ARJAY KENTUCKY CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

"Resilient Rebuild Hub" Helps Wildfire-Impacted Homeowners Build Back Stronger

September 21, 2026 — California Nevada Cement Association
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- When homeowners in a fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades neighborhood banded together last year to rebuild with fire-hardened materials rather than standard wood framing, they weren't just rebuilding houses: they were rewriting the playbook for how California communities can rebuild after wildfire. Today, the Building with Resilience effort is making that playbook available to every homeowner facing the same decision with the launch of its new Resilient Rebuild Hub for exploring fire resistant, non-combustible construction options. The Resilient Rebuild Hub helps homeowners understand options for fire-resistant, concrete-based construction and connect with architects, engineers, and contractors who can build them. This includes six noncombustible building systems:

• Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF): stackable, high-density foam blocks filled with concrete which save 20-50% on monthly heating and cooling costs, reduce outside noise by up to 80%, offer exceptional earthquake performance and 4-hour fire resistance rating.
• Insulated Composite Concrete Forms (ICCF): similar formwork to ICF construction with composite materials that enhance strength, simplify installation, and improve long-term performance.
• Concrete Masonry: strong, durable wall systems used for decades across California and the U.S.
• Precast Insulated Sandwich Panels: a complete building enclosure system consisting of two layers of concrete separated by a continuous layer of rigid insulation.
• 3D Shotcrete: air-sprayed concrete for strong, fast, and versatile wall systems that enable a high degree of artistic freedom together with unparalleled fire resistance.
• 3D Concrete Printing: the cutting edge of residential construction, a large-scale robotic 3D printer "squeezes" a specialized concrete mixture layer by layer to allow for organic, curved designs that are often too expensive or impossible to build with traditional methods. The Resilient Rebuild Hub is available now at buildingwithresilience.com/how-to-build. Each part is free to access and includes case studies, technical resources, and a directory of architects, engineers, and contractors experienced in each building method. CNCA is a not-for-profit organization committed to developing sustainable and economical construction solutions for California and Nevada with an emphasis on the use of cement and concrete. For more information, visit www.cncement.org. CalCIMA is a trade association for the construction and essential mineral industries in California, including aggregate, essential and rare earth minerals, ready mixed concrete, and asphalt producers. In all, there are about 70 producer member companies that include 500 production sites in every county of California. Our members also include more than 100 suppliers and service providers to the industry. Founded in 1930, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) is the leading industry advocate with a mission to provide exceptional value for our members by responsibly representing and serving the entire ready mixed concrete industry through leadership, promotion, education and partnering to ensure ready mixed concrete is the building material of choice.

  ---

  Can Anything Supersede Excel in AEC?

  April 27, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
  If there’s one piece of software that dominates the business world across industries, it’s Microsoft Excel. Can AI finally dethrone the mighty spreadsheet? Memorable Spreadsheet Moments Everyone has memorable spreadsheet moments. I have a few. For example, my then-architecture firm was involved in more than a dozen housing developments abroad. I developed an Excel workbook that took the required number of households as input and automatically generated a breakdown of buildings and their apartment types for AutoCAD. This was urban planning and architectural design done with a spreadsheet. I also developed business software using Excel for project portfolio management. The prototype was later scaled into a commercial SaaS that is now used globally. Another memorable moment was when a property owner told me their Excel file grew so large that it ran out of rows and columns. That must have been before 2007, when the maximum number of columns on a sheet was still just 256 and the maximum number of rows was 65,536. The current limits are 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns, which I hope no one will exceed. Read the full story...
  Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
  Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

  ---

  GRSM Marks Seventh Anniversary as First and Only Full-Service Law Firm in All 50 States, Climbs to #70 on Am Law 100

  April 20, 2026 — Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
  Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani proudly celebrates the seventh anniversary of its becoming the first and only full-service law firm with offices and attorneys in all 50 states. Since launching its innovative 50-state platform in April 2019, GRSM has experienced extraordinary growth across markets, practices, and client relationships. In the past seven years, GRSM has expanded its footprint with 20 new offices in both major and secondary markets and doubled its attorney headcount, growing from 940 to more than 2000 lawyers. This growth has propelled GRSM from the 40th to the 11th largest law firm in the United States, according to Law360, while also driving a significant rise on the Am Law 100 rankings, from #103 in 2019 to #70 in 2026. GRSM has served nearly half of the Fortune 500, a testament to its deep bench of lawyers and national capabilities. Read the full story...
  Reprinted courtesy of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
  

  ---

  Nationwide Preliminary Injunction Ordering Department of Defense to Resume Review of Wind Energy Projects

