CHESTNUT MOUND TENNESSEE CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Two Important Points Regarding the Miller Act

September 15, 2026 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
A recent Miller Act case, U.S. f/u/b/o Boundless Management Outsourcing Group, LLC v. Endurance Assurance Corp, 2026 WL 2241491 (D. Puerto Rico 2026), confirms two important points when it comes to the Miller Act. In this case, a subcontractor pursued a Miller Act payment bond lawsuit more than one year after its work was finished. The subcontractor also asserted a claim against the federal government. The lawsuit was dismissed. Below are two takeaway points to consider if you are dealing with a Miller Act payment bond lawsuit. First, as it relates the claim against the federal government, the federal district court followed authority that held that the Miller Act does NOT include a waiver of sovereign immunity against the federal government. “[T]he Court does not identify any clear language in the Miller Act expressly waiving the United States or its agencies’ sovereign immunity.” Endurance Assurance Corp., supra at *3. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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Micromobility in Smart Cities: Keeping the Wheels in Motion

May 26, 2026 — James P. Bobotek - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Mobility is the lifeblood of any city. How people are able to travel in, out and within a metropolitan area is vital to its citizens, businesses, supply chains and social services. And as U.S. cities have expanded in size and population density, the strategies for addressing mobility have evolved. Many have taken different approaches to public transit, and each city boasts a dense tapestry of roadways, walking paths and various parking options. But as cities continue to reexamine infrastructure strategies through smart city technology, a new field of transportation has emerged—micromobility. Designed for short-distance travel using lightweight vehicles (bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, etc.), the industry’s global net worth has grown exponentially in recent years to the tune of hundreds of billions, with one forecast predicting it could reach $340 billion by 2030. Micromobility also finds itself at the forefront of various smart city technological improvements. Geofencing has been implemented in U.S. cities to determine where micromobility vehicles can operate, control speed limits, and park utilizing the vehicles’ GPS location. Internet of Things (IoT) technologies (satellite-based location receivers, cloud communication, internet links, etc.) have improved vehicle lifespans by keeping track of when vehicles require service and prevent vandalism and theft. Data collected from vehicles’ location tracking is routinely used for urban planning and smart city development. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of James P. Bobotek, Pillsbury
Mr. Bobotek may be contacted at james.bobotek@pillsburylaw.com

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Ayushi Neogi Published in ADC Defense Comment on Arbitration in Evolving Plaintiff-Friendly Landscape

May 12, 2026 — Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Senior Counsel Ayushi Neogi has authored an article in the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada’s Defense Comment magazine examining the shifting landscape of arbitration following the Ending Forced Arbitration Act. Titled “Compelling Arbitration in a Post-Ending Forced Arbitration Act, Plaintiff-Friendly Landscape,” the article analyzes how recent legislative changes are reshaping arbitration strategy, particularly as employees gain greater ability to bypass arbitration in certain claims. Neogi provides practical insight into how courts are responding and what this means for defense counsel navigating increasingly complex and plaintiff-friendly environments. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

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Arizona Court of Appeals Clarifies Homeowners Association Open Meeting Requirements

June 29, 2026 — Jill Casson Owen, Benjamin J. Hawkins & Stephen Wright - Snell & Wilmer
A Z N H Revocable Trust v. Sunland Springs Village Homeowners Association, No. 1 CA-CV 25-0424 (Ariz. Ct. App. Apr. 28, 2026) OVERVIEW The Arizona Court of Appeals issued an opinion clarifying how homeowners associations must conduct meetings under A.R.S. § 33-1804. The decision reinforces the legislative policy favoring transparency in association governance, bringing association meeting requirements more in line with the open meeting standards applicable to public bodies under A.R.S. § 38-431 et seq. (Arizona’s Open Meeting Law). KEY HOLDINGS 1. All Voting and Formal Actions Must Occur in Open Meetings The Court affirmed that association boards cannot vote or take formal action during closed (executive) sessions. Under A.R.S. § 33-1804(A), associations may close portions of meetings only for “consideration” of certain enumerated topics, such as legal advice, pending litigation, or personal/financial information about individual members. The Court interpreted “consideration” to mean discussion and deliberation, not voting. The Court noted that dictionaries define “consider” as “spending time thinking about a possibility” and “formulating an opinion,” which are processes that precede formal action. This interpretation mirrors how Arizona’s Open Meeting Law (A.R.S. § 38-431.03(D)) prohibits public bodies from voting in executive session. Reprinted courtesy of Jill Casson Owen, Snell & Wilmer, Benjamin J. Hawkins, Snell & Wilmer and Stephen Wright, Snell & Wilmer Ms. Owen may be contacted at jowen@swlaw.com Mr. Hawkins may be contacted at bhawkins@swlaw.com Mr. Wright may be contacted at swright@swlaw.com Read the full story...

