BERYL UTAH CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Kahana Feld Obtains Favorable Result in High-Exposure NY Premises Liability Case

June 15, 2026 — Leigh Katz - Kahana Feld
Kahana Feld partner Leigh Katz obtained a significant victory in a recent matter involving a videotaped alleged trip and fall on the sidewalk in front of the client’s commercial residence. The plaintiff claimed he suffered a knee injury that necessitated surgery, along with other assorted injuries that prevented him from continuing high-level athletic activities. Leigh was able to demonstrate that the fall was staged and received a voluntary discontinuance with prejudice. At mediation, Leigh emphasized that KF’s expert witness challenged the plaintiff’s claim that the fall was caused by a sidewalk height differential after reviewing the videotape footage and determining the plaintiff’s fall began before his feet made contact with the alleged defect. Based on this analysis, the expert concluded the reported height differential did not initiate the fall, which supported KF’s position that the incident depicted in the video was unrealistic and appeared staged. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Leigh Katz, Kahana Feld
Ms. Katz may be contacted at lkatz@kahanafeld.com

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New Florida Law Adds Licensing Risk to Contractor/Subcontractor Payment Disputes

September 29, 2026 — Brett J. Moritz & Ali Heyat - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Effective July 1, 2026, Florida’s newly enacted Section 489.1295 of the Florida Statutes, titled “Prohibition Against Nonpayment,” requires licensed contractors to timely compensate subcontractors and suppliers for labor, services, or materials. Enacted as part of Senate Bill 290 (Ch. 2026-3, Laws of Fla.), the statute adds a new basis for instituting disciplinary proceedings against a contractor’s license if a payment is knowingly or willfully withheld. While this is not a sweeping overhaul of Florida construction payment laws by any means, contractors should be aware that nonpayment disputes with subcontractors and suppliers may carry potential licensing consequences. Reprinted courtesy of Brett J. Moritz, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Ali Heyat, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Mr. Moritz may be contacted at bmoritz@pecklaw.com Mr. Heyat may be contacted at aheyat@pecklaw.com Read the full story...

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Turning Expert Services into Products

July 20, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
A Finnish engineering, architecture, and project consulting company, AINS Group, recently opened an online store to purchase fixed-price services. The store presents specialist work in a product-like format, with fixed service names, defined scopes, and visible prices, such as a building history report, a zoning plan cost analysis, and a technical preliminary survey for a property transaction. Is this productization a smart move or a sign that expert services are being commoditized? Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

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A Customized Approach to Data Center Construction

June 29, 2026 — James P. Bobotek, Arielle L. Murphy & Robert A. James - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Data center construction projects are, to put it mildly, distinct. They differ from traditional construction in a host of manners, and are particularly distinctive because the value of the facility depends on unique measures of performance. A center that cannot meet uptime, cooling, redundancy or connectivity standards will not achieve its mission, whether or not the structure itself meets standard industry contract-form “substantial completion” or “mechanical completion” definitions. Owners, developers, lenders, operators and hyperscalers—especially hyperscalers!—want it all. They seek favorable and stable pricing, accelerated delivery and sophisticated components, all of which are evolving in “real project time.” Standard construction contract forms deserve extensive modifications to align clauses with expectations, with a heightened focus on systems integration, commissioning, and allocation of special risks. This article details customized considerations for drafting, negotiating and administering data center design and construction agreements. Reprinted courtesy of James P. Bobotek, Pillsbury, Arielle L. Murphy, Pillsbury and Robert A. James, Pillsbury Mr. Bobotek may be contacted at james.bobotek@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Murphy may be contacted at arielle.murphy@pillsburylaw.com Mr. James may be contacted at rob.james@pillsburylaw.com Read the full story...

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GRSM Team Obtains Defense Verdict for Homeowners’ Association in Orange County Superior Court

July 20, 2026 — Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
A Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani multi-state team, including Partners Christine Barker, Sean Ferron, and Keith Cramer, obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a homeowners’ association (HOA) in an Orange County Superior Court bench trial spanning two months. The case began in 2022 when a homeowner sued after the Architectural Review Committee and HOA Board of Directors declined his teardown-and-rebuild plans due to view and aesthetic concerns. After a motion for summary judgment ruling in which the court found that the existing covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) did not protect views, the HOA held a special election to add explicit view protections to the CC&Rs. At the February 2025 trial call, the plaintiff sought leave to file a third amended complaint challenging the validity of that vote, drastically reframing the case from CC&R enforcement to one of election validity. A second plaintiff then filed a parallel action toward the end of the limitations period, and the two cases were consolidated. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

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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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Construction Attorneys: Contract Negotiation Strategy

September 01, 2026 — Construction Executive
Contract negotiation is where project expectations become enforceable business obligations. A reasonable bid can become a high-risk agreement when the final contract expands the scope, shortens notice periods, limits payment rights or transfers liability that was never included in the price. Construction attorneys help project leaders identify those consequences before execution. Their role is not to eliminate every risk or prolong negotiations. It is to determine which risks can be controlled, insured, priced, shared or rejected while preserving a workable deal. The financial stakes can be substantial. HKA's 2025 analysis of more than 2,200 distressed construction and engineering projects found that disputed costs averaged 33.4% of contract budgets. Scope changes affected more than 28% of the projects studied and remained the most common cause of conflict. In North America, the average dispute studied by Arcadis in 2024 had a value of $60.1 million and took 12.5 months to resolve. Reprinted courtesy of Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

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New York Construction Employers Face New Reporting and Cancellation Pay Requirements Beginning December 8, 2026

October 26, 2026 — Bradley J. Bartolomeo & Clare M. Cunningham - Lewis Brisbois
Effective December 8, 2026, pursuant to the New York Construction Reporting Pay Act, employers in the New York State construction industry will be subjected to new reporting requirements and will be required to pay both union and non-union workers for certain last-minute schedule changes, even when the disruption is caused by weather, failed inspections, material shortages, site-access restrictions, or delays attributable to owners, general contractors, or other trades. For many contractors, routine decisions that have historically been considered part of construction scheduling risk may now create mandatory wage obligations, prevailing wage compliance concerns, and potential wage-and-hour litigation exposure. Reprinted courtesy of Bradley J. Bartolomeo, Lewis Brisbois and Clare M. Cunningham, Lewis Brisbois Mr. Bartolomeo may be contacted at Bradley.Bartolomeo@lewisbrisbois.com Ms. Cunningham may be contacted at Clare.Cunningham@lewisbrisbois.com Read the full story...

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