Anaheim California Construction Expert Witness Directory

Experts: Best Bet in $300M Osage Nation Wind Farm Dispute Is Negotiation

March 11, 2024 — Daniel Tyson - Engineering News-Record
Nearly two months after a federal judge ruled that renewables developer Enel Green Power North America must deconstruct 84 land-based wind turbines because it did not secure mineral rights on Osage Nation land in northern Oklahoma, two energy sector attorneys say the unit of an Italy-based company must negotiate with the tribe. Reprinted courtesy of Daniel Tyson, Engineering News-Record Mr. Tyson may be contacted at tysond@enr.com Read the full story...

Rulemaking to Modernize, Expand DOI’s “Type A” Natural Resource Damage Assessment Rules Expected Fall 2023

December 23, 2023 — Amanda G. Halter, Jillian Marullo & Ashleigh Myers - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) anticipates proposing a new rule that would revise its “Type A” Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) regulations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in Fall 2023. The proposed rule would modernize DOI’s rarely used simplified Type A procedures for assessing damages for natural resource injuries tailored at sites involving minor releases of hazardous substances, with a smaller scale and scope of natural resource injury occurring in either coastal and marine areas or Great Lakes environments (the “Type A Rule”). (See 88 Fed. Reg. 3373; see 43 C.F.R. Pt. 11 Subpt. D.) The Type A Rule was last updated in 1997. DOI previewed the proposal in January 2023 in its Office of Restoration and Damage Assessment’s (ORDA) Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR). In the ANPR, the ORDA surmised that the Type A Rule was rarely used in part because of its restricted scope, but also because “the model equation for each Type A environment is the functional part of the rule itself—with no provisions to reflect evolving toxicology, ecology, technology, or other scientific understanding without a formal amendment to the Type A Rule each time a parameter is modified.” Calling the existing rule “inefficient and inflexible,” the ORDA stated that its proposal to reformulate the rule “as a procedural structure” would “modernize the Type A process and develop a more flexible and enduring rule than what is provided by the two existing static models” (88 Fed. Reg. 3373). Reprinted courtesy of Amanda G. Halter, Pillsbury, Jillian Marullo, Pillsbury and Ashleigh Myers, Pillsbury Ms. Halter may be contacted at amanda.halter@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Marullo may be contacted at jillian.marullo@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Myers may be contacted at ashleigh.myers@pillsburylaw.com Read the full story...

The Top 3 Trends That Will Impact the Construction Industry in 2024

December 04, 2023 — The Hartford Staff - The Hartford Insights
As more than 40% of the current U.S. construction workforce will retire in the next decade, industry leaders need to equip themselves with the necessary resources to combat the shifting work environment.1 “Trends in the construction industry will fluctuate in the coming years, which can lead to additional risks for industry leaders. It will be important to think about how they can address any potential risk factors. A lot of leaders have been increasing their planning efforts and looking into technology solutions to combat the ongoing labor shortage,” said David DeSilva, head of construction at The Hartford. Here, he outlines the top three top trends for business leaders to watch in 2024. 1. Ongoing Labor Shortages Construction is an industry that traditionally has a high labor turnover rate, which means companies needs to hire more frequently. This only increases during labor shortages. The construction workforce is up against several factors, including an aging workforce and recruitment struggles. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of The Hartford Staff, The Hartford Insights

What ‘The Curse’ Gets Wrong About Passive House Architecture

April 02, 2024 — Teresa Xie - Bloomberg
In the fifth episode of Showtime’s The Curse, two potential buyers are touring a boutique house in Española, a soon-to-be gentrified Santa Fe neighborhood when one of them makes a remark about the temperature. “Sorry, can I get a water? It’s just really hot in here,” he says, airing out his sweat-stained shirt. The quirky home’s architect-slash-developer, played by Emma Stone, says, “Sure!” and without skipping a beat, continues to explain the virtues of her passive house design: The home functions like a thermos, with no need for air conditioning — unless any air escapes the house. Then it takes five to seven hours for the room to recover. Owning a passive house sounds like a nightmare, right? If you’re buying a one-of-a-kind, mirror-clad spec house from Stone and co-star Nathan Fielder, it may well be. On The Curse, the two play a do-gooder couple attempting to make an HGTV series (with Benny Safdie) about turning regular houses into carbon-neutral passive homes. Odd things happen to Stone and Fielder over the show’s first season: trouble with the laws of gravity, the trials of a failing marriage and a literal curse from a small child. But the weirdest might be the show’s portrayal of passive house design, an energy-efficient design standard that has been around since the 1970s. Passive building, which has its origins in Europe, relies on advanced construction methods to seal a structure in an airtight envelope, thereby reducing energy consumption for heating and cooling by as much as 75%. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Teresa Xie, Bloomberg

