Kensington Maryland Construction Expert Witness Directory

Seattle’s Residential Zoning Transformation: What Property Owners, Buyers, and Investors Should Understand

May 14, 2026 — Lawrence S. Glosser - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Seattle is in the midst of a significant transformation in residential land use policy. Longstanding neighborhood zoning patterns that historically favored detached single-family development are being reexamined in response to housing supply pressures, affordability concerns, and evolving state mandates. For homeowners, purchasers, investors, and builders, these changes may create substantial new opportunities. They also create a heightened need for careful legal and practical due diligence. While zoning reform can expand potential uses of property, it does not eliminate the many other constraints that may still govern what can actually be built. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Lawrence S. Glosser, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Mr. Glosser may be contacted at larry.glosser@acslawyers.com

Ninth Circuit Holds That Policies Covering Environmental Claims Do Not Have Aggregate Limits

May 12, 2026 — Lorelie S. Masters & Joseph T. Niczky - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
In the case of County of San Bernardino v. Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, the Ninth Circuit recently addressed the issue of whether general liability policies issued in the 1960s and 1970s included aggregate limits for claims arising under the premises-operations coverage in CGL policies. The difference between the policyholder’s interpretation of the policies’ limits clauses and the insurer’s interpretation was worth hundreds of millions of dollars in exposure for the insurer. The Court closely examined the policy language and extrinsic evidence from both the insurance industry’s drafting history and the parties before concluding that the policies were ambiguous. The Court construed that ambiguity in favor of the policyholder and ruled that aggregate limits did not apply to the claims at issue. The Court’s decision underscores the importance of carefully examining a policy’s limits, especially for older policies written before 1986 when the insurance industry revised the standard-form CGL policy to state the aggregate limits apply not only to products liability claims but to premises-operations claims as well. Decades of insurance industry drafting history confirms, as the policyholder’s submissions in this case indicate, that the industry well understood that operations claims like the environmental waste-disposal claims at issue here typically were not subject to aggregate limits. Reprinted courtesy of Lorelie S. Masters, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP and Joseph T. Niczky, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Ms. Masters may be contacted at lmasters@hunton.com Mr. Niczky may be contacted at jniczky@hunton.com Read the full story...

White and Williams LLP Secures a Clean Sweep Dismissal of Architect's Professional Liability Coverage Lawsuit

August 16, 2026 — Daniel E. Bryer & Brendaliz Minaya Ruiz - White and Williams LLP
White and Williams LLP achieved a complete dismissal of professional liability coverage claims through a strategic defense led by Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Practice Group attorneys Daniel E. Bryer, Partner and Brendaliz Minaya Ruiz, Associate. In a nuanced action styled, Vincent Cusumano Architect P.C., et al. v. Berkshire Hathaway Direct Insurance Company, et al., decided in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, plaintiffs asserted twelve pre-contractual and contractual-based causes of action against their liability insurer, Berkshire Hathaway Direct Insurance Company, and its insurance agent (collectively, “Defendants”) for denying a professional liability claim arising from plaintiffs’ prior work. Reprinted courtesy of Daniel E. Bryer, White and Williams LLP and Brendaliz Minaya Ruiz, White and Williams LLP Mr. Bryer may be contacted at bryerd@whiteandwilliams.com Ms. Ruiz may be contacted at minayaruizb@whiteandwilliams.com Read the full story...

Science-Based Standards for Wildfire Recovery: What California Policyholders Need to Know About A.B. 1642

March 03, 2026 — Geoffrey B. Fehling & Yosef Itkin - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
Wildfires continue to present serious risks for California property owners. Unfortunately, commercial property owners, corporate facilities, landlords, and homeowners need to overcome not only the flames themselves, but also remediating hazardous contamination against a backdrop of unpredictable and ambiguous environmental safety standards. In response to the destructive Los Angeles area fires in 2025, the California Legislature recently introduced Assembly Bill 1642 aimed at creating uniform science-based standards for evaluating, testing, and clearing wildfire-impacted properties. While A.B. 1642 is in its early stages of consideration, it could materially influence claims handling, remediation costs, risk management practices, and broader liability exposures for California policyholders. Reprinted courtesy of Geoffrey B. Fehling, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP and Yosef Itkin, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Mr. Fehling may be contacted at gfehling@hunton.com Mr. Itkin may be contacted at yitkin@hunton.com Read the full story...

Appeals Court Upholds Skanska, Granite Win in ‘I-4 Ultimate’ JV Dispute

June 15, 2026 — Bryan Gottlieb - Engineering News-Record
A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court’s decision requiring The Lane Construction Corp. to pay roughly $79 million in damages, plus interest, to joint venture partners Skanska USA Civil Southeast and Granite Construction for work on Florida’s I-4 Ultimate highway megaproject in Orlando, which was completed in 2022. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Bryan Gottlieb, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Gottlieb may be contacted at gottliebb@enr.com

DOI Finalizes Long-Awaited Modernization of Type A Natural Resource Damage Assessment Regulations

August 03, 2026 — Amanda G. Halter, Ashleigh K. Myers & Jillian Marullo - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
For nearly three decades, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) simplified “Type A” Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) regulations were available more in theory than in practice, constrained by dated models, narrow geographic applicability and a $100,000 cap that rarely matched the economics of modern environmental claims. DOI has now finalized revisions to the Type A natural resource damages assessment procedures under 43 C.F.R. Part 11 for hazardous substance releases under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA), with the final rule published in the Federal Register on July 13, 2026 and scheduled to become effective August 12, 2026. As discussed previously, DOI has sought to modernize what it views as an “inefficient and inflexible” process and restore the Type A procedure to its intended role as a more streamlined pathway for smaller, less contentious NRD claims. The final rule adopts a $5 million default damages threshold, allows use above that amount if all parties agree, clarifies that Type A may be used in all environments and for all natural resource types, and removes legacy model appendices that had tethered the process to outdated formulas. Reprinted courtesy of Amanda G. Halter, Pillsbury, Ashleigh K. Myers, Pillsbury and Jillian Marullo, Pillsbury Ms. Halter may be contacted at amanda.halter@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Myers may be contacted at ashleigh.myers@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Marullo may be contacted at jillian.marullo@pillsburylaw.com Read the full story...

Snell & Wilmer’s Orange County Office Recognized as One of the “Best Places to Work” by the Orange County Business Journal

August 16, 2026 — Snell & Wilmer
ORANGE COUNTY – Snell & Wilmer is pleased to announce that its Orange County office has been selected as one of the 2026 “Best Places to Work in Orange County” by the Orange County Business Journal. This recognition honors outstanding employers that foster exceptional workplace cultures and demonstrate a strong commitment to employee engagement, professional development, and organizational excellence. The annual awards recognize Orange County employers that create positive workplace environments and set the standard for employee satisfaction and organizational success. Honorees are selected through a comprehensive evaluation process that includes confidential employee surveys and an independent assessment of company policies, practices, philosophy, systems, and demographics. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Snell & Wilmer

Judge's Order Halts Google Data Center Project in Minnesota

July 27, 2026 — Annemarie Mannion - Engineering News-Record
Construction of a $1-billion Google data center planned by Ryan Cos. on 485 acres in southeastern Minnesota was expected to start in July but is now halted under a judge’s order. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Annemarie Mannion, Engineering News-Record
Ms. Mannion may be contacted at manniona@enr.com

KENSINGTON MARYLAND CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES