Real Estate and Construction Expertise

Altstadt Consulting personnel have provided services to governmental agencies, owners, contractors, subcontractors and other interested parties in disputes over commercial and residential development. Typical construction disputes result in damages related to contract termination, delays, disruptions, acceleration or a combination of several problems. We have provided such services as cost evaluation, damage analysis, discovery assistance to counsel, forensic investigations and coordination of other experts such as contractors, engineers, cost evaluators and architects. Additionally, we have prepared reports regarding our valuation of commercial and residential properties.

Selected Testimony

Stanley Bloom v. Huntington Beach Development Agency (Jack Fleming - Arter & Hadden) Mr. Altstadt provided an expert deposition in a AAA arbitration on behalf of the defendant in a breach of contract matter. Analysis included addressing potential costs of development on Huntington Beach pier.

Eiko Uyeda v. KJI, Inc. et al. (Thomas Borchard - Borchard & Baur) Mr. Altstadt testified as an expert witness in Superior Court (Santa Ana, California) on behalf of the plaintiff in a breach of fiduciary duty matter. Analysis included assessing profit from custom home construction.

Prime Time Companies, Inc. v. Arlington Avenue Church of the Nazarene (Steven Fink - Daehnke & Cruz) Mr. Altstadt testified as an expert witness before an AAA arbitrator on behalf of the plaintiff in a breach of contract matter. Analysis included evaluating additional costs from delays and alleged defective construction.

Thomas Tooma v. Charles House, et al. (Ralph Blakeney - Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman) Mr. Altstadt provided an expert deposition in Superior Court (San Bernardino, California) on behalf of the plaintiff in a breach of fiduciary duty matter. Analysis included evaluating costs of a development in San Bernardino County and allegations of alter ego between partners.

CLP Resources v. ConWest Construction (John Samberg - Bisno, Samberg & Mulvaney) Mr. Altstadt provided an expert deposition in Superior Court (Phoenix, Arizona) on behalf of the plaintiff in a breach of contract matter. Analysis included assessing the rates and charges from an outside source provider to a large Phoenix construction company for various types of skilled workers.

In Re: IRMO Feldman (Various) Mr. Altstadt acted as the court appointed third party appraiser in a divorce matter in San Diego County. The project included the valuation of several real estate properties including commercial office buildings, raw land, residential properties, a marina and a golf course. Mr. Altstadt provided testimony in San Diego Family Court.

George Seldin v. IMS Leasing, Inc., et al. (Scott Heil – Redwine & Sherrill) Mr. Altstadt provided an expert deposition in an arbitration on behalf of the defendant in a breach of contract matter involving costs related to mold remediation.

ECCO Equipment Corp. v. Central Valley Construction, Inc. (Jack Fleming – Musick, Peeler & Garrett) Mr. Altstadt provided a Rule 26 expert report in United States District Court (Los Angeles) on behalf of the cross-complainants in a breach of contract matter. Analysis included amounts owed under a subcontract and assessment of commingling of funds and alter ego issues.

David Jackson v. Trans Union Company (Donald Bradley – Musick, Peeler & Garrett) Mr. Altstadt provided a Rule 26 expert report in United States District Court (Oregon) on behalf of the defendant in a breach of contract case involving loss of a line of credit by a commercial tile supplier.

Selected Consulting Engagements

In Re: State of Arizona (Arizona State Attorney General's Office) Mr. Altstadt led the project to analyze cost overruns at the development of the first nuclear waste facility in the State of Arizona.

McDowell v. Lemont Financial (Tom Newmeyer - Newmeyer & Dillion) Mr. Altstadt critiqued the cost claim of a grading contractor related to a single family residential development in San Diego County.

MacPherson Properties v. Rang's Automotive (Jim Ferruzzo - Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo) Mr. Altstadt quantified the cost overruns from defective work at construction of an automobile dealership.

M.J. Brock & Sons v. J.P. Rhodes Development(Andra Greene - Irell & Manella) Mr. Altstadt quantified the lost value of a residential housing development due to the inability to build because of soil conditions.

Geoff Fearns v. Baldwin Builders(Ralph Blakeney - Pillsbury Madison & Sutro) Mr. Altstadt quantified the damages suffered by one of three executives of Baldwin Builders from the loss of compensation resulting from profits of three large residential projects.

Urbatech Development v. the City of Whittier Redevelopment Agency(John Condas - Jackson DeMarco) Mr. Altstadt quantified the damages suffered by a contractor resulting in changes in the tax laws by the city.

California Pizza Kitchen v. R.D. Olson & Co. (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher) Mr. Altstadt analyzed the owner's allegations of improper allocation of costs by the developer to the construction of over 30 restaurants.

In Re: Solemint Heights (Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker) Mr. Altstadt evaluated the financial, economic and market assumptions made by the debtor in bankruptcy related to an apartment complex in Santa Clarita, California.

Kajima Engineering v. Various Defendants (Randall Erikson - Crowell & Moring) Mr. Altstadt analyzed the costs charged to the project to retrofit several prisons in California.

Garcia Masonry v. Kajima Engineering (Randall Erickson - Crowell & Moring) Mr. Altstadt analyzed and critiqued the damage claims of a subcontractor against the general contractor in a prison retrofit.

Viera, et al. v. Ward, et al. (Theodore Wallace - Rutan & Tucker) Mr. Altstadt analyzed the financial accounting, rehabilitation costs and operations of two Orange County apartment complexes on behalf of the defendant in a breach of fiduciary duty matter. An expert report was provided.

In Re: Ted Shelton & Associates LLC (William H. Brownstein – Brownstein & Associates) Mr. Altstadt analyzed loan balances and interest reserves on a promissory note for a commercial property owner in bankruptcy.