Thank You for Year 19 of Legal Elite
January 05, 2026 —
Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law MusingsThank you once again to those in the Virginia legal community who elected me to the
Virginia Business Legal Elite in the Construction Law category for the 19th consecutive year. The 19 consecutive years of election to the Legal Elite in the Construction Category span my over 15 years as a solo construction attorney. The fact that you all have continued to elect “100%” of the lawyers at
The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PC for the last 15 years is most gratifying and only confirms that my decision to “go solo” over 15 years ago was a good one. To be included in this list of top construction attorneys is both humbling and gratifying. For the complete list of the Virginia construction lawyers who were elected along with me, see the
2025 Virginia Business Legal Elite in Construction Law.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PCMr. Hill may be contacted at
chrisghill@constructionlawva.com
New Survey Reveals Overwhelmingly Optimistic Results on the Use of AI in Construction
May 14, 2026 —
Construction ExecutiveOn December 5, 2025,
CMiC and
Dodge released a
survey asking over 6,000 companies across various sectors of the construction industry their stance on artificial intelligence—whether they use it or not; whether they like it or not; whether they have or are planning to implement it or not; and so on. Considering its reputation for skepticism and reluctance when it comes to adopting new forms of technology, the construction industry pleasantly surprised CMiC and Dodge with its answers to these questions, with 87% of contractors believing AI will have a meaningful impact on construction.
“The research indicates the construction industry is nearing a tipping point for AI adoption,” says Steve Jones, senior director of industry insights at Dodge Construction Network, who sat down with Construction Executive to delve further into the survey questions and answers and what the industry’s current position on them means for AI’s future role in construction.
Reprinted courtesy of
Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
Read the full story...
Appraisal Award Upheld Despite Insurer’s Contention that Causation was Considered
February 23, 2026 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiThe federal district court in Tennessee granted the insured’s motion for summary judgment finding the appraisal award was properly determined despite the insurer’s argument that the appraisal panel considered causation of the loss. Nashville Communications, Inc. v. Auto-Owners (Mutual) Ins. Co., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 223455 (M.D. Tenn. Nov. 13, 2025)
A windstorm struck and damaged the building owned and insured by Nashville Communications (NashComm). A claim was submitted to the insurer, Auto-Owners, for damage to the roof and interior water leakage. Auto-Owners acknowledged that there was some amount of wind damage to the building from the wind event.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
If You Get ‘Reported to the Board’ for Your Professional License (Law Note)
January 21, 2026 —
Melissa Dewey Brumback - Construction Law in North CarolinaThe NC
Board of Architecture and the NC
Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (as well as other Boards, including the NC
Licensing Board for General Contractors) have grievance procedures in which anyone – client or not—can file a grievance against you. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the Boards have seen it all before, and if the grievance is someone unhappy about a bill, or using the process to harass you for unfounded reasons, they will recognize those complaints for what they are.
HOWEVER, this does not mean that you should treat any grievance, no matter how unfounded, lightly. The first thing you need to do is contact your insurance broker/agent and report the matter. Often times, your insurance carrier will hire an attorney (someone like me) to defend you free of charge (at least up to a certain dollar amount). This is part of your insurance coverage, and you should take full advantage of it.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Melissa Dewey Brumback, Ragsdale Liggett PLLCMs. Brumback may be contacted at
mbrumback@rl-law.com
Parking Garage Partially Collapses in Dearborn, Mich., Trapping One
March 31, 2026 —
Annemarie Mannion - Engineering News-RecordA multi-level parking garage that partially collapsed in Dearborn, Mich., is fenced off and the city has started the legal process allowed under state law to demolish the privately-owned structure due to alleged dangerous conditions.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Annemarie Mannion, Engineering News-RecordMs. Mannion may be contacted at
manniona@enr.com
Construction and Design Contracts—They Are More Important Than You Might Think! (Law Note)
January 26, 2026 —
Melissa Dewey Brumback - Construction Law in North CarolinaAs regular readers of this Blog know, contracts are extremely important for all parties involved in a construction project. While
verbal contracts can be enforced, a
written contract, which is finely-tuned to your specific project, can save you a lot of time and money later on if the proverbial poo hits the fan.
I recently read AIA’s take on contracts, in their Construction Risk Brief (which you should
subscribe to [free] if you have not already). Their featured article is on “
Best Practices for Construction Contracts”. In the piece, they discuss 7 key points to address in each contract. I concur for the most part, although want to point out that some of them (such as the regular monitoring and
documentation bullet point) are deserving of their own post, as there is a *lot* that can and does go wrong during the
construction administration phase.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Melissa Dewey Brumback, Ragsdale Liggett PLLCMs. Brumback may be contacted at
mbrumback@rl-law.com
Contract Interpretation – Determining What the Contract Requires
March 24, 2026 —
David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal UpdatesA good ole dispute on contract interpretation in government contracting. Contract interpretation disputes happen all the time in every jurisdiction under the sun. Think about that. Now, what’s the best way to avoid a contract interpretation dispute? Naturally, invest in the contract language and fully understand the scope of work. Make all of this clear. But, of course, this isn’t foolproof meaning you could still be doing this and you could still find yourself in a contract interpretation dispute. Although, if you are doing this, and being proactive, the contract interpretation disputes should be minimal and more streamlined.
In Liberty Technical Services, LLC v. Department of Veterans Affairs, CBCA 8385, 2026 WL 407656 (CBCA 2026), the dispute centered on whether the government owed the contractor for certain, necessary equipment (largely controllers, but also tanks and pumps) not specified in the contract. The government countered that this should be a non-issue because the contractor always acknowledged it was responsible for furnishing the unspecified, necessary equipment, and the contractor did actually provide the equipment without direction from the government. Each party claimed the contract was unambiguous when construed in context.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
David Adelstein, Kirwin NorrisMr. Adelstein may be contacted at
dma@kirwinnorris.com
EPA Proposes New WOTUS Definition, Narrowing Clean Water Act Jurisdiction
December 30, 2025 —
Patrick J. Paul, Chris P. Colyer & John Habib - Snell & WilmerOn November 17, 2025, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule that would significantly narrow its regulatory authority over Waters of the United States (WOTUS). Under the new proposed WOTUS rule, EPA would effectively have jurisdiction only over relatively permanent waters and a smaller subset of directly connected wetlands.
The WOTUS definition outlines the geographic reach of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ and EPA’s authority under the 1972 Clean Water Act to regulate streams, wetlands, and other water bodies. As such, it has been reviewed in boardrooms, courtrooms, and government offices for over fifty years. Most recently, on May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Sackett v. EPA. In Sackett, the Supreme Court determined that WOTUS are only (1) relatively permanent bodies of water, such as oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams; or (2) adjacent wetlands indistinguishable from those waters because of a continuous surface connection.
Reprinted courtesy of
Patrick J. Paul, Snell & Wilmer,
Chris P. Colyer, Snell & Wilmer and
John Habib, Snell & Wilmer
Mr. Paul may be contacted at ppaul@swlaw.com
Mr. Colyer may be contacted at ccolyer@swlaw.com
Mr. Habib may be contacted at jhabib@swlaw.com
Read the full story...
