become due is an important upfront risk mitigation strategy that can help reduce future risks of non-payment. Although it is not possible to entirely remove this risk, there are options to help reduce it. This article will highlight some of the options to help increase payment security, both before and during the Project, to reduce the risk of non-payment for work that is otherwise properly performed. This article does not cover the entire waterfront of available options, including liens (which could be a separate topic for an entire thesis). But this article nonetheless provides some practical options for consideration to reduce payment risks. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of William Underwood, Jones Walker LLP
Mr. Underwood may be contacted at wunderwood@joneswalker.com

Texas Court Revives Construction Defect Claims: Key Lessons for Managing Latent Defect Risk

January 21, 2026 — Spencer E. Dunn & Melissa Osio Martinez - Wood Smith Henning Berman
Construction projects often involve intricate designs, multiple stakeholders, and complex performance obligations. When problems surface years after completion, parties must navigate a difficult landscape that blends contract law, tort doctrines, and statutory deadlines. A recent decision from the Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas provides meaningful guidance on how courts will evaluate latent construction defect claims, the applicability of the discovery rule, and the limits of the economic loss doctrine. In Morningside Ministries v. Koontz McCombs Construction, Ltd., the court reversed summary judgment entered in favor of the general contractor and project manager, reviving the owner's claims and offering important lessons for owners, contractors, and insurers facing construction defect disputes. Background of the Dispute Morningside Ministries operates senior living communities across Texas. In 2012, It contracted with Koontz McCombs Construction, Ltd. (Koontz) to construct The Overlook, a significant expansion of Morningside's Menger Springs campus in Boerne. The contract required Koontz to build 100 new senior living units along with common areas and site improvements, and placed responsibility for construction quality, including the work of subcontractors, on Koontz. Reprinted courtesy of Spencer E. Dunn, Wood Smith Henning Berman and Melissa Osio Martinez, Wood Smith Henning Berman Mr. Dunn may be contacted at sdunn@wshblaw.com Ms. Martinez may be contacted at mosiomartinez@wshblaw.com Read the full story...

ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES