Construction expert witness services
When a construction dispute reaches deposition, the expert's credibility is the case. Ted S. Merrill has 72 years of construction experience, has been qualified and has testified in Municipal, Superior and Federal courts, and has been appointed by judges in San Diego and Orange County Superior Courts as the impartial repair method and cost expert.
Seventy two years of foundation for a cross examination that goes nowhere
The standard attack on a construction expert is to establish that they have never actually performed the work they are pricing. That line of questioning ends quickly here.
Ted S. Merrill has worked as a laborer, apprentice carpenter, journeyman carpenter, superintendent, estimator and licensed general contractor. Fifty five of those years have involved cost estimating for structures with construction defect problems. When opposing counsel asks how many hours a crew actually needs, or why a published unit cost does not apply to this building, the answer comes from having done it rather than from having read about it.
Retention comes from both sides. We have been engaged by plaintiffs and defendants, by carriers and by policyholders, and by federal and state government, cities and school districts. Judicial appointments as neutral repair expert followed from that record.
Services to counsel
- Early case assessment and merits evaluation
- Site inspection and destructive testing protocol design
- Written expert reports and disclosures
- Cost of repair opinions on any building type
- Causation opinions on construction and damage matters
- Rebuttal analysis of opposing expert scopes and estimates
- Deposition preparation support for counsel
- Deposition testimony
- Mediation and settlement conference attendance
- Arbitration and trial testimony
- Service as arbitrator or appraisal panel umpire
- Demonstrative exhibit development
- Court appointed neutral repair expert assignments
Matters in which we are retained
Construction defect litigation
Cause, extent and cost of repair on residential, condominium, HOA, multifamily, commercial and institutional defect claims, including representative sampling and extrapolation methodology.
First party insurance coverage
Scope and amount of loss disputes, replacement cost analysis, code upgrade requirements, and evaluation of carrier and contractor estimates on disputed property claims.
Fire, water and casualty loss
Damage extent, repair scope and reconstruction cost on fire, smoke, water, flood, wind, vehicle impact and earth movement losses.
Soils and foundation claims
Cost and constructability of the repair specified by the geotechnical and structural engineers of record, and the collateral superstructure and occupancy costs that follow.
Contract and payment disputes
Workmanship standards, change order entitlement and pricing, cost to complete, abandonment, claimed extra work and billing review.
Premises and third party damage
Property damage from adjacent construction, excavation, grading, utility work, tree roots and vehicle impact, including cause and cost of restoration.
What we need, and what you get
Expert engagements go badly when expectations are set late. Ours are set at retention.
What helps us most
- The operative complaint and any defect list or claim schedule
- Plans, specifications, permits and inspection records if available
- Prior expert reports, estimates and inspection photographs from any party
- The insurance policy where coverage or amount of loss is at issue
- Site access arranged, with the scope of any destructive testing agreed among the parties
- The current case schedule, including expert disclosure and discovery cutoff dates
Timing
The most common problem in expert engagements is late retention. An expert brought in after the building has been repaired is left arguing about someone else's photographs, and an expert retained a few weeks before the disclosure deadline cannot perform destructive testing, solicit bids and write a defensible report in that window.
Where a site inspection or testing is needed, retain early. Where the matter is simply an estimate review, we can work to a shorter schedule. Call the office with your dates and we will tell you plainly whether they are workable.
Retaining a construction expert?
Send the operative complaint, the defect list or claim schedule, and your case schedule. We will confirm availability and clear conflicts promptly.
- Direct(619) 464-3997
- Toll Free(800) 619-4833
- Office7777 Alvarado Road, Suite 408A
La Mesa, CA 91942 - LicenseCSLB #345079