Rosemead California Construction Expert Witness Directory

Subrogation Insight: Expert Testimony Admissible Despite Post-Loss Repairs

December 30, 2025 — Gus Sara - The Subrogation Strategist
In Ghaznavi v. Arby Constr., Inc., No. 14-24-00213-CV, 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 839, the Court of Appeals of Texas (Court of Appeals) considered whether the trial court properly excluded the plaintiffs’, Kambiz Moavenzadeh Ghaznavi and Anahita Nokkonejad (collectively, the Ghaznavis), liability expert. The case arose from a fire at the Ghaznavis’ residence. The trial court held that because the Ghaznavis’ expert did not physically inspect certain fire damaged areas before they were repaired, the expert’s testimony was unreliable and thus inadmissible. The Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s ruling, finding that the expert’s review of photographs of the repaired areas and his testimony explaining his opinions were sufficient to survive summary judgment. In this case, the Ghaznavis’ hired the defendant, Arby Construction Inc. d/b/a National Residential Services (Arby Constr.), to install new tiling in a corridor inside their home. The corridor was adjacent to the garage. While Arby Constr. was performing the work, the Ghaznavis asked the defendant to fix an outlet inside the garage that was not working. Arby Constr. installed a new wire that connected the outlet to the garage door opener at the ceiling of the garage. Less than 2 months later, a fire occurred in the garage area. The fire marshal placed the origin of the fire in the ceiling of the corridor adjacent to the garage. The fire marshal’s report stated that “faulty wiring in the corridor behind the garage” caused the fire. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gus Sara, White and Williams
Mr. Sara may be contacted at sarag@whiteandwilliams.com

Under Construction – November 2025

January 06, 2026 — Snell & Wilmer
Letter From the Editor Welcome to the fall edition of Snell & Wilmer’s Under Construction Newsletter. As brisk autumn air sets in, it’s an ideal moment to shore up the basics — both in your projects and in your grasp of the continually shifting field of construction law. In this newsletter, we explore a variety of topics related to current construction trends and legal news that may be relevant and helpful to you and your business. We have assembled a selection of articles that include discussions of state-speciﬁc issues including how Idaho’s Contractor Registration Act bars unregistering contractors from enforcing contracts or ﬁling liens, though the state Supreme Court allows remedies for post-registration work if severable. This edition discusses how contractors can maximize cash flow and profits by substituting security for retainage on public projects. We also highlight the California Court of Appeals discussion and latest decision relating to subcontractor substitution protections under Public Contract Code §4107. We round out our newsletter summarizing how the Colorado Supreme Court clariﬁed that the economic loss rule bars tort claims for purely economic harm arising from contracts — even when alleging willful and wanton misconduct. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Snell & Wilmer

ZEC 2.0: New York’s Zero Emissions Credit Program Gets an Extension and a Reboot

February 10, 2026 — Stephen J. Humes & Jason Drogin Atwood - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In a landmark move that could shape New York’s energy landscape for decades, state officials have taken steps to both preserve its existing nuclear power facilities and significantly expand its advanced nuclear capacity. These actions are part of a broader strategy to maintain grid reliability and meet both escalating energy demand and the state’s ambitious greenhouse gas reduction and zero carbon goals. Renewing the Zero Emissions Credit Program On January 22, 2026, the New York Public Services Commission (PSC) unanimously voted to extend and reboot the Zero Emissions Credit program (now called ZEC 2.0) to ensure that New York’s four upstate nuclear reactors maintain operations through 2049. The program, which began in 2016, is designed to provide revenue subsidies for legacy nuclear facilities that have been facing financial difficulties in New York’s competitive wholesale power markets. State officials have stated that the benefits of ensuring the continued operations of these reactors far outweigh the costs due to the lack of zero-emissions alternatives and the importance of ensuring grid reliability in the face of escalating energy demand from large loads like data centers. Reprinted courtesy of Stephen J. Humes, Pillsbury and Jason Drogin Atwood, Pillsbury Mr. Humes may be contacted at stephen.humes@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Atwood may be contacted at jason.atwood@pillsburylaw.com Read the full story...

NJ Public Works Contractors Beware – Pay Special Attention When Submitting Your Public Works Contractor Registration

May 26, 2026 — Levi W. Barrett & Aaron C. Schlesinger - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
While it is always important to be careful when making submissions to government agencies, recent activity by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“NJDOL”) reveals considerably increased scrutiny in connection with contractors renewing their New Jersey Public Works Registration. Extra care when completing the registration renewal process is warranted, because the consequences of a misstep can be significant and disruptive. The New Jersey Public Works Contractor Registration Act requires all contractors bidding on or engaging in construction-related public works projects to register with the NJDOL. This registration, which must be resubmitted every 1-2 years, requires contractors to make a number of detailed disclosures relating to, among other things, the entity’s ownership structure, prior state and federal labor law violations, details regarding interests in other businesses, unlawful acts by owners/officers, and participation in apprenticeship programs. Reprinted courtesy of Levi W. Barrett, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Aaron C. Schlesinger, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Mr. Barrett may be contacted at lbarrett@pecklaw.com Mr. Schlesinger may be contacted at aschlesinger@pecklaw.com Read the full story...

Insurer’s Federal Suit Dismissed in Favor of Insured’s State Suit

April 14, 2026 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The federal district court granted the insured’s motion to dismiss the insurer’s federal suit for declaratory judgment because the insured filed a more complete action in state court. Church Mut. Ins. Co. v. Elmwood Baptist Church, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 259762 (S.D. W.V. Dec. 16, 2025). Elmwood purchased a property policy from Church Mutual Insurance Company. After the roof of Elmwood’s property collapsed, the parties disputed the amount Church Mutual owed to Elmwood. Church Mutual filed suit in federal district court asking for a declaration that the policy was “void ab initio,’ or, alternatively, that Church had fully compensated Elmwood for its loss. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Balancing the Right to Repair With Evidence Preservation in Construction Defect Litigation

April 20, 2026 — Benton Wheatley & Anna Spicer - Construction Executive
Every major construction project comes with risk, whether it’s a warehouse build, a multifamily development or a major renovation. Parties tend to be aligned when things are proceeding as planned. But when something goes wrong—cracked concrete, water intrusion, systems that don’t perform as expected—those interests can quickly diverge. Property owners are often caught in the middle when construction defects surface. They’re expected to act quickly to limit damage and costs. But they also have legal obligations to preserve evidence and allow potentially responsible parties, such as contractors or designers, to observe testing, demolition and repairs. Additionally, owners often have duties to lenders and investors to fix problems promptly and pursue claims against those responsible. Meanwhile, contractors and other parties have obligations of their own—not to interfere with repairs and not to delay mitigation efforts while investigations are underway. What follows will examine how those competing responsibilities play out in construction defect disputes. Reprinted courtesy of Benton Wheatley & Anna Spicer, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

Why Travelers Fought a Fire Claim for Invisible Smoke Damage

February 23, 2026 — Elaine Silver - Engineering News-Record
Just 40 minutes after midnight on Sept. 27, 2018, the sky lit up over Birmingham, Ala. A fire engulfed an apartment building under construction—the last-to-be completed section of a wood-framed complex called the Metropolitan. It fueled one of the largest recorded blazes in the city’s history. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Elaine Silver, Engineering News-Record
ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com

CA Civil Code § 8850: What Private Multi-state Owners and Developers Building in California in 2026 Need to Know

January 26, 2026 — Anand Gupta - Construction Law Zone Blog
Owners and developers building in California must be aware of a new statute, CA Civil Code § 8850, which takes effect for contracts entered into, on, and after January 1, 2026. The statute will likely apply to most private construction projects; however, a carve-out exists for residential projects that are not mixed use and are four stories or less. When a contractor—or, with proper authorization, a subcontractor—submits a claim related to payment, time extensions, damages, or change orders (encompassing the majority of construction disputes), the owner must provide a written response within 30 days. This response must clearly state which portions of the claim are disputed and which are not. The owner has 60 days from the date of its response to issue payment for those undisputed amounts. Late payments will accrue interest at a rate of two percent per month. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Anand Gupta, Robinson & Cole
Mr. Gupta may be contacted at agupta@rc.com

ROSEMEAD CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES