VEADR 2012: Emerging Strategies for Successful Construction Defect Expert Witnesses and Consultants

by Brian L. Hill  on October 8, 2012 Visit  http://BLHill.info for more information. He can be reached via email at BLH@BLHill.info. In a construction defect dispute, experts play a crucial role. Due to the highly technical nature of these types of cases, it is essential that a person with sufficient knowledge, training and experience explain those technical issues. If a dispute proceeds to trial, parties will often designate an expert witness... Read More

The Evolution of VE-ADR

  By Ed Martinet – Key West, Florida….. Alternative Dispute Resolution has been very effective over the past several decades by aiding the legal system with an alternative method of resolution outside of the court system. While there are many approaches to ADR, all can say that they are frequently preferable to full blown litigation. However, in some areas of the law, the use of conventional ADR has become so “standardized” that... Read More

#1 Failure to Communicate

By Ed Martinet Florida – I was in a meeting today when it came to me that “we have a failure to communicate” in the CD and construction claim/litigation arena. While this failure to communicate does not always occur, in too many instances it does. The systemic failure begins when a plaintiff fails to accurately and fairly present a claim that meets the realistic needs of the owners. The communication failure continues when the defense does not... Read More

Making the law available | Building Codes

By Paul Viau How many of you (Architects, Engineers, Contractors and Attorneys) run into the situation where you need to do a code analysis for a code you don’t have? So then you have to go out and buy another $80 book to add to your shelf. If the building, plumbing or other code you’re using is law, and by law you need to design and build in accordance with the code/law referenced, shouldn’t the code be made available to you as a public document? Some... Read More

Times are Changing | Road to Resolution for Self-Insured Contractors by Ed Martinet

“The times they are a changing,” has been rattling around in my head recently. The times surely are, or should I say that they have been changing, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Given the current housing construction situation, general contractors, developers, subcontractors, suppliers and related companies will only survive to see another day by continuing to find ways to successfully cut expenses without detriment... Read More

Show Me the Money | Value Engineered Alternative Dispute Resolution

Those of us in the construction claims and construction defect world that have run businesses and constructed projects have always kept one objective top of mind: to turn a profit each month, quarter and year. Sounds simple, and in fact, the concept is quite simple. But in practice it can be difficult. And when we are in tough economic times, such as now, we need to be more creative in meeting this goal. As I have told my children time again, we need... Read More

LiMa Solutions’ Martinet On Construction Defects Litigation

Our own Ed Martinet was a panelist at the Construction Litigation Leader’s Forum on March 3, 2011 and is featured in this video clip from HB Litigation Conferences (http://litigationconferences.com/). He shared his insights about the different challenges in resolving cases on the West Coast and East Coast. In addition, Ed discussed the use of new technologies at LiMa Solutions. By running a virtual office, he says, the team stays connected, data... Read More

Road to Resolution – Bartow, Florida!

Stopped at Bartow, FL, on the Peace River on the way to Tampa for our next Gathering of mediators before heading to CA for 2 weeks of meetings.  Read More

Road to Resolution – West Palm Beach, Florida!

The LiMa Solutions “Road to Resolution” series of gatherings commenced Monday April 25, 2011 in West Palm Beach, Florida!  With US Legal Systems supplying the ideal meeting facilities participants learned more about LiMa Solutions and the VE-ADRsm process. Over the next two weeks Ed Martinet, Paul Viau and Michael Ruetz will continue to host this series of gatherings around the country. Pictured with Ed is Cindy Febre Office Manager of the West... Read More

VE-ADR – Bridging the Communications Gap

By Ed Martinet Florida (4/20/2011) – I was in a meeting today and what popped in my head was that famous quote from the movie Cool Hand Luke “What we’ve got here is, failure to communicate”.  Time and again, we have a failure to communicate in the CD and construction claim/litigation arena. While this failure to communicate does not always occur, more often than not, it does occur.  The systemic failure begins when a plaintiff counsel fails... Read More