Expert Witness in Condo Construction
Empire Projects, Inc., through its principal William N. Bernstein, AIA, has provided expert witness services in matters involving the construction, renovation, and project management of condominium buildings and individual condominium units. Attorneys litigating cases that involve construction defects, sponsor-board transition disputes, offering-plan and construction-quality discrepancies, scheduling and delay claims, change order disputes, contractor and subcontractor performance issues, project management failures, cost overruns and budget disputes, payment disputes and mechanic’s liens, contract administration and interpretation, means and methods, construction safety, water infiltration and building envelope failures, mechanical/electrical/plumbing system defects, sound transmission and vibration issues between units, common-element and limited-common-element defects, unit-owner alteration disputes, alteration-agreement violations, phased-construction and occupied-renovation problems, and other claims related to condominium construction and renovation require an expert witness who understands both the applicable building codes and standards and the practical realities of how condominium construction projects are actually managed, sequenced, and built.
About Condo Construction
Condominium construction and renovation encompasses a wide range of project types, including ground-up new construction of multi-family condominium buildings, conversion of existing rental or industrial buildings to condominium ownership, building-wide capital improvement projects (facade restoration, roof replacement, elevator modernization, mechanical system upgrades, Local Law 11/FISP compliance work, Local Law 97 emissions retrofits), common-area and amenity-space renovations, and individual unit alterations ranging from kitchen and bathroom remodels to full combinations of adjacent units. Condominium projects are distinctive in that the sponsor or developer typically transfers control of the building to a unit-owner-elected board after a defined period, and post-transition disputes between the board and the sponsor over construction quality, offering-plan representations, and completion of common-element work are a recurring source of litigation. Unit-owner alterations, governed by alteration agreements and the condominium declaration and bylaws, are another recurring source of disputes.
The construction and renovation of condominium buildings and units is governed by a complex framework of building codes, regulations, and industry standards, including the applicable building code (for example, in New York City, the New York City Building Code), the International Building Code, ICC A117.1, NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, ADA and Fair Housing Act accessibility requirements, applicable mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fuel gas, and energy codes, local laws addressing facade safety (Local Law 11/FISP in New York City), elevator safety, sprinkler and fire alarm requirements, and local zoning resolutions. In addition, condominium projects are governed by private agreements — the offering plan (and any amendments) submitted to the state attorney general, the declaration and bylaws, house rules, alteration agreements, leases for any rental units, and the prime contract and subcontracts among the parties to the construction work. Condominium construction projects are also typically subject to insurance requirements, indemnification obligations, and bonding requirements that materially affect how risk is allocated and how disputes are resolved.
Disputes commonly arise over construction defects affecting building envelopes, roofs, terraces, windows, and facades; water infiltration and resulting damage to units and common elements; mechanical, electrical, and plumbing defects affecting heating, cooling, hot water, and life-safety systems; sound transmission and impact-noise problems between units; sponsor-board transition disputes including incomplete common-element work, defective construction, and discrepancies between the offering plan and the as-built conditions; scheduling and delay claims; change order disputes over scope, pricing, and entitlement; contractor and subcontractor performance issues including defective work, abandonment, and improper sequencing; cost overruns and disputes over the basis for cost increases; payment disputes, mechanic’s liens, and lien-law compliance; alteration-agreement violations and disputes between unit owners and boards over the scope and execution of permitted work; construction safety incidents; and disputes arising from phased construction and occupied-building work where building-protection, dust-control, and unit-owner-coordination requirements were not properly planned or executed. Responsibility for these issues is shared, in different ways, among the sponsor or developer, the construction manager or general contractor, subcontractors, the design professionals, the board (after transition), the managing agent, individual unit owners undertaking alterations, and material and equipment suppliers, and litigation in this area frequently turns on the allocation of responsibility for project management decisions, construction means and methods, and post-occupancy performance.
Expert Witness Services Related to Condo Construction
Expert witness services in condominium construction matters typically include a careful review of the project documents (drawings, specifications, submittals, RFIs, change orders, schedules and schedule updates, daily reports, meeting minutes, payment applications and supporting schedules of values, permits and sign-offs, the offering plan and amendments, the declaration and bylaws, alteration agreements, lien waivers, punch lists, certificates of occupancy or temporary certificates of occupancy, commissioning reports, transition reports, and as-built conditions), a site survey to measure and document the conditions at issue, comparison of those conditions against the applicable building codes, industry standards, contract requirements, offering-plan representations, and the standard of care applicable to construction project management, review of construction administration and project-management records (correspondence, RFIs, submittals, meeting minutes, daily reports, schedule updates, change order logs, payment applications, and closeout documentation), and the preparation of clear, well-supported opinions regarding the cause of the defect, delay, or failure, the responsibility of the various parties, and the standard of care applicable to the construction, project management, and post-occupancy maintenance of condominium buildings and units.
An effective condominium construction expert witness must be able to explain technical and project-management issues — construction sequencing and scheduling, change order management, contract interpretation, construction means and methods, building envelope and water-management detailing, MEP system design and installation, sound and vibration control, occupied-building protection and unit-owner coordination, sponsor-board transition issues, offering-plan compliance, construction safety, code compliance, and the allocation of responsibility among sponsor, construction manager, general contractor, subcontractors, design professionals, board, and managing agent — in plain language to judges, juries, arbitrators, and mediators, and must have the credentials, written record, and courtroom-ready communication skills to render credible opinions.
Mr. Bernstein is a Yale-trained, NCARB-certified, LEED-accredited, registered architect. He has expertise in construction project management, architectural design, and engineering design as the founder/owner of a construction project management firm, Empire Projects, Inc. (2003-Present), and as the founder/owner of an architectural firm, Bernstein & Associates, Architects (1990-present). He has been the expert witness (as of May 2026) on (40) cases involving design and construction (2006-present) across the United States and Internationally.
Contact
Please contact Empire Projects, Inc., for expert witness services related to condominium construction, condominium renovation, and the project management of condominium buildings and condominium units.