Sausage-Making Often Relies on the Good Sense of the Chef Rather than the Recipe
June 23, 2026 —
Garret D. Murai - California Construction Law BlogEven for lawyers, the rules governing litigation can get complex and convoluted. Does something need to be filed? What needs to be filed? When is the deadline for filing?
Simple questions with not always with straightforward answers.
This was the case in
R & J Sheet Metal, Inc. v. W.E. O’Neil Construction Co. of California, 111 Cal.App.5th 878 (2025), which involved sheet metal panels lost when they fell into the Port of Long Beach harbor.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Garret D. Murai, Nomos LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@nomosllp.com
Preventing Common and Costly Water Intrusion Events in Construction
July 13, 2026 —
Andrew Swift - Construction ExecutiveWater leaking into a building is a leading cause of
damage and loss in the construction industry. On one jobsite, heavy rains flooded a sub-basement, damaging a new electrical transformer—all because a roof drain was not property connected. On another jobsite, a drinking-fountain supply line broke in a multistory building that was undergoing renovation, causing water to run—undetected—for an entire weekend, resulting in water damage to all lower floors, where construction had been finished.
Those loss scenarios could have been prevented with a comprehensive and effective water damage prevention plan (WDPP). This includes routine site inspections to identify uncontrolled water damage exposures and basic maintenance to make sure drains are clean of debris and divert them to a catch basin or low point away from the building. An effective WDPP plan also incorporates technology such as backflow preventers on sewer connections and water sensing technology to monitor the most vulnerable exposures.
Reprinted courtesy of
Andrew Swift, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
Read the full story...
Michael C. Zisa and Phillip Boldt Co-Author D.C. Chapter of “50-State Guide to Electronic Execution of the General Agreement of Indemnity”
October 06, 2026 —
Michael C. Zisa & Phillip Boldt - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.Michael C. Zisa, Co-Managing Partner of P&A’s Washington, D.C. office, Chair of the Surety and Construction Related Insurance Defense practice, and Co-Chair of the Crisis Management team, and Phillip Boldt, an Associate in P&A’s Washington, D.C. office, have co-authored the District of Columbia chapter of the American Bar Association (ABA) Fidelity and Surety Law Committee and The Surety & Fidelity Association of America’s (SFAA), “50-State Guide to Electronic Execution of the General Agreement of Indemnity.”
Reprinted courtesy of
Michael C. Zisa, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and
Phillip Boldt, Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Mr. Zisa may be contacted at mzisa@pecklaw.com
Mr. Boldt may be contacted at pboldt@pecklaw.com
Read the full story...
For Urban Walkers, a Patchy Dilemma: Who Owns the Sidewalk?
July 06, 2026 —
Linda Poon – BloombergIn 2007, New York City’s sanitation department
threatened Natalie Shea with a $300 fine for defacing public property with graffiti. Her crime: drawing a blue flower in front of her family’s Park Slope home with sidewalk chalk. She was six years old.
The incident, which made
local and
national news at the time, captures the fraught role that sidewalks often play in US cities. These patches of pavement do more than carry pedestrians to their destinations: They’re also places for commerce, social interaction and childhood play, from chalking to learning how to ride a bike. Urbanist Jane Jacobs once likened the range of activities that city sidewalks attract to an “intricate ballet.”
In the new book
Sidewalk Nation: The Life and Law of America’s Most Overlooked Resource (Harvard University Press), author Michael Pollack explores the “tangled web of state and local regulation” that governs sidewalks, with cities often passing along responsibilities for tasks like clearing snow and keeping walkways safe. He paints a portrait of the American sidewalk a disorderly and often neglected network, filled with literal and metaphorical cracks that give rise to all sorts of conflict, from mundane clashes over maintenance to more consequential fights over accessibility and inequality.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Linda Poon, Bloomberg
Sometimes a General Damages Assessment is Enough. . .
