Litigation Consulting
Construction Defect Litigation Experts
Construction litigation firms and their clients trust us to provide informed, accurate data regarding their building envelope issues. We have extensive experience with the litigation process and have successfully testified as experts at many jury trials and arbitration proceedings throughout the USA.
Construction Litigation Consulting Services
Our services include failure assessment and performance analysis of all types of distressed building enclosure systems and components. This typically involves in-depth forensic analysis and identification of causes of system failures.
Services include:
- Independent investigation and analysis of issues regarding a claim
- Document review and analysis
- Review and analysis of other expert reports
- Site investigations to review field conditions
- Site testing to confirm building performance
- Identification of issues and necessary actions to resolve claims
- Consultation to provide expert input about claim resolution
- Rendering of expert opinions
- Written and oral reports to present expert opinions and supporting documentation
- Provide expert presentations and consultation at mediation and arbitration proceedings
- Provide expert testimony at depositions and trials
Our Experts
Our team specializes in all areas of the building enclosure, including wall systems, glazing systems, waterproofing, and roofing. Our objective is to investigate and evaluate claims using a fair and objective approach that follows a logical process and is supported by the construction sciences. We have decades of experience in claims review analysis and are seasoned in the field as well as the courtroom.
Chris Matthews has over 35 years of experience working with building envelopes, and specializes in the installation and performance of these systems. He has consulted with owners, architects, engineers, insurers, attorneys and builders on hundreds of projects throughout the US and Caribbean.
Alfonso Alzamora, PE, CGC, has over 20 years of experience in engineering and consulting. He specializes in building envelope systems for new and existing structures. His experience includes investigations of buildings with envelope performance problems, remedial design, and management of rehabilitation programs, as well as litigation support and expert witness testimony. He is bilingual in both English and Spanish.
Jason Bondurant, PE, RRC, is a licensed Professional Engineer in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. He has over 10 years of consulting and engineering experience. He leads forensic investigations, develops repair plans and specifications, provides construction management services, performs quality assurance inspections, and provides expert witness testimony. He has worked extensively in both new construction consulting and forensic analysis of existing buildings.
Shauna Serafini, RWC, FMPC, has been a member of the GCI team since 2009. She has over a decade of experience working with exterior glazing, walls, and waterproofing systems specializing in the design, installation, water infiltration resistance, and performance assessment of these systems.
Dan Johnson, FMPC, has over 30 years of field and laboratory experience in the evaluation of fenestration product and façade performance. He has worked on hundreds of projects from the design stages, inspection, and testing of new construction to the forensic investigations of existing structures. In addition, he serves as a litigation support consultant and expert witness in disputes related to exterior wall, window, and glazing system installation and performance.
Maria Rivera, EI, is a consultant and project manager with over 7 years of experience in the construction industry. Her experience in first-party insurance claims and construction safety includes inspections and analysis of glazing and waterproofing systems, field testing for quality compliance, forensic analysis and repair protocols, and preparation of reports. She has worked both residential and commercial projects of new construction and existing buildings.
Paul Beers has over 32 years of experience in the window and glazing trade and with building envelopes. He is a leading expert with glazing systems, facades, water leakage, wind mitigation and hurricane damage.
Will Smith has approximately 50 years of experience in the design and construction of glazing systems and building envelopes. He is a certified building contractor and a member of several industry associations. He has served successfully as an envelope expert in hundreds of cases throughout the country.
Methodologies For Forensic Investigation Of Construction Defects
Construction defects happen. Sometimes it's a design or installation error, other times the building components simply fail. We use proven methodologies to conduct our forensic investigations and testing, so that we may provide you with expert opinions that hold up under scrutiny.
While many recognized methodologies exist for the investigation of various failures and defects, we understand and apply the most appropriate for your case and circumstances.
We often utilize the following investigation and testing standards:
ASTM Standards:
ASTM E2128 - Standard Guide for Evaluating Water Leakage of Building Walls
ASTM E576 - Standard Test Method for Frost/Dew Point of Sealed Insulating Glass Units in the Vertical Position
ASTM E783 – Standard Test Method for Field Measurement of Air Leakage Through Installed Exterior Windows and Doors
ASTM E1105 - Standard Test Method for Field Determination of Water Penetration of Installed Exterior Windows, Skylights, Doors, and Curtain Walls, by Uniform or Cyclic Static Air Pressure Difference
ASTM D5957 - Standard Guide for Flood Testing Horizontal Waterproofing Installations
ASTM D7053 - Standard Guide for Determining and Evaluating Causes of Water Leakage of Low-Sloped Roofs
ASTM D7954 – Standard Practice for Moisture Surveying of Roofing and Waterproofing Systems Using Non-Destructive Electrical Impedance Scanners
AAMA Standards:
AAMA 501.2 – Quality Assurance and Diagnostic Water Leakage Field Check of Installed Storefronts, Curtain Walls and Sloped Glazing Systems
AAMA 511 – Voluntary Guideline for Forensic Water Penetration Testing of Fenestration Products
Before You Hire An Expert...
Not all building envelope consultants are qualified to be expert witnesses.
Before you hire an expert witness and put them in front of a jury, listen to our recent podcast "Is Your Expert Really An Expert?"
