Waynesville North Carolina Construction Expert Witness Directory

EPA Expands PFAS Reporting Requirements with Addition of New Chemical to Toxics Release Inventory, Published by Law360

June 08, 2026 — Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) addition of sodium perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS-Na) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) introduces new federal reporting requirements for businesses that manufacture, process, or use the chemical. Because reporting obligations apply retroactively to the start of the year, affected facilities must quickly evaluate their compliance and recordkeeping practices. In a recent Law360 article, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Senior Counsel, Ayodeji Ayolola, explains why PFHxS-Na was automatically added to the TRI, how the EPA’s public reporting system works, and which businesses may be affected by the new rule. The article also touches upon key compliance considerations, including supply chain reviews, reporting thresholds for chemicals of special concern, and preparation for public disclosure requirements. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

Arbitration in Construction Disputes: Process and Best Practices

July 27, 2026 — Construction Executive
Arbitration in construction disputes is a private process where owners, contractors, subcontractors, designers or suppliers present claims to one or more neutral arbitrators instead of taking the dispute through court. The arbitrator reviews evidence, hears testimony and issues a decision that is usually binding. Construction arbitration is common because project disputes are technical, document-heavy and time-sensitive. Claims may involve schedule delays, disputed change orders, defective work, differing site conditions, payment, termination, indemnity, surety issues or professional liability. Arbitration can be faster and more specialized than litigation, but speed is not guaranteed. Poor contract language, broad discovery, weak records and unclear damages can make arbitration expensive. Reprinted courtesy of Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

How AI Turns Construction Documents Into Procurement Intelligence

May 05, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
MEP equipment accounts for up to 40% of costs on data center or hospital projects, has lead times ranging from 20 weeks to over a year, and has historically been the most underserved area in construction software. In this episode, I speak with Victor Muchiri from BuildVision about what it actually takes to make AI useful in construction procurement, not as a pilot, but in production. We dig into why you cannot simply upload a set of construction drawings to ChatGPT and trust the output. Construction documents are complex, cross-referenced, and consequential. Without deep domain context, such as manufacturer ontologies, equipment taxonomies, and engineering expertise, AI produces plausible results, not reliable ones. BuildVision’s approach is to act as a harness around AI models, wrapping them in construction-specific knowledge so the output can be trusted for real procurement decisions. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

The Modern Nuclear Renaissance Reaches New England

April 14, 2026 — Stephen J. Humes - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
On March 31, 2026, the governors of all six New England states issued a joint, bipartisan statement committing the region to explore deployment of advanced nuclear energy technologies while supporting the continued safe, affordable and reliable operation of New England’s existing nuclear generation facilities. This coordinated regional initiative follows a major policy announcement in June 2025 by New York Governor Kathy Hochul directing the New York Power Authority to pursue development of at least 1,000 MW of advanced nuclear generation to support statewide reliability needs and New York’s zero‑carbon mission. Less than one year after New York formally embraced a modern nuclear renaissance, that renaissance has now expanded across the New England states—signaling a broader Northeast regional pivot toward nuclear as a core element of long‑term reliability, affordability and decarbonization strategies. For utilities and power generators, this shift creates both opportunities and planning imperatives that warrant immediate attention. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Stephen J. Humes, Pillsbury
Mr. Humes may be contacted at stephen.humes@pillsburylaw.com

Chambers USA Recognizes GRSM as 2026 Industry Leader

June 29, 2026 — Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani has once again been recognized by Chambers USA, a prestigious directory of the country’s top law firms. In addition to the firm’s practice recognitions, eight partners, David Capell, Nancy Erfle, Matthew Foy, Ashlee Grant, Craig Heryford, Andrew Port, Todd Regan, and Angela Richie, were recognized among the nation’s top lawyers in their respective fields. Chambers USA recognized the firm in the following eight categories: USA – Nationwide – Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Insurer, Band 4 The firm is widely sought after by national insurance sector clients facing a wide array of coverage disputes as well as bad faith claims. The firm has additional capabilities in class actions and appellate litigation. Its broad base of experience includes professional liability, construction, and bankruptcy-related issues. This is the third year the firm has received this recognition. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

No Ink, No Problem: When Employees and Agents Can Enforce Arbitration Agreements

August 11, 2026 — Jordan Heath & Jacob Morrison - ConsensusDocs
Arbitration is a fundamental component of modern construction contracting. Many in the industry recognize the potential benefits and protections arbitration can provide to the business in the event of a dispute. But an important question many contracts do not address is: who does the arbitration agreement cover? Does it include the business entity only, or the individuals acting on behalf of the entity? As courts have long recognized, entities can generally only act through their employees, representatives, or agents.[1] This article discusses the circumstances in which an agent may rely on an arbitration provision entered by its employer. This is known as the agency doctrine. Reprinted courtesy of Jordan Heath, Associate, Jones Walker LLP and Jacob Morrison, Law Student University of Georgia, Jones Walker LLP Read the full story...
Mr. Heath may be contacted at jheath@joneswalker.com

Nomos LLP Partner Garret Murai Recognized by Super Lawyers

July 13, 2026 — Garret D. Murai - California Construction Law Blog
Nomos LLP Partner Garret Murai has been recognized as a 2026 Northern California Super Lawyer honoree in the area of Construction Litigation. This is the thirteenth consecutive year he has been recognized by Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers, an annual listing of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and personal achievement, is limited to no more than five percent (5%) of lawyers in a state who are selected through a multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent research evaluation and peer reviews by practice area. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret D. Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

SDNY Ruling Highlights Privilege Risks in Client Use of Generative AI

March 03, 2026 — Christopher J. Olsen, Freddy X. Muñoz & Gary M. Stein - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming a go‑to tool for aggregating and summarizing large volumes of data, formulating and testing arguments, and even sketching litigation strategies. But a recent ruling from the Southern District of New York serves as a stark warning: when clients turn to generative AI for legal strategy, they may be unknowingly turning privileged information over to a third party and then creating documents that may later be discoverable in litigation. In a closely watched bench decision, Judge Rakoff ruled that AI‑generated documents created by the target of a criminal investigation using Anthropic’s Claude were not privileged despite being generated with information learned from his attorneys to support his potential legal defense and then shared with his counsel. The decision highlights the unresolved and increasingly consequential intersection of AI, privilege, and discovery. Facts Bradley Heppner received a grand jury subpoena and hired attorneys at Quinn Emanuel to represent him. After learning he was a target of the investigation, but before he was arrested, he created 31 documents with Claude using information from his attorneys to outline a potential defense strategy. He was later arrested on charges of securities and wire fraud, and federal agents seized his electronic devices, which contained the 31 documents that had been provided to his attorneys. Mr. Heppner argued that the documents were created to prepare his potential defense strategy in anticipation of an indictment, but he conceded that he made the decision to prepare the reports on his own, i.e., not at the direction of counsel. He nevertheless claimed the documents were protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine; the government moved to overrule the objections. Reprinted courtesy of Christopher J. Olsen, Peckar & Abramson, P.C., Freddy X. Muñoz, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Gary M. Stein, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Mr. Olsen may be contacted at colsen@pecklaw.com Mr. Muñoz may be contacted at fmunoz@pecklaw.com Mr. Stein may be contacted at gstein@pecklaw.com Read the full story...

WAYNESVILLE NORTH CAROLINA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES