Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 – Expert Testimony

October 30, 2023 — William L. Doerler - The Subrogation Strategist
In April, the Supreme Court sent a list of proposed amendments to Congress that amend the Federal Rules of Evidence. Absent action by Congress, the rules go into effect December 1, 2023. The proposed amendments affect Rules 106, 615 and, relevant to this article, 702. Rule 702 addresses testimony by an expert witness. The proposed rule reads as follows (new material is underlined; matters omitted are lined through): A witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise if the proponent demonstrates to the court that it is more likely than not that:

the expert’s scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue;
the testimony is based on sufficient facts or data;
the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and
the expert has reliably applied expert’s opinion reflects a reliable application of the principles and methods to the facts of the case.

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Reprinted courtesy of William L. Doerler, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Doerler may be contacted at doerlerw@whiteandwilliams.com

Georgia Court Rules that Separate Settlements Are Not the End of the Matter

October 14, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The Georgia Court of Appeals recently took up the question of how parties in a construction defect settlement relate to one another in terms of apportioning the settlement. Scott Murphy, writing on the Barnes & Thornburg blog clarifies the issues. The underlying construction defect case involved a newly-constructed hotel with mold and mildew problems. The owners sued the contractor (for negligent construction) and the architect (for negligent design). Separately, the owners settled with the contractor for $2.3 million and the architect for $100,000. Subsequently, the contractor sued the architect, attempting to recover part of the settlement the contractors had made with the owners. At trial, the architect prevailed, obtaining a summary judgment that under Georgia law, “joint-tortfeasors can no longer assert contribution or non-contractual indemnity claims.” This was reversed by the Court of Appeals, determining that the two were not joint tortfeasors. Mr. Murphy notes that “the court rejected the parties’ attempt to disavow joint and several liability in their respective settlement agreements.” The court ruled that the contractor could proceed with their claims against the argument. Read the court decision
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William Lyon Homes Unites with Polygon Northwest Company

June 26, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Big Builder’s Les Shaver reported that William Lyon Homes has acquired Polygon Northwest Company, “the largest private home builder in the [Pacific Northwest] region,” for “approximately $520 million.” "Polygon Northwest Company brings an attractive level consistency to William Lyon Homes with a steady average of 57 homes per month and a portfolio of communities that includes a nice product mix of single family detached [80 percent] and attached product [20 percent]," Catherine LaFemina, director of business development in the Seattle market for Metrostudy, told Big Builder. "Based on the trailing 12 months of home closings, [June 2013 to May 2014], Lyon’s acquisition of Polygon will increase the volume of homes being delivered by 50 percent to an average monthly volume of about 115 homes per month." Read the court decision
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“Over? Did you say ‘over’?”

December 31, 2024 — Daniel Lund III - Lexology
The United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that under the Federal Arbitration Act, an arbitrator – and not a court – is to determine the preclusive effect of an arbitrator’s earlier ruling. In the case, insurers engaged in three reinsurance agreements had previously arbitrated concerning one of the insurer’s billing methodologies. When a similar dispute occurred years later, the victors in the first arbitration – rather than pursuing arbitration – filed in federal court in Chicago seeking to have the court declare that the prior arbitration award precluded re-arbitration of the latest dispute. The insurer on the other side of the dispute moved to compel arbitration, a motion granted by the district court. The plaintiff insurers appealed. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Daniel Lund III, Phelps
Mr. Lund may be contacted at daniel.lund@phelps.com

One Sector Is Building Strength Amid Slow Growth

November 18, 2019 — Michael Msika - Bloomberg
If you had to guess which stocks are posting top gains given this year’s gloomy economic outlook, you might be surprised by the answer. Construction and material shares, despite most macro indicators pointing to slowing global growth, are now leading the pack in Europe. The sector’s up 32% already this year, knocking food-and-drinks stocks off the pedestal, and there appear few signs of the rally stopping anytime soon. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michael Msika, Bloomberg

Texas Supreme Court Declines to Waive Sovereign Immunity in Premises Defect Case

April 10, 2023 — Starr M. Forster - Lewis Brisbois
Houston, Texas (March 30, 2023) – The Supreme Court of Texas recently upheld a Thirteenth Court of Appeals’ judgment finding that the plaintiffs in a premises defect case brought against the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) had failed to raise a fact issue regarding the creation of a dangerous condition and, consequently, failed to establish waiver of the defendant’s sovereign immunity. Daniel K. Christ and Nicole D. Salinas v. Tex. DOT, et al., No. 21-0728, 66 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 306, 2023 Tex. LEXIS 128, at *1 (Feb 10, 2023). Background Plaintiffs Daniel Christ and his wife, Nicole Salinas (the Christs), were riding their motorcycle through a construction zone when they collided with a vehicle that crossed into their lane. TxDOT’s traffic control plan for the related construction project called for the placement of concrete barriers between opposing travel lanes; however, once construction on the project began, TxDOT’s contractor determined there was not enough space for the concrete barriers and revised the traffic control plan to substitute yellow stripes and buttons for the concrete barriers. TxDOT never approved the revised traffic control plan in writing; however, TxDOT’s contractor contended TxDOT orally approved of the change. The Christs sued the driver of the other vehicle, TxDOT, and TxDOT’s contractor. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Starr M. Forster, Lewis Brisbois
Ms. Forster may be contacted at Starr.Forster@lewisbrisbois.com

Study May Come Too Late for Construction Defect Bill

February 14, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Colorado State Senator Mark Scheffel removed his bill, Senate Bill 13-052, from the calendar of the Senate Judiciary Committee in anticipation of a study which he feels would be pertinent to the discussion. The bill would stop communities from suing developers over noise and vibration issues associated with transit facilities, and would also provide for developers fixing construction defects before being sued. Senator Scheffel said that the intent of his bill was to spur development near transit facilities. The study, commissioned by the Denver Regional Council of Governments, would focus on the effects of the state’s construction defects law on housing. It might not come soon enough for the senator’s bill. The Denver Business Journal reports that the study, which will take four months to complete, doesn’t yet have a contract. The Legislature must adjourn by May 8, so it is not possible for the study to be concluded before the end of this legislative session. Read the court decision
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Policyholders' Coverage Checklist in Times of Coronavirus

March 16, 2020 — Richard W. Brown & Andres Avila - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Every state but West Virginia have reported hundreds of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the U.S. More than half are in California, Washington, New York, and Massachusetts. The unprecedented social and economic impact of the Coronavirus makes it necessary for policyholders to keep open all lines of communications with their insurance brokers, insurance carriers, financial advisors, safety & compliance experts, and insurance coverage counsel even if it is not certain whether they will need to file insurance claims. As always, the specific terms of the insurance policies and the way losses are documented and presented to insurance carriers will be pivotal in securing coverage for Coronavirus-related exposures, such as jobsite closures, stop-work orders, remote work mandated measures, business interruption, event cancelation, employees’ claims, among others. Policyholders should consider the following checklist of key insurance coverage tasks to be better positioned to face the risks posed by the Coronavirus:

Pre-Loss Risk Management: A careful review of the policyholder’s insurance program may show coverage for the Coronavirus outbreak. Now is the time to assess, with the guidance of your brokers and insurance coverage counsel, the specific coverages in place. Policyholders may want to particularly review the terms and conditions of their Property, General Liability, Pollution, Directors & Officers, Professional Liability, Fiduciary Liability, as well as Event Cancelation Insurance coverages, among others depending on their specific business trade. For instance, Policyholders would want to assess, ahead of time, whether there are bacterial/virus/communicable diseases/pandemics exclusions in their policies. It is also relevant to review, with a keen eye, the insuring agreements and pose hypotheticals to stress test them and see how far coverage would go with respect to a Coronavirus exposure;

Reprinted courtesy of Richard W. Brown, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. and Andres Avila, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. Mr. Brown may be contacted at rwb@sdvlaw.com Mr. Avila may be contacted at ara@sdvlaw.com Read the court decision
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CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES