Swimming Pool and Spa Expert Witnesses

Emily Goodman Shortall, CPM®, ARM®, is a Property Management Expert Witness on the property management standard of care in premises liability, habitability, negligent security, slip and fall, landlord-tenant and owner–manager disputes, with 23 years of Commercial and Multifamily Operating Experience. She is President, Property Management Division, Harvey Goodman Realtor (third-generation developer), and a former Regional Vice President (6,000+ units; 1.5M sq. ft. retail). She is a licensed real estate broker in Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, an associate broker in Pennsylvania and a salesperson in West Virginia.

Services for Counsel: consulting or testifying expert; record review, analysis of inspection and maintenance policies and procedures and failure-to-maintain response; expert reports, deposition and trial testimony; plaintiff and defense, nationwide.

Areas:

Retained Matters, 2026 (de-identified; six plaintiff, two defense):

1. Commercial office-building premises safety (plaintiff); final report.
2. Multifamily amenity-area operations and entry management (plaintiff); report in review.
3. Multifamily heating-equipment maintenance and CO detection (plaintiff); report in preparation.
4. Commercial loading-dock operations (plaintiff); final report.
5. Multifamily utility billing, master-metered community (defense); signed report.
6. Commercial sidewalk winter maintenance, mixed-use (defense); affidavit, report pending.
7. Multifamily owner oversight of third-party management (plaintiff); new engagement.
8. Sidewalk winter maintenance, leased property (plaintiff); new engagement.

Testimony: none yet as a retained expert; 20+ prior depositions as a corporate representative.

Method: compares what the organization said should happen with what its records show; opinions address property management practice, not legal, engineering or medical conclusions.

Credentials: IREM CPM® and ARM®; Governing Councillor nominee (2027–2029); former adjunct instructor; IREM award honoree; author, Journal of Property Management.

Mr. Keane is an engineer and internationally recognized authority on the control, mitigation, and forensic investigation of Legionella in building and industrial water systems. He has more than 40 years of experience spanning engineering, construction, facility operations, water treatment, and Legionella risk management, including more than 25 years leading outbreak investigations, root cause determinations, and remediation efforts.

Mr. Keane is retained in complex Legionnaires’ disease litigation involving alleged failures in engineering design, system operation, and water management programs. His forensic work includes field investigation, system and operational analysis, interpretation of water quality and microbiological data, review of engineering schematics, and reconstruction of system operating history.

His experience includes:

• Building engineering, construction, and facility operations/management (1977–1987)
 • Water treatment industry leadership and technical operations (1987–2000)
 • Legionella consulting, outbreak response, and water management program development (2000–present)

Mr. Keane has led or played key roles in major public health outbreak investigations, including:

• Rapid City, South Dakota (2005): Contracted by state of South Dakota to lead community wide outbreak investigation
 • Flint, Michigan (2016): Participated in the state-led evaluation of Legionella risk in residential water systems
 • Quincy Veterans’ Home, Illinois (2015–2018): Contracted by state of Illinois for engineering investigation to resolve the multi-year Legionnaires’ disease outbreak

He has direct field experience investigating and remediating Legionella in hospitals, long-term care facilities, hotels, residential buildings, industrial and municipal water systems, casinos, and other large-scale facilities.

Mr. Keane was an original voting member in development of ASHRAE Standard 188 and the revision of ASHRAE Guideline 12 through publication of the 2018 standard and 2020 guideline. He has also contributed to other industry guidance documents including AWWA, ASHE, ASPE and IAPMO.  He has coauthored five peer-reviewed papers, including collaborations with the CDC and multiple academic institutions.

Mr. Keane has presented to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and has trained public health officials and industry professionals nationwide on Legionella risk management and water system safety.

He is frequently engaged to:

• Perform outbreak root cause analysis
 • Evaluate standard of care and regulatory compliance
 • Assess engineering design and operational deficiencies
 • Provide expert testimony and litigation support

Pool Operation Management (POM), founded in 1980, is an Aquatics Safety and Risk Management firm that is nationally recognized for pool consulting services including liability and risk management, compliance with governmental regulations, facility operations, mechanical questions, and personnel requirements. Trevor A. Sherwood II has extensive experience in the swimming pool industry, with 30 years of experience in service, consulting, training and education, code/regulations development, and expert witness. He has contributed to aquatic textbooks and related articles, influenced State Recreational Bathing Codes, and presented at national industry conferences. He has provided leadership to such organizations as National Swimming Pool Foundation (NSPF), Northeast Spa & Pool Association (NESPA), Community Association Institute - New Jersey Chapter (CAI), New Jersey Apartment Association (NJAA), New Jersey Parks and Recreation Society (NJPRS), Pennsylvania Parks and Recreation Society (PRPS) and New Jersey and Massachusetts Health Departments. He has been retained by attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense. Mr. Sherwood's extensive swimming pool consulting experience qualifies him to appear in court on the following matters:

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