--- title: Expert Witnesses in Design & Construction Disputes by DESIGNPRO Insurance Group --- # Expert Witnesses in Design & Construction Disputes ## from DESIGNPRO Insurance Group ## Expert Witnesses in Design & Construction Disputes - Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2023 Unfortunately, disputes do arise on design and construction projects. It is not possible to list what circumstances can go wrong. From a legal perspective, the allegations can include breach of an agreement between the project participants—project owners, design professionals, consultants, construction contractors, sub-contractors, and more. Also, a project participant may be accused of falling below their standard of care—amounting to a claim for negligence, delay claims, etc. Allegations can be numerous. **THE DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IS PRONE TO DISPUTES** Keep in mind that projects have many moving parts. Buildings are built on assumed conditions (soil borings included in a geotechnical report), varying weather conditions, labor and material availability, and the project “team” may work together only one time (so there is no economy based upon established relationships). When a dispute arises, when the parties go to battle with each other, it is highly likely that attorneys are involved to represent their clients. In the dispute resolution process, either through mediation, arbitration or litigation, the need for an “objective outside set of eyes” in the form of an expert that can support a project participant’s case. But there is a distinction here to be recognized. A “fact” witness would be involved to support their position because they are directly involved in the dispute. These fact witnesses would obviously include the parties in the dispute themselves—the named defendant(s) and plaintiff(s), and eyewitnesses. The expert comes into the case to educate the fact finder(s), such as a jury in litigation or arbitrators in an arbitration, about the merits of one side of the dispute. An appropriate expert witness, working with an attorney representing one of the parties, needs to be objective and inform the legal counsel (their client) about the pros and cons in the dispute. **A PERSPECTIVE ABOUT EXPERT WITNESSES** The Legal Information Institute (LII) is a research, engineering and editorial group housed at the Cornell Law School in Ithaca, NY. The members include publishers, legal scholars, computer scientists, government agencies and other groups and individuals that promote open access to law, worldwide. The LII is supported by private donations, corporate sponsorships, and the parent institute, the Cornell Law School. **THE FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE** The Federal Rules of Evidence addresses the qualifications of an expert witness involved in disputes. **IN CONCLUSION** Design professionals, including architects, landscape architects, engineers and surveyors have a duty to conform their conduct consistent with their profession, when providing their services, to establish their credibility. For example, typical state rules of conduct found in Boards of Engineers is as follows. An engineer shall: * * * **_About the Author of this Risk Management Building Block Article_** _Eric O. Pempus, FAIA, Esq., NCARB has been a risk manager for more than 17 years with experience in architecture, law and professional liability insurance, and a unique and well-rounded background in the construction industry. He has 25 prior years of experience in the practice of architecture/engineering, and as an adjunct professor teaching professional practice courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels for the last 35 years. As a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and AIA National Ethics Council 2021 Chair, he has demonstrated his impact on architectural profession. He has presented numerous loss prevention and continuing educational programs to design professionals and architectural students in various venues across the United States and Canada._ _The above comments are based upon DesignPro Insurance Group’s experience with Risk Management Loss Prevention activities and should not be construed to represent a determination of legal issues but are offered for general guidance with respect to your own risk management and loss prevention. The above comments do not replace your need for you to rely on your counsel for advice and a legal review, since every project and circumstance differs from every other set of facts._ **_Disclaimer:_** _The viewpoints expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily approved by, reflective of or edited by other individuals, groups, or institutions. This article is an expression by the author(s) to generate discussion and interest in this topic._ ## Contact Us Contact our office for more information. [Contact us](/contact) ## Share This - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.designproins.com%2Fblog%2F2023%2Fexpert-witnesses-in-design-construction-disputes.md) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.designproins.com%2Fblog%2F2023%2Fexpert-witnesses-in-design-construction-disputes.md&text=Expert+Witnesses+in+Design+%26+Construction+Disputes+by+DESIGNPRO+Insurance+Group) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.designproins.com%2Fblog%2F2023%2Fexpert-witnesses-in-design-construction-disputes.md&title=Expert+Witnesses+in+Design+%26+Construction+Disputes+by+DESIGNPRO+Insurance+Group) - [Email](mailto:?subject=Expert+Witnesses+in+Design+%26+Construction+Disputes+by+DESIGNPRO+Insurance+Group&body=Thought+you+might+be+interested...%0A%0AExpert+Witnesses+in+Design+%26+Construction+Disputes+by+DESIGNPRO+Insurance+Group%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.designproins.com%2Fblog%2F2023%2Fexpert-witnesses-in-design-construction-disputes.md) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https://www.designproins.com/blog/2023/expert-witnesses-in-design-construction-disputes#blogposting","url":"https://www.designproins.com/blog/2023/expert-witnesses-in-design-construction-disputes","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.designproins.com/blog/2023/expert-witnesses-in-design-construction-disputes#webpage"},"headline":"Expert Witnesses in Design & Construction Disputes","datePublished":"2023-04-01T04:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-10-12T16:52:10Z","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.designproins.com/#organization","name":"DESIGNPRO Insurance Group"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.designproins.com/#organization","name":"DESIGNPRO Insurance Group"}},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.designproins.com/#organization","url":"https://www.designproins.com/","name":"DESIGNPRO Insurance Group"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.designproins.com/#webpage","url":"https://www.designproins.com/","name":"Expert Witnesses in Design & Construction Disputes by DESIGNPRO Insurance Group"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/blog","name":"Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/blog/2023/expert-witnesses-in-design-construction-disputes","name":"Expert Witnesses in Design & Construction Disputes"}}]}]} ```