  September 21, 2026 — Victor J. Roehm III, Christopher P. Colyer & Sara M. Ajeti - Snell & Wilmer
  On August 6, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted a preliminary injunction in Renewable Northwest v. Hegseth, Case No. 3:26-cv-01092-IM, ordering the Department of Defense (DoD) to resume processing wind energy project applications under the existing statutory and regulatory framework and staying DoD’s review freeze pending final adjudication on the merits. Background In 2011, Congress created the Military Aviation and Installation Assurance Siting Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse) within DoD to review wind energy projects that might affect military operations. When a wind project developer files an application with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the FAA refers it to DoD to determine whether the project poses an “unacceptable risk to the national security.” Reprinted courtesy of Victor J. Roehm III, Snell & Wilmer, Christopher P. Colyer, Snell & Wilmer and Sara M. Ajeti, Snell & Wilmer Mr. Roehm may be contacted at vroehm@swlaw.com Mr. Colyer may be contacted at ccolyer@swlaw.com Ms. Ajeti may be contacted at sajeti@swlaw.com Read the full story...
  

  ---

  Ahlers Cressman & Sleight leads in recognized Construction Litigation Attorneys

  September 01, 2026 — Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
  Ahlers Cressman & Sleight is pleased to announce its leading recognition in the 2026 Washington Super Lawyers magazine. With ten members named, ACS has more recognized Construction Litigation attorneys than any other firm on the 2026 Washington Super Lawyers list, compared to three at the next closest firm. Two ACS members were also recognized on the 2026 Washington Rising Stars list. Super Lawyers selects these recognized lawyers by using a patented multiphase selection process. First, lawyers enter the candidate pool by being nominated by their peers or by being identified by managing partner surveys, third-party feedback, or the Super Lawyersresearch team. Next, Super Lawyersconducts an independently researched evaluation using twelve indicators of professional achievement and peer recognition: verdicts/settlements, transactions, representative clients, experience, honors/awards, special licenses/certifications, position within a law firm, bar and/or professional activity, pro bono and community service, scholarly lectures/writings, education/employment background, and other outstanding achievements. Then, candidates with the highest point totals serve on a Blue Ribbon panel, evaluating other candidates within their primary practice area. Finally, only 5% of attorneys are selected for the Super Lawyers list, and 2.5% of attorneys are selected for the Rising Stars list. More information about the Super Lawyers Selection Process can be found here. Read the full story...
  Reprinted courtesy of Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
  

  ---

  Fourth Circuit Extends Coverage to Contractor

  May 14, 2026 — Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
  The Fourth Circuit in APAC-Atlantic, Inc. v. Owners Insurance Co., No. 24-1969, 2026 WL 458402 (4th Cir. Feb. 18, 2026) recently endorsed broad coverage for additional insureds, interpreting “arising out of” broadly under North Carolina law to extend coverage to a repaving company under its subcontractor’s liability insurance policy. The court held that an additional insured’s liability “arising out of” a named insured’s work in an additional-insured endorsement means liability “relating to” or “causally connected to” the named insured’s operations, rather than liability defined more narrowly as “caused by” or “the fault of” the named insured. Read the full story...
  Reprinted courtesy of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
  

  ---

  Insufficient Notice of Commencement and Construction Lien Rights

  August 03, 2026 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
  When a party is preserving their construction lien rights, the party will look to the recorded Notice of Commencement. This is the recorded document that provides the lienor with the information for purposes of preserving construction lien rights. A Notice to Owner company will typically rely on the Notice of Commencement to serve Notices to Owners from lower tiers not in contract with the owner. However, when it comes to preparing the lien, a lienor should look beyond just the Notice of Commencement and also look to the property appraiser’s website as a backstop. In a recent case, a window company had the homeowner sign the Notice of Commencement and then filled in the information. The company naturally did this for the convenience of the homeowner that probably was unfamiliar with the Notice of Commencement process. Regardless, information in the Notice of Commencement was inaccurate. It failed to include all the real property owners. Thus, when a payment dispute arose and a construction lien was prepared, it did not identify all of
  Understanding the Miller Act
  
  Texas Supreme Court Holds Anadarko’s $100M Deepwater Horizon Defense Costs Are Not Subject To Joint Venture Liability Limits
  
  Wall Failure Due to Construction Defect Says Insurer
  
  Insurer Entitled to Reimbursement of Defense Costs Under Unjust Enrichment Theory
  
  Lewis Brisbois’ Houston Office Selected as a 2020 Top Workplace by the Houston Chronicle
  
  We Knew Concrete Could Absorb Carbon—New Study Tells How Much
  
  Tennessee Court of Appeals Holds Defendant Has the Burden of Offering Alternative Measure of Damages to Prove that Plaintiff’s Measure of Damages is Unreasonable
  
  S&P Suspended and Fined $80 Million in SEC, State Mortgage Bond Cases
  
  Three Payne & Fears Attorneys Named 2024 Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars
  