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Court Rules Insurer AIG Can't Claw Back $50M Storm Payout From Turner

October 20, 2026 — Richard Korman - Engineering News-Record
A Delaware court judge ruled earlier this month that insurer AIG cannot claw back $50 million from Turner Construction for two insurance claim payouts it has made to New York University's Langone Medical Center. The dispute relates to the 2012 flooding of the university's Manhattan hospital center during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Richard Korman, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Korman may be contacted at kormanr@enr.com

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Insured is Third Party Beneficiary of Forced-Place Policy

October 26, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court denied the insurer’s motion to dismiss the insured’s fire damage claims under a forced-place policy because the insured was a third-party beneficiary of the policy. Fredericks v. Assurant Specialty, et al., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 179779 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 12, 2026). The insureds’ home burned down on the same day their homeowner’s policy expired. The expiration automatically triggered a forced-placed policy issued by American Security Insurance Company (ASIC) to the insureds’ mortgage company, Rocket Mortgage Company, LLC. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

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Achieving Sustainability Through Design-Build Delivery: Part I – An Overview

September 21, 2026 — Joshua M. Pruett, Jennifer L. Harris & Tiffany A. Harrod - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
This article was written for the AGC’s Law in Brief and first appeared here. Sustainability is no longer optional. What was once a matter of public policy or corporate preference has become a regulatory mandate and is reshaping how construction projects are designed, built, and operated. This mandate is not solely figurative. Rather, states have started to follow Europe’s lead by beginning to codify sustainability requirements into regulations and law. California led the charge by adding mandatory embodied-carbon emissions regulations into CALGreen, and other states, such as New York, have introduced bills to implement similar requirements. Owners, designers, and builders must now treat sustainability not as aspirational, but as a clearly defined contract issue from the outset, particularly where the project is expected to achieve a third-party rating, meet energy or resiliency targets, qualify for incentives, or comply with evolving green building codes. In the federal public sector, construction contracts include a layered compliance framework—executive order-inspired policy, FAR-mandated clauses, and enduring statutory requirements—requiring contractors to integrate sustainability into design, material selection, and lifecycle management. Staying ahead means aligning with regulatory standards, conducting life-cycle cost analyses, and embedding sustainability into every procurement and construction decision. Reprinted courtesy of Joshua M. Pruett, Peckar & Abramson, P.C., Jennifer L. Harris, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Tiffany A. Harrod, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Mr. Pruett may be contacted at jpruett@pecklaw.com Ms. Harris may be contacted at jharris@pecklaw.com Ms. Harrod may be contacted at tharrod@pecklaw.com Read the full story...

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Supply Chain Is a Legal Exposure—Not Just a Force Majeure Problem

September 08, 2026 — Owen Newman - Construction Executive
This is not another force majeure article. The supply-chain related legal exposure that contractors are carrying today—in sanctions risk, specification non-compliance, warranty exposure and regulatory volatility—extends well beyond what even a well-drafted force majeure clause protects. An engineering, procurement and construction contractor on a gas-fired power plant discovers during commissioning that transformer oil in a critical unit contains Russian-origin naphthenic base oil, which is a prohibited source under Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions. The contractor didn’t source it. A subsupplier two tiers below made the substitution when disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz tightened the primary supply chain for this specialty product and no one in the purchase-order chain flagged it. The procurement decision is long done and the documentation trail that should have caught it doesn’t exist. Reprinted courtesy of Owen Newman, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...
Mr. Newman may be contacted at oknewman@duanemorris.com

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