Federal Appeals Court Affirms Jury Award to Engineering Firm
An owner's appeal of a ruling that favored a design firm failed because the appeal cited a defense that had never been originally litigated....

Patents: What Every Engineer Should Know
Ignoring patent law can have serious consequences for civil engineers. They may sacrifice valuable patent rights or they may risk exposing themselves to a patent infringement lawsuit....

Pursuing Past-Due Accounts
Small engineering firms often do not have a full-time staff member dedicated to collecting on past due accounts, yet it is small business that can be most damaged by unpaid bills. Experts...

What Part of Nollan Didn't They Understand?
This presentation concerns litigation presently pending between the County of Santa Barbara and the owners of a home on the beach in Santa Barbara County. The lawsuit commenced in November...

Defusing Delay Claims
Many contractors, owners and design professionals are finally becoming aware of and sensitive to high cost and substantial risks associated with litigating delay claims. As a result, the...

Gaining Ground
A giant of the profession looks back at his own career and talks about his concerns for the future of geotechnical engineering, which range from education and litigation to mergers and...

Strategies for Remediation Managers
Since the early 1980s the environmental business has focused on avoiding loss. Today the industry is experiencing a paradigm shift toward creating value, and this is impacting the way...

A Landslide of Litigation
Recently in Dana Point, Calif. a hillside road-widening project turned into a mountain of litigation when crews unknowingly cut open the slope toe downhill of residences. Design consultants...

Insurance and the Environmental Engineer
The grading/excavation contractor had no problem completing the project, a routine regrading job with no visible problems or obstructions at the site, on time and on budget. Two years...

Forensic Aspects of Future HSGT
Forensic sciences deal with the relations and application of technical problems in litigation and court procedures. This paper anticipates possible legal actions that may involve the introduction...

Natural Resource Damage Case Selection Criteria
A number of practical considerations dictate that only a fraction of all potential natural resource claims are actually negotiated or litigated under Federal statutes that provides for...

Damage Determination
Various statutory authorities have designated agencies that own, manage or protect natural resources to be trustees for the resources on behalf of the public. Under those authorities,...

The Injury/Restoration Handshake
This paper explains the two components of restoration, proposes a system for evaluating injuries while planning a damage assessment, and applies these concepts to a hypothetical release...

The Use of Economics in Restoration Planning
Economic methods can be used to estimate the value of resource services in terms of a common denominator (e.g., dollars). Resource value estimates can help in determining the expected...

The Potential of Mediation for Resolving Conflicts Between Irrigation and Urban Water Users
This paper discusses the potential of mediation as a means of managing and resolving conflict productivity. Conflict over allocation and use of water may arise from technical or substantive...

More Than an Underground Success
Starting with the premise that reasonable people, guided by impartial experts they have selected, can come to a reasonable solution, dispute review boards, or DRBs, have amassed an enviable...

Howdy, Partner
Litigation has long been a nemesis to the construction industry. In recent years, contractors and owners have used innovative alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques, such as arbitration,...

Steering Clear of Tort Claims
Tort liability has become a major issue for today's highway engineer. Claims against state highway departments charging that deficient roadways caused or contributed to traffic...

Improper Uses of Construction Specifications
Uses and abuses of construction specifications is a phenomenon discussed everywhere construction people gather. Issues addressed tend to be both general in nature, and project specific....

Implementation of Material Requirements in Specifications
This paper focuses on where to find information on materials, their compatibility, minimum standards and specifying of materials and their use. The paper also presents case histories on...

 

 

 

 

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