Seattle Washington Construction Expert Witness Directory

America’s Factories Weren’t Built to Endure This Many Hurricanes

November 05, 2024 — Brooke Sutherland - Bloomberg
America’s factories aren’t built for the current cascade of extreme weather events. Dozens of industrial sites were in the zone of impact as Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida’s West Coast this week, including several concrete plants, speed boat manufacturing operations and facilities owned by Honeywell International Inc., Johnson Controls International Plc, General Electric Co. and Illinois Tool Works Inc., among others. Meanwhile, a Baxter International Inc. facility in Marion, North Carolina, that makes 60% of the intravenous fluids used in hospitals around the country was shuttered because of damage from Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago. Mines responsible for producing more than 80% of the world’s supply of commercial high-purity quartz in nearby Spruce Pine were also affected by severe flooding, raising the risk of disruptions to semiconductor production, which relies on the material. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Brooke Sutherland, Bloomberg

Consider Arbitration Provision in Homebuilder’s Warranty and Purchase-and-Sale Agreement

November 18, 2024 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
When you enter into a contract with a homebuilder, particularly a tract homebuilder, please consider two things when it comes to dispute resolution: (1) your purchase-and-sale agreement likely contains an arbitration provision, and (2) your limited warranty agreement you get in connection with closing likely also reinforces the arbitration provision, especially with warranty claims governed by the limited warranty agreement. This dispute resolution is important because it means the homebuilder wants disputes resolved through the arbitration process and NOT through the litigation process (where the nature of disputes and allegations are public). Look, there are pros and cons with arbitration, no different than litigation. Arbitrating a dispute is not necessarily a bad thing, and with certain disputes, ideal. There is no right to appeal in arbitration, but the dispute should resolve itself quicker than litigation, and you’ll have more control over the decision maker, i.e., the arbitrator. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Deadline Nears for “Green Performance Bond” Implementation

December 03, 2024 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
For this weeks Guest Post Friday at Musings, we welcome Surety Bonds.com, a leading online surety provider. SuretyBonds.com specializes in educating current and prospective business owners about local surety requirements. To keep up with surety bond trends, follow and Surety Bonds Insider blog and @suretybond on Twitter. Professionals who work in the construction industry know the laws that regulate the market change constantly. Unfortunately, even government agencies are flawed, which means they sometimes establish nonsensical, arbitrary regulations that leave construction professionals even more confused as to how they’re expected to do their jobs. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

Three Kahana Feld Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025

September 23, 2024 — Linda Carter - Kahana Feld
NEW YORK – Sep. 4, 2025 – Kahana Feld is pleased to announce that Eric Bernhardt and Kraig Kilger were included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and Alice A. Trueman was included in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America. Eric Bernhardt was awarded for his work in Litigation – Insurance. Bernhardt is a partner in the firm’s Buffalo, NY office, admitted in New York and California, and a member of Kahana Feld’s national appellate practice group. His practice encompasses multiple types of litigation including the defense of New York Labor Law, construction, product liability, trucking, professional and medical malpractice, automobile accident, and general negligence cases. Kraig Kilger was recognized in the areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Real Estate, and Real Estate Law. Kilger is a partner in Kahana Feld’s Irvine, CA office. His experience spans all phases of residential and commercial real estate development, including acquisitions, financing, planning, entitlement, development, construction, leasing, and sales. Alice Trueman was recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the field of Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants. She is a litigation attorney in the firm’s Buffalo, NY office who focuses her practice on general liability defense and insurance defense. Ones to Watch recipients typically have been in practice for 5-9 years and are selected for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Linda Carter, Kahana Feld
Ms. Carter may be contacted at lcarter@kahanafeld.com

The Ghosts of Tariffs Past May Help Us in the Future

January 07, 2025 — Kellie Ros - ConsensusDocs
The havoc material tariffs have caused the construction industry is nothing new. President-Elect Donald Trump imposed heavy tariffs on steel and aluminum in his first administration in 2016. While the tariffs themselves were not wholly unexpected, the ripple effect of those tariffs (coupled with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic) caused unexpected challenges for the construction industry. Those included allocating the risk of the additional costs caused by tariffs, supply and demand issues, grappling with escalation clauses, and navigating fixed price projects. The industry must now utilize the lessons learned from the rear-view mirror to strategically prepare for what was promised to be a second round of tariffs come January 2025. Tariffs’ Impacts on Material Prices Everywhere New or increased tariffs have the potential to raise prices for a wide range of construction inputs. Based on simple supply and demand principles, this includes inputs produced domestically that compete with foreign imports. For example, if a 20% tariff is imposed on Chinese steel, contractors may look to procure Brazil or U.S. steel in an effort to cut their costs. Such a rush to those less-costly alternatives may result in a supply shortage or an increase in prices in the marketplace across the globe. This occurred in 2016 when material prices indirectly related to the inputs on which the tariffs were imposed even increased. Contractors may be well served to get ahead of anticipated price increases and purchase materials now or take other actions in negotiating contracts to protect themselves. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Kellie Ros, Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Ms. Ros may be contacted at kros@pecklaw.com

Behavioral Science Meets Construction: Insights from Whistle Rewards

September 09, 2024 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
In this episode of the AEC Business Podcast, Aarni Heiskanen hosts Drew Carter, CEO of Whistle Rewards, and Dr. Laurel Newman, a behavioral scientist, to discuss instant rewards for driving behavioral change in construction. Laurel shares her psychology background and academic career, studying how the environment influences behavior. Drew introduces himself as a data scientist, focusing on predictive modeling. Tune in to learn how they collaborate to create motivating environments in the construction industry. Whistle Rewards is a platform specializing in rewards, recognition, and incentives in the AEC industry. It is designed to enhance employee engagement, safety compliance, performance, and technology adoption in construction companies. The Guests Drew Carter, CEO and Co-Founder at Whistle Systems, Inc. Drew is improving employee retention using data science and behavioral science. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

NYC Landlord Accused of Skirting Law With Rent-Free Months Offer

October 15, 2024 — Natalie Wong - Bloomberg
The opening of Tower 28, one of the tallest residential towers in New York City outside Manhattan, brought rent-stabilized units to Long Island City roughly seven years ago, adding affordable listings to a neighborhood where soaring prices were increasingly squeezing out many renters. Now, three tenants at the 58-story building have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging the landlord sought to evade New York City rent regulations in order to raise prices even higher over time. The lawsuit against the limited liability company tied to 42-12 28th St. in Queens claims that the property owner recorded initial rents with the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal that were higher than what the first tenant was actually charged and paid. In doing so, any future rent increases were based off a higher figure, according to the lawsuit. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Natalie Wong, Bloomberg

There is No Presumptive Resumption!

January 21, 2025 — Daniel Lund III - Lexology
A Louisiana school board filed suit in court in 2018 on a construction project but was rebuffed based upon arguments by the general contractor and surety defendants. Those defendants asserted that the court filings were premature, based upon an arbitration clause in the general contract. The trial court agreed and stayed the litigation, “pending completion of arbitration.” Arbitration was never filed. Interestingly, within the arbitration clause, the following language existed: “For statute of limitations purposes, receipt of written demand for arbitration shall constitute the institution of legal or equitable proceedings based upon the Claim.” Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Daniel Lund III, Phelps
Mr. Lund may be contacted at daniel.lund@phelps.com

SEATTLE WASHINGTON CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES