Florida Construction Defect Webinar Series: Dos, Don'ts, and Perils of Extrapolation

This three part webinar series was done exclusively for Florida!

Conducting Expert Building Investigations

We last presented this 1-hour program on Tuesday, July 12th, 2022

Introduction

This program is a 30,000 foot perspective, top-level summary, of how high-quality building performance evaluations should be conducted. Our purpose here is to introduce building investigations in the context of claims and litigation, but it's at least as important when building owners and managers are considering spending money on building maintenance, repair, and improvement. Since most people spend 20-50% of their income on housing, these are some of the most financially impactful decisions many people ever make; and we see terrible decisions happening, often. It's a lot to cover in 1-hour, so we will be moving fast and pointing to content for further study, for those who need deeper understanding. Although there are lots of investigative standards in the world, we will discuss the two most important for understanding how expert building investigations should be conducted: ASTM's E2018 Standard Guide for Property Condition Assessment and E2128 Standard Guide for Evaluating Water Leakage of Building Walls. Property Condition Assessment is the first and most important step in making good decisions about an existing building project. Sometimes the evaluation can stop there and the stakeholders can move forward with good decision making. But in some circumstances, we need to dig deeper into Evaluating Water Leakage of Building Walls. This is applying the scientific method to building investigation by first reviewing documents, evaluating the design concept, determining the service history, and only then planning and conducting investigative testing.

Learning Objectives

• Introduction to ASTM E2018 Standard Guide for Property Condition Assessments: Baseline Property Condition Assessment

• Introduction to ASTM E2128: Standard Guide for Evaluating Water Leakage of Building Walls

• Introduction to how these standards are "normally used"

• Introduction to how these standards should be used in building claims & litigation

• Understand the big picture of professional building performance evaluations

• Learn where you can go for detailed information

Program Outline

1. Introduction

2. Document & Information Management

3. Inspection

4. Analysis

5. Estimating

6. Testing (Only as Necessary)

7. Report

8. Conclusion

Our Panel

Continuing Education

Note: You must attend the live webinar to obtain credit. Some states may approve this program for credit following individual submission. Certification of attendance will be sent to eligible webinar attendees within 3 business days of the webinar.

This webinar is pending approval for 1.0 credit hour of continuing education credit with the Florida State Bar.

Gathering Extrapolatable Data Using Representative Selection

We last presented this 1-hour program on Thursday, August 11th, 2022

Introduction

Extrapolation in construction defect (CD) litigation is a hot button issue that has been driving defendants crazy since the 1990’s. It’s hard to believe, but this issue has only recently been addressed well.

Expert consultant opinions are rooted in observational data that drive CD litigation. However, experts often only look at or test a few locations rather than 100%. This means experts are using a (sometimes small) sample to extrapolate conclusions about the overall population and the project. Looking at the math, there is nothing inherently wrong with this.... At least not in theory.

The Scientific Method is the foundation of modern technology; everyday scientists in all fields are making observations, developing hypotheses, making predictions, conducting tests, and comparing their findings to their hypotheses before finally drawing a conclusion. It is common for scientists to extrapolate their findings based on a sample, but every scientist knows that their results are only valid if the sample is truly representative of the population. Scientists are very careful about how they choose their samples, knowing a poor selection creates biased data that is impossible to extrapolate accurately.

Unfortunately, construction defect litigation frequently uses biased data to extrapolate. This course hopes to correct this trend by teaching the right way to select and extrapolate data for CD litigation.

Learning Objectives

• Be able to apply the scientific method to building performance analysis.

• Define how to properly select inspection and testing locations.

• Understand how to extrapolate findings.

• Use real life examples to fully understand what good work looks like.

Program Outline

1. Introduction

2. Building “Science”?

3. Random Selection

4. Extrapolation

5. Playing Doctor

6. Conclusion

Our Panel

Continuing Education Credit

Note: You must attend the live webinar to obtain credit. Some states may approve this program for credit following individual submission. Certification of attendance will be sent to eligible webinar attendees within 3 business days of the webinar.

This webinar is pending approval for 1.0 credit hour of continuing education credit with the Florida State Bar.

Challenging Extrapolation in Florida Construction Defect Cases

We last presented this 1-hour program on Thursday, September 15th, 2022

Introduction

In the previous two programs we outlined the fundamentals of conducting expert building investigations, and gathering extrapolatable data using representative selection, in an effort to contrast good practice with bad. For the final session we are going to explore Daubert, what has happened with extrapolation evidence in Florida to date and the implications of a failed Daubert challenge and admission of extrapolation evidence to a CD evaluation.

This program is for those who want a deeper understanding of Daubert, the current state of select rulings in Florida, and the impact on exposure in a CD case. This session would be helpful to lawyers, risk managers, insurance, and construction professionals..

Learning Objectives

• Understand the application of nuances of Daubert

• Explore what has happened with extrapolation evidence in Florida and other states

• Bring awareness to the importance of Daubert and extrapolation issues when evaluating CD cases

Outline

1. Introduction

2. The Daubert Challenge

3. Florida Case Studies

4. Successful Motions From Outside of Florida

5. Considerations When Evaluating Exposure in CD Cases

6. Conclusion

Continuing Education Credit

Note: You must attend the live webinar to obtain credit. Some states may approve this program for credit following individual submission. Certification of attendance will be sent to eligible webinar attendees within 3 business days of the webinar.

This webinar is pending approval for 1.0 credit hour of continuing education credit with the Florida State Bar.