Meet Orange County Bar Associations 2024 Leaders

April 08, 2024 — Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP is proud to share that CEO/Founding Partner Nicole Whyte and Orange County Bar Association’s (“OCBA”) leaders are featured in the Orange County Lawyer (“OCL”) publication, Who’s Who In The OCBA, that was released earlier this month. To see this year’s 2024 board of directors, section leaders, committee chairs, task forces, and charitable fund board, please click here. Nicole Whyte provides individualized counseling and representation in all areas of Family Law. She has served on various OCBA legal committees and boards for over two decades and was elected to OCBA’s Board of Directors in 2024. She is committed to supporting the needs of the OCBA and its thriving and diverse OC legal community. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Dolores Montoya, Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

Surety Trends to Keep an Eye on in the Construction Industry

March 25, 2024 — Oliver Craig - Construction Executive
Reflecting on the dynamics of the 2023 construction and surety industries, it is evident that opportunities and challenges have emerged for contractors that will shape the landscape for the year ahead. Contractors can not only capitalize on these trends but protect the successful companies they have already built. PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES There has been a notable increase in public works opportunities, driven by increased government spending and the aging infrastructure in the United States. This trend is expected to continue in 2024 and beyond, with a notable portion of work coming in transportation- and public-utility-related infrastructure. Due to increased spending, many contractors are reporting historically high backlogs—and that often includes the largest project their company has contracted in their history. While increased spending presents more opportunity, it’s critical contractors be even more diligent about new opportunities, giving additional consideration to the following: Job Selection: New geographies, scope, project owners and/or subcontractor relationships commonly come with a learning curve. With the current state of the market, it’s not the ideal time to be learning costly lessons. Contractors should focus on having a proactive go/no-go strategy when reviewing potential projects to identify risks early and plan accordingly. Reprinted courtesy of Oliver Craig, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

Mass Timber Reduces Construction’s Carbon Footprint, But Introduces New Risk Scenarios

March 04, 2024 — Michael Bruch & Franck Fumat - Allianz Commercial
Mass timber has the potential to be a critical building component for the cities of the near future given the need for the construction sector to reduce its reliance on concrete and steel to lower its Co2 emissions. However, as this market grows and mass timber buildings evolve to greater heights, the construction risk landscape will also be transformed, bringing risk management challenges for companies, according to the new Emerging Risk Trend Talk report from Allianz Commercial. “The emergence of mass timber as a sustainable construction alternative represents a significant opportunity for the building sector to reduce its carbon footprint while also satisfying a demand for a material that is more cost-efficient but as durable as steel and concrete,” says Michael Bruch, Global Head of Risk Advisory Services at Allianz Commercial. “However, in any industry, deployment of new materials or processes can result in new risk scenarios, potential defects, or unexpected safety consequences, as well as bringing benefits, and mass timber is no different. Given this market’s expected future growth, companies should do all they can to develop a greater understanding of their exposures including fire, water damage, repetitive loss scenarios and even termite infestation, and ensure they have robust loss prevention measures in place to combat these.” The need for mass timber The building and construction sector is among the largest contributors to Co2 emissions, accounting for over 34% of energy demand and around 37% of energy and process related Co2 emissions in 2021 [1]. Given emissions reduction is essential to meet climate change commitments around the world, the need for more sustainable solutions in the built environment has become increasingly important, driven by growing investor and consumer concerns, and legislation, regulation and reporting requirements evolving quickly in many jurisdictions around the world. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Allianz Commercial

AI-Powered Construction Optioneering Today

April 08, 2024 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
In this episode of the AEC Business Podcast, Aarni Heiskanen interviews René Morkos, the founder and CEO of ALICE Technologies. They discuss construction tech, AI, and ALICE Core, the company’s latest product launch. How the Construction Technology Landscape has Changed The construction tech industry has evolved significantly since 2015, as discussed with René. In 2015, there was a lack of understanding and reluctance toward construction tech, with some investors even hesitant to invest in the sector. However, by 2017-2018, there was a noticeable shift as construction tech became a sought-after investment opportunity. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES