David Ross Associates, LLC (DRA) is a Construction Management and Disputes Resolution Consulting Company in San Carlos, California. Our expert construction consultants specialize in the avoidance, analysis and resolution of construction claims.

David Ross Associates has provided expert construction consulting services on various projects throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, the Far East, and the Middle East. We represent owners, engineers and architects, as well as contractors and subcontractors, on construction projects ranging in scale from small homeowner cases to multi-million dollar claims on both public and private projects.

David Ross Associates consultants are highly qualified experts who understand the technical, contractual, management, and financial issues involved in today's complex construction projects.

David Ross Associates has extensive experience providing expert construction consulting services in claim analysis, litigation support, alternative dispute resolution and a wide range of other Construction Claim-Related issues including:

• Construction Management
• Construction Defects
• Schedule Analysis
• Estimating and Cost Analysis
• Change Orders
• Delays
• Disruption
• Acceleration Analysis
• Safety Related Cases

David L. Ross has over thirty years of expertise in Residential, Commercial, Institutional, and Public Works Construction Projects. He has the knowledge and experience required to be particularly successful in construction claims management and resolution. Mr. Ross has testified as a designated construction expert on numerous occasions and has consulted for owners, contractors, insurance companies, design firms, construction industry specialists, and law firms in a wide range of construction-related claims.





Troy V. Sutton provides full time Construction Consulting Support services for DRA. Mr. Sutton's responsibilities include reviewing contract related documentation (e.g. contracts, drawings, specifications, PCOs, Cos, RFIs, CPM schedules, Pos, invoices, procurement records, bid sheets, Pay Apps, engineer reports, testing reports, meeting minutes, correspondence, etc.), preparing claims documents for mediation, arbitration or litigation, and draft Dispute Review Board (Arbitrator/Mediator panel) opinions & recommendations on multi-million dollar public works projects.

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Dean Tekell Consulting provides expertise in the areas of Traffic Engineering, Parking, Public Transit, Vehicle Dynamics, Accident Reconstruction, and Technical Accident Investigation.

Often, government agencies, consulting engineers, architects, developers, business institutions, and attorneys must know how to move people and their goods safely and efficiently. The firm offers advice on site selection, traffic access, and traffic circulation on the site. The firm provides insight into potential problems with zoning and subdivision regulations. Traffic impact studies, traffic signal warrant analysis, traffic signal design and permitting services related to development activity are also available through the firm. Parking garage and parking lot operations are specialties offered to business institutions.

Other services include: Queuing Studies for drive-through services; Traffic Calming and neighborhood speed control; School trip and pedestrian safety plans; Traffic Accident Reduction and highway safety techniques; Transit Funding Operation; Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems.

Ray Helmer is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio. He is available to perform Expert Witness Services in all 50 states.

At present, Mr. Helmer enjoys working in depth on Water & Wastewater cases such as: water supplies, toxic contamination, industrial pollution, water intrusion, and flooding.

Areas of Expertise:

Civil, Structural and Forensic engineering

Highway engineering, roadways, sight distance

Concrete and Asphalt Pavements

Highway / Street lighting

Traffic engineering, signals, signs, striping

Traffic noise studies

Accidents – automobile, train, motorcycle, pedestrian

Traffic accident testimony involving city / County / State DOTS

Hydraulics, hydrology, drainage, flooding

Sanitary engineering, sewers, overflows

Water treatment, distribution, pumping

Water disinfection byproducts (DBPs)

Wastewater treatment plants, lift stations

Soil expansion, contraction, settlement

Foundation failure, structural damage

Plumbing, leaks, water intrusion

Airports, FAA standards, runways, taxi ways, ramps

Bridges, buildings, corrosion, concrete cracking

Construction defects, fraud, accidents, delays, estimates

James I. Daniel, PE, REWC - Building Construction Consultant, Dispute Resolutions

Jim Daniel is Principal and Executive Vice President of Building & Environmental Consultants, a division of ITC Experts, Inc. With 33 years of experience, Mr. Daniel specializes in investigation, testing, evaluation and design of repairs for non-performing construction systems including exterior building facades, roofing systems, wall systems, foundations, windows and building fenestration, curtain walls, and interior gypsum drywall and plaster systems. Exterior facade expertise includes, among others, brick, concrete and limestone masonry; exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS); direct-applied exterior finish systems (DEFS); one-coat and three coat exterior portland cement plaster (traditional stucco); wood, metal, fiber-cement board, and vinyl sidings; thin brick, tile and exposed aggregate finish systems; glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC); glass curtain wall systems; joint sealants; flashing; and waterproof coating systems. Roofing expertise involves steep and low-sloped roofs including asphalt, wood, slate, and tile shingles; single ply membrane roofing; modified-bitumen roofing (MBR); built-up roofing (BUR); spray polyurethane foam (SPF) roofing; metal roofs; and associated expansion joints, scuppers, copings and flashing. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the States of Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, and Wisconsin and has NCEES certification. He also is a Registered Exterior Wall Consultant (REWC) through The Institute of Roofing, Waterproofing, & Building Envelope Professionals (RCI). View Curriculum Vitae.

Edward Malnar, FMP - Building Defects and Insurance Claims Investigations

Mr. Malnar is a Senior Consultant with Building & Environmental Consultants, a division of ITC Experts, Inc. He specializes in investigation, evaluation, testing and repair of non performing construction systems involving roofing, exterior walls, windows, building fenestration, foundations, and various other components of the exterior building envelope. Roofing expertise encompasses residential systems including asphalt composite shingles, wood shingles and shakes, natural stone (slate), and terra-cotta/clay tiles; commercial systems including poly-vinyl chloride (reinforced and unreinforced PVC), modified-bitumen roofing (MBR), built-up roofing (BUR), and metal roofs. Exterior cladding expertise includes brick, concrete, and limestone masonry; exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS); exterior Portland cement plaster (traditional stucco); wood, aluminum, and vinyl siding. While employed at HPZS Architects in Chicago, Illinois, Mr. Malnar specialized in management of projects for exterior envelope restoration. He performed field exploration and produced reports for prescriptive remedial recommendations of problems related to roof, wall, and window systems. Mr. Malnar was a key team member for the time sensitive historic façade and roof restoration for Soldier Field in Chicago, in anticipation of the World Cup Soccer in 1994. He managed the construction phase of the historic copper roof restoration for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. He was the primary investigator of all building facades and remedial repair supervision for Fulton House, 345 North Canal Street, Chicago, IL. View Curriculum Vitae.

John Fildes, PhD - Chemical, Materials, Product Development

Dr. Fildes has over 30 years of highly successful experience as a business leader, technology manager, researcher, and practicing scientist in dispute resolution and insurance investigation. His Ph.D is in Chemistry (Physical) from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and his B.S. is in Chemistry from Georgetown University. He has specialized throughout his career in the role that materials contribute to the limitations and failures of products and systems, and he is especially skilled at diagnosing the root cause of problems and problem solving, and determining the limitations of testing, analysis, and modeling. He often sees key issues and devises approaches that others have missed. He is a combination of statesman, educator, and scientist, and is able to successfully convey, with credibility and confidence, highly technical issues to laypeople. Dr. Fildes has a broad range of experience with materials that includes resins, composites, ceramics, and metals used in automotive, aerospace, electronic, and construction. He also has extensive experience with developing structure-property relationships for real world applications of materials, developing materials processing models including use of artificial intelligence, using electrochemical techniques for characterizing coatings and electronic materials as well as for measuring corrosion, sensors and measurement instrumentation, signal processing, statistics, data analysis, and friction and wear of materials including applying mechanisms of wear to actual situations and developing and applying test methods for real world applications. View Curriculum Vitae.

Traffic Engineer Expert Witness / Motor Vehicle Accidents

EDUCATION:

Undergraduate - UCLA (1967)

Graduate - Yale University (1968)

SPECIALTY:

Traffic accidents - maintenance, design, geometrics, controls, signage, sight distance, parking, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrians, governmental agency procedures

Over 100 cases since 1979

Largest settlement $2,000,000 in solo vehicle accident case against Caltrans

FORMER EMPLOYMENT:

Los Angeles County Road Department

Riverside County Road Department

City of Irvine

Federal Highway Administration

Construction Practice at Robson Forensic

The Construction Practice at Robson Forensic consists of experts in architecture and civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering. Our experts have designed, built and maintained residential, industrial, institutional, municipal, heavy civil and commercial buildings and structures.

Our Construction Group consists of more than 50 experts across 17 locations. Please contact one of the practice group leaders below to discuss your case and determine which of our experts is most appropriate to assist with your matter.

Mark E. Williams, AIA, NCARB
Architectural / Professional Liability Expert

Mark is a broadly experienced architect with a diverse career that included new construction, adaptive-reuse, and renovation projects on a wide range of building types and occupancies. Through his 25 years of experience and his focus on problem solving, Mark provides technical investigations and expert analysis on construction contract disputes, large construction defect claims, and matters of architect professional liability including claims of bad faith. View Curriculum Vitae



Brent Leisenring, P.E.
Civil Engineering / Construction Safety Expert

Brent is a Civil Engineer with more than 30 years of hands-on experience in construction and engineering. He has experience in construction as a contractor, construction manager, engineer, subcontractor and material supplier on projects ranging from single-family dwellings to oil refineries. His unique background and experience qualify him to analyze the actions and responsibilities of all parties involved to determine liability for defective construction as well as unsafe conditions on construction sites. He is a Professional Engineer in five states and has testified in several states. View Curriculum Vitae



Dale Cagwin, P.E.
Building Systems Expert

Dale’s experience includes over 20 years as a mechanical engineer designing, testing and maintaining building systems including fire suppression, HVAC, plumbing, gas, water and sewage in a variety of commercial, industrial, institutional and municipal buildings. Dale has served on standards writing committees and worked with product approval agencies. He is a P.E. in seven states, a Certified Fire Investigator and has testified in a broad range of building systems cases. View Curriculum Vitae

The Falcon Group, a team of highly-skilled professionals, was established to offer consulting in the fields of Professional Engineering and Architecture. Our project management and financial control processes allow us to consistently deliver projects on schedule and within budget. Our reputation is built on our attention to detail and relentless commitment to client satisfaction and our principals maintain a visible role in our assignments to ensure that relevant issues will be anticipated and resolved satisfactorily, in a timely fashion.

Our breadth of capabilities allows us to effectively manage people, processes and organizations to meet and exceed expectations for superior and comprehensive service delivery. But The Falcon Group's clients value more than the depth and scope of our technical expertise. Our clients include:

Community Associations

Boards of Education

Municipalities

Banks

Commercial Property Managers

Insurance Companies

Attorneys

Private Property Owners

Professional Services Provided Include:

Design Plans and Specifications

Forensic Engineering

Litigation Support

Construction

Administration and Inspection

Specialty Services for Community Associations

Land Surveying

Civil and Architectural Engineering

Construction and Material Testing

Architectural Services

Property Condition Assessment (PCA) Reports

Litigation Support: Litigation sometimes becomes necessary to resolve construction, engineering, architectural or materials-related disputes. For virtually any type of property or project, we provide a variety of analytic and related services to assist clients in obtaining successful litigation outcomes, related to:

Developer Transition

Construction Defect Reports and Claims

Material Defect Claims

Expert Witness/Professional Testimony

Construction Litigation Support and Documentation

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