July 06, 2026 —
Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law MusingsIt has been a while since I last posted here at
Construction Law Musings. Life, law practice, and “blogger’s block” have taken their toll on the posting schedule. Hopefully this will be one of several upcoming posts now that the litigation schedule has lightened a bit over the summer.
Today’s post is about damages. Specifically damage to a homeowner’s roof and her legal damages therefor. That last is of course a sentence that only a
construction attorney (or other litigator) could possibly craft and have it make sense. Now, on with the case. . .In
Hardesty Construction, Inc. v. Weedon, the facts are as follows:
Ms. Weedon had hail damage to the roof of her home. She hired Hardesty Construction to repair and replace the roof. After the first roof was installed and failed inspection, a second roof was installed. The issue was that the first roof had a warranty and the second roof, installed similarly to the first (and allegedly with the same construction issues according to Ms. Weedon’s expert), was not provided with the promised warranty. As one may expect, Weedon sued Hardesty and Hardesty Construction for fraudulent inducement and breach of contract. At trial, Weedon testified, without objection, that her home was worth $40,000 less because of Hardesty Construction’s work, which was based partially on quotes Weedon received to fix the roof. The Circuit Court granted Hardesty Construction’s motion to strike Weedon’s fraudulent inducement claim, but not her other claims. A jury awarded Weedon $30,253.30 on her breach of contract claim. Hardesty Construction appealed, arguing the Circuit Court erred in (a) allowing the jury to consider Weedon’s valuation testimony because it was not based on her personal knowledge and (b) denying its motion to strike based on insufficient evidence as to damages. Weedon assigned cross-error in the Circuit Court’s decision to grant the motion to strike her fraudulent inducement claim against Samual Hardesty.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
The Law Office of Christopher G. HillMr. Hill may be contacted at
chrisghill@constructionlawva.com
Nomos LLP Partner Garret Murai Recognized by Best Lawyers in America
September 08, 2026 —
Garret D. Murai - California Construction Law BlogNomos LLP partner Garret Murai has been recognized in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Construction Law. Only about 5% of lawyers in the United States are recognized by Best Lawyers in America®.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Garret D. Murai, Nomos LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@nomosllp.com
Location, Location, Location — But Which One? The Few Words in Your Construction Contract that Pick Where You Fight
June 29, 2026 —
Brad Sands - ConsensusDocsMost professionals know the old real estate line: location, location, location. It turns out to be just as true for construction contracts as it is for property.
Consider a recent case involving a project owner that hired two design firms for a project. When issues arose during construction, the owner sued the design firms in state court in Brazoria County, Texas, pursuant to the forum selection clause in the parties’ contracts. The defendants then removed the case to the federal district court in Galveston, a courthouse in a different county. But the owner wanted the case back in Brazoria County state court. Whether it got its wish came down to two words in the contract: “situated in.” This article is about words like those.
