Planning Expert Witnesses
Planning decisions, whether for construction projects, land development, utility systems, business strategy, or estates and trusts, are tested in litigation when outcomes diverge from what the plan promised or required. Owners and contractors litigate construction delays and disruptions that turn on the adequacy of schedules and project controls, developers and municipalities contest zoning, land use, and site planning decisions, and utilities and their customers dispute rate and capital planning. Businesses challenge strategic and financial plans used to justify investments and acquisitions, while beneficiaries and trustees litigate whether estate and succession plans were properly designed and administered. In each matter, the central question is whether the planning work met the professional standards and information available when it was done.
A planning expert evaluates that question by examining the plan itself, the assumptions and data behind it, and how it was executed and updated as conditions changed. In construction disputes, that may involve critical path schedule analysis, delay apportionment, and evaluation of contingency and risk management; in land use matters, assessment of site design, traffic flow, and compliance with planning regulations; and in fiduciary matters, review of trust structures, distribution planning, and administration practices. The expert then addresses causation by separating losses attributable to deficient planning from owner changes, market conditions, regulatory actions, or other intervening events. Those findings support claims and defenses in construction, land use, utility, fiduciary, and commercial disputes and give counsel a disciplined basis for challenging opposing schedules, forecasts, and plans.
Planning spans construction scheduling, architecture and site design, transportation and land use, utilities, strategic and financial planning, and estate and fiduciary planning, so the right expert is one whose experience matches the type of plan in dispute. The professionals we present include an architect who has completed approximately 1,000 projects for universities, hospitals, research organizations, and government agencies, a construction management specialist who has testified on delay analysis and scheduling, and a project controls expert who has published on delay, disruption, and contingency management. Our network also includes a water and wastewater utility consultant whose clients serve more than half of the U.S. population, a water rights specialist who has testified 20 times on water use and land use changes, a retail site design expert who has testified on traffic flow and site development, and fiduciary and estate planning professionals who have testified on trustee duties and fiduciary liability. With more than 75,000 expert searches for litigators completed, Round Table Group can help you find the planning expert your matter requires. Tell us about your case by calling us at (202) 908-4500.