  Mortar Insufficient to Insure Summary Judgment in Construction Defect Case
  
  Colorado Court of Appeals holds that insurance companies owe duty of prompt and effective communication to claimants and repair subcontractors
  
  Modern Tools Are Key to Future-Proofing the Construction Industry
  
  Application of Set-Off When a Defendant Settles in Multiparty Construction Dispute
  
  A New Lawsuit Might Change the Real Estate Industry Forever
  
  South Carolina Law Clarifies Statue of Repose
  
  Newmeyer Dillion Attorneys Selected To The Best Lawyers In America© And Orange County "Lawyer Of The Year" 2020
  
  Another Reason to Love Construction Mediation (Read: Why Mediation Works)
  
  Modification: Exceptions to Privette Doctrine Do Not Apply Where There is No Evidence a General Contractor Affirmatively Contributed to the Injuries of an Independent Contractor’s Employee
  
  Godfather Charged with Insurance Fraud
  
  “To Indemnify, or Not to Indemnify, that is the Question: California Court of Appeal Addresses Active Negligence in Indemnity Provisions”
  
  EPA Rejects Most of N.Y.’s $511 Million Tappan Zee Loan
  
  Requirements For Professional Engineers Practicing in Connecticut
  
  Colorado Supreme Court Reverses Course on Public Project Liens: Key Takeaways From Wadsworth v. Regional Rail Partners
  
  Modular Homes Test Energy Efficiency Standards
  
  The Road to Rio 2016: Zika, Super Bacteria, and Construction Delays. Sounds Like Everything is Going as Planned
  
  When an Insurer Proceeds as Subrogee, Defendants Should Not Assert Counterclaims Against the Insured/Subrogor
  
  Best Lawyers® Recognizes 40 White and Williams Lawyers
  
  Ex-Turner Exec Gets 46 Months for Bloomberg Construction Bribes
  
  New Jersey Supreme Court Holding Impacts Allocation of Damages in Cases Involving Successive Tortfeasors
  
  Render Unto Caesar: Considerations for Returning Withheld Sums
  
  The Business of Engineering: An Interview with Matthew Loos
  
  Do Not Lose Your Mechanics Lien Right Through a Subordination Agreement
  
  House of Digital Twins
  
  Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (04/18/23) – Clean Energy, Critical Infrastructure and Commercial Concerns
  
  Economic Loss Not Property Damage
  
  A Court-Side Seat: A FACA Fight, a Carbon Pledge and Some Venue on the SCOTUS Menu
  
  The “Ugly” Property Next Door is Ruining My Property Value
  
  Excess-Escape Other Insurance Provision Unenforceable to Avoid Defense Cost Contribution Despite Placement in Policy’s Coverage Grant
  
  Nevada Supreme Court Clarifies the Litigation Waiver of the One-Action Rule
  
  New Joint Venture to Develop a New Community in Orange County, California
  
  ASCE Statement on Biden Administration Permitting Action Plan
  
  Changes to Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act in New York Introduced
  
  Supreme Court Limits EPA’s Options for Wastewater Discharge Permits
  
  GRSM New York Founding Partner Mercedes Colwin Honored with 2025 Excellence in Diversity Award by PLUS Foundation
  
  High-Rise Condominium Construction Design Defects, A Maryland Construction Lawyer’s Perspective
  
  PSA: Performing Construction Work in Virginia Requires a Contractor’s License
  
  Architects and Engineers Added to Harmon Towers Lawsuit
  
  Five Haight Attorneys Selected for Best Lawyers in America© 2021
  
  Unrelated Claims Against Architects Amount to Two Different Claims
  
  Contractor Given a Wake-Up Call for Using a "Sham" RMO/RME
  Bonds
  
  Traub Lieberman Attorneys Recognized as 2026 Illinois Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars
  
  Presumption of Prejudice Applies to All Affirmative Defenses Regarding Insured’s Failure to Comply with Post-Loss Policy Conditions
  
  “I Didn’t Sign That!” – Applicability of Waivers of Subrogation to Non-Signatory Third Parties
  
  Doctrine of Avoidable Consequences as Affirmative Defense
  
  Construction Costs Up
  
  Port Authority Approves Subsidies for 2 World Trade Project
  
  Homeowners Sue Over Sinkholes, Use Cash for Other Things
  
  Newmeyer Dillion Named 2021 Best Law Firm in Multiple Practice Areas by U.S. News-Best Lawyers
  
  Pulte’s Kitchen Innovation Throw Down
  
  The Salt Lake Tribune Names Snell & Wilmer a Winner of the Top Workplaces 2025 Award
  
  Nevada Judge says Class Analysis Not Needed in Construction Defect Case