ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA ROOFING EXPERT WITNESS
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Contractor Turns Former Sears Into Interim High School Following Palisades Wildfires

December 15, 2025 — Jamie Macartney - Construction Executive
On January 7, 2025, the unthinkable happened. Massive wildfires tore through areas of Los Angeles County, burning over 57 acres, leaving lives in shambles as beloved homes and businesses were gone instantly. An evident strain was the destruction the fires set on Palisades Charter High School—colloquially known as Pali High—which left approximately 2,500 students without a campus to go to. This resulted in a return to online learning, a setting too familiar as five years earlier, these students were ripped from their educational experience because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Building schools is in the DNA of C.W. Driver, so when the firm saw the damage to Pali High, the team rushed to create a temporary campus—Pali High South. Through a partnership with design firm Gensler, the former Sears retail building—a Santa Monica landmark—was transformed into a safe, fully equipped learning environment for 2,500 Pali High students just three months after the fires took place. Reprinted courtesy of Jamie Macartney, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

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Compass, Zillow Take Feud Over Home Listings Into NYC Court

December 15, 2025 — Chris Dolmetsch & Paulina Cachero - Bloomberg
Two heavyweights in the US residential real estate market, Compass Inc. and Zillow Inc., are facing off in a New York courtroom in a legal battle that could reshape the future of how homes are marketed and sold in the country. Compass, the largest residential brokerage, sued Zillow in June claiming the real estate site acts anticompetitively by banning listings that were publicly marketed elsewhere first. A four-day hearing began Tuesday before a federal judge who will decide whether to temporarily block Zillow’s policy while the lawsuit proceeds. The dispute is the latest in a long-running fight over who controls the most valuable asset in real estate: information. Compass has built a private listings network allowing sellers to quietly market homes with its own agents before posting on public multiple listing services (MLS). It argues the strategy lets sellers test demand and pricing without leaving a record on the MLS that could hurt future sales. Reprinted courtesy of Chris Dolmetsch, Bloomberg and Paulina Cachero, Bloomberg Read the full story...

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Navigating Wind and Solar Development Opportunities on State and Private Lands During Uncertain Times for Renewable Energy

February 02, 2026 — Cara M. MacDonald, Robert G. Howard & Andrew Jacobs - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Recent executive actions and federal guidance have targeted wind and solar development, creating substantial uncertainty for the U.S. offshore wind industry and also reshaping the regulatory landscape governing onshore wind and solar development. Wind and solar projects on federal lands are now subject to heightened review processes and enhanced regulatory scrutiny. As a result, many developers are considering opportunities on state-owned and privately held lands rather than federal lands. 2025 Federal Executive Actions Impacting Wind and Solar At the federal level, renewable energy development on public lands is governed primarily by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The agency provides rights of way and leases (in designated leasing areas) for energy project development. Despite significant incentives for renewable energy development under the Biden administration, the Trump administration has deprioritized renewable energy in support of traditional energy sources like oil, gas and coal, as well as nuclear and geothermal energy. Reprinted courtesy of Cara M. MacDonald, Pillsbury, Robert G. Howard, Pillsbury and Andrew Jacobs, Pillsbury Ms. MacDonald may be contacted at cara.macdonald@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Howard may be contacted at robert.howard@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Jacobs may be contacted at andrew.jacobs@pillsburylaw.com Read the full story...

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Snell & Wilmer Recognized Among the Top 10 Largest Law Firms in Orange County by the Orange County Business Journal for the Ninth Consecutive Year

April 27, 2026 — Snell & Wilmer
ORANGE COUNTY – Snell & Wilmer is pleased to announce that its Orange County office has been named the eighth largest law firm in Orange County on the Orange County Business Journal’s 2026 List of Law Firms. The office has been ranked among the top 10 largest law firms in the region by the Orange County Business Journal for nine consecutive years. “We are proud to once again be recognized among the top law firms in Orange County,” said Jonathan E. Frank, managing partner of the firm’s Orange County office. “This recognition is a testament to the outstanding attorneys and professionals in our Orange County office and the clients who trust us with their most important matters. Being ranked among the top 10 largest firms in the region for nine consecutive years reflects both the strength of our team and our deep commitment to serving the Orange County business community.” Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Snell & Wilmer

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Quick Note: If You Want to Recover Attorney’s Fees In a Contractual Dispute, Include a Prevailing Party Attorney’s Fees Provision

January 21, 2026 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
If you want the ability to recover attorney’s fees in the event of a contractual dispute, include a prevailing party attorney’s fees. Negotiate this point on the front end. Not doing so will hinder your ability to make the argument that you should be entitled to attorney’s fees due to a breach of the contract. In a recent case, the prevailing party relied on an indemnification provision to create the argument for attorney’s fees even though the action had NOTHING to do with indemnity. This was shot down on appeal as a party can’t use an indemnification provision to create that attorney’s fees argument UNLESS the provision is expressly clear on this point. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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Measure Twice, Cut (the Check) Once: Liability for Cybercrime and How to Avoid It

December 15, 2025 — Curt Martin, Richard Volack & Quinn Kuriger - ConsensusDocs
The well-known maxim among carpenters – “measure twice, cut once” – serves as a prudent reminder in the context of construction progress payments, which have become increasingly vulnerable to cybercriminal activity. Consider the following scenario: a joint venture contractor had been receiving progress payments via wire transfer from the project owner. A cybercriminal infiltrated the contractor’s IT infrastructure, identified a pending invoice, and impersonated an employee to redirect the payment. The hacker initially requested that the funds be sent to a new account in rural New York under the general contractor’s name, rather than to the joint venture’s established Houston account. The owner wisely inquired why it should pay the general contractor and not the joint venture who the owner had paid on the prior twenty-nine progress payments. The hacker quickly corrected its request, submitted a new request that misspelled the joint venture’s name, and specified ACH to a third bank, this time in Florida. Despite these glaring red flags, the owner less wisely wired $460,000 to the hacker’s account. Reprinted courtesy of Curt Martin, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. , Richard Volack, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Quinn Kuriger, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Mr. Martin may be contacted at cmartin@pecklaw.com Mr. Volack may be contacted at rvolack@pecklaw.com Mr. Kuriger may be contacted at qkuriger@pecklaw.com Read the full story...

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Introducing the Updated 2026 Pillsbury Guide to Data Centers

June 08, 2026 — Gravel2Gavel Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Since the initial publication of the Pillsbury Guide to Data Centers in 2025, the market has continued to evolve—most notably with respect to power availability, energy strategy, tax and incentives planning, and investment activity across the sector. While many of the legal, commercial and regulatory frameworks addressed in the original Guide remain durable and relevant, recent developments warranted targeted updates and additions. The 2026 edition expands and updates our energy-focused content to reflect the increasingly central role of power procurement, interconnection and long-term energy strategy in data center development. We have incorporated new materials addressing power purchase and interconnection agreements, solar and other renewable energy solutions, advanced reactor designs, and nuclear-powered data centers projects, including an updated project tracker. We have also added new analysis covering state and local tax considerations and incentive structures relevant to data center development and operations, as well as current M&A and private equity trends shaping investment in the sector. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Gravel2Gavel Team

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Protect Your Projects By Identifying and Controlling Hidden Contract Risks

March 10, 2026 — Larry Borda & Daniel Lund III - JD Supra
In a recent webinar entitled “Spreading the Risk and Avoiding Killer Contract Clauses,” Phelps lawyers Daniel Lund and Larry Borda examined contractual provisions that most often expose construction professionals to unexpected financial and legal risk. While construction contracts may appear routine, each contract serves as the primary mechanism for managing, allocating, and mitigating risk among parties involved in complex projects—often valued in the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. When parties fail to fully understand the terms they sign, costly and avoidable consequences frequently follow. Contracts as Risk-Transfer Instruments Construction contracts are the primary method for transferring risk. While contracts authorize work and define scope, they also allocate responsibility for the risks inherent in construction projects. Some may imagine a world where a one-page agreement and a set of plans would suffice. In reality, modern construction requires detailed agreements—particularly provisions designed to anticipate problems, distribute burdens and reduce disputes. Reprinted courtesy of Larry Borda, Phelps and Daniel Lund III, Phelps Mr. Borda may be contacted at larry.borda@phelps.com Mr. Lund may be contacted at daniel.lund@phelps.com Read the full story...

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