A construction contract’s forum selection clause names the place for the fight nobody plans to have, and where that fight happens can shape how it goes. This article explains why the wording in your forum selection clause deserves careful reading before you sign a construction contract. It is not a deep dive into the mechanics of federal removal jurisdiction, and it is not an academic comparison of the terms “forum” and “venue.” Instead, it is a practical look at how courts actually read these clauses, so the location of a future fight is the one you intended.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Brad Sands, Jones Walker, LLPMr. Sands may be contacted at
bsands@joneswalker.com
Engineering Seals Versus Contracts ‘Under Seal’ (Two Very Different Things)
May 05, 2026 —
Melissa Dewey Brumback - Construction Law in North CarolinaRecently, I was asked by a reader to explain the difference between a document that is
‘sealed’ by an engineer (or architect) and one that is
Snell & Wilmer’s Los Angeles Office Recognized as One of the “Best Places to Work” by the Los Angeles Business JournalAward Doubled in Retrial of New Jersey Elevator Injury CaseSuing a Local Government in Land Use Cases – Part 2 – Procedural Due ProcessNo Rest for the Weary: Project Completion Is the Beginning of LitigationContractors Struggle with Cash & Difficult Payment Terms, Could Benefit From Legal Advice, According to New SurveyIndiana Federal Court Holds No Coverage for $50M Default Judgment for Lack of Timely Notice of Class ActionConnecticut Supreme Court Finds Faulty Work By Subcontractor Constitutes "Occurrence"Ca
No Coverage for Foundation Collapse
Toolbox Talk Series Recap - Guided Choice Mediation
Congratulations to Haight Attorneys Selected for the 2026 Edition of Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (12/4/24) – Highest Rate of Office Conversions, Lending Caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Affordability Challenges for Homebuyers
CDJ’s #3 Topic of the Year: Burch v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County, 223 Cal.App.4th 1411 (2014)
LA Wildfires Push California Insurance Market to Its Limit
Construction Defect Lawsuits May Follow Hawaii Condo Boom
Bad Faith Claim for Investigation Fails
Human Eye Resolution Virtual Reality for AEC
Lease-Leaseback Fight Continues
Point Taken: The UK Supreme Court Finally Confirms the General Law of Liquidated Damages (LDs)
James R. Lynch Appointed to the Washington State Capital Project Review Committee
Arizona Is Smart About Water. It Should Stay That Way.
Homeowner Has No Grounds to Avoid Mechanics Lien
Insured’s Bad Faith Insurance Claim Evaporates Before its Eyes
Colorado Homebuyers Must be in Privity of Contract with Developer to Assert Breach of Implied Warranty of Suitability
Don’t Breach Your Contract, but If You Do, Don’t Breach First
Private Project Payment Bonds and Pay if Paid in Virginia
Ball Janik LLP Welcomes Construction Defect Attorney and U.S. Air Force Veteran Jake Scott to its Fort Lauderdale Office
Your Work Exclusion Applies to Damage to Tradesman's Property, Not Damage to Other Property
Reports of the Death of SB800 are Greatly Exaggerated – The Court of Appeal Revives Mandatory SB800 Procedures
Suing the Lowest Bidder on Public Construction Projects
Colorado Senate Bill 13-052 Dies in Committee
California Appellate Court Rules That Mistakenly Grading the Wrong Land Is Not an Accident
Disappointment on an Olympian Scale After Rio 2016 Summer Games
Note on First-Party and Third-Party Spoliation of Evidence Claims
Broker's Motion for Summary Judgment on Negligence Claim Denied
Be Careful with Continuous Breach and Statute of Limitations
Tesla’s Solar Roof Pricing Is Cheap Enough to Catch Fire
Improper Classification Under Davis Bacon Can Be Costly
Harmon Towers Case to Last into 2014
How To Fix Oroville Dam
Construction News Roundup
Scientists Are Trying to Make California Forests More Fire Resilient
GRSM Now 11th Largest Law Firm in United States
Report Highlights Trends in Construction Tech, Digitization, and AI
California’s Right To Repair Act Is The Sole Remedy For Damages For Construction Defects In New Residential Construction
Should I Pull the Pin? Contractor and Subcontractor Termination for Cause
Florida Extends Filing Time for Claims Subject to the Statute of Repose
Recent Environmental Cases: Something in the Water, in the Air and in the Woods
Is Everybody Single? More Than Half the U.S. Now, Up From 37% in '76
Several Wilke Fleury Attorneys Featured in Sacramento Magazine 2022 Top Lawyers!
It’s Not Just the Millennium Tower That’s Sinking in San Francisco
Job Growth Seen as Good News for North Carolina Housing Market
A Third of U.S. Homebuyers Are Bidding Sight Unseen
Amazon Can be Liable in Louisiana
Insurer's Withheld Discovery Must be Produced in Bad Faith Case
Additional Insureds Obligated to Meet Self-Insured Retention
Billion-Dollar Power Lines Finally Inching Ahead to Help US Grids
Vacation Rentals: Liability of the Owner for Injury Suffered by the Renter
