Construction Disruption Expert Witnesses in Florida

The short answer

What Oxley’s construction disruption experts do

Oxley provides construction disruption and loss-of-productivity expert witness services to counsel and parties in construction disputes. Daniel R. Zorrilla, J.D., BSBC, CGC, CFCC, leads the work as testifying expert. Disruption questions concern productivity and may arise with or without an effect on project completion.

Productivity can be affected by several conditions at once. The analysis addresses each party’s contribution, including owner-caused and contractor-caused factors. An overrun total alone does not show which conditions caused the claimed loss, so the analysis explains its causal reasoning, contributing factors and limits.

Schedule effects, if any, present additional questions that depend on the circumstances. For completion-date questions, see construction delay expert witnesses.

Testifying expertDaniel R. Zorrilla, J.D., BSBC, CGC, CFCC, President
Scheduling teamDavid Hengelbrok, P.E., PSP, and Jeremy Easen, BSBC, CGC
Typical questionsLoss of productivity, disrupting events, comparisons and contributing causes
TestimonyDan has testified in more than 40 cases, in litigation, including federal court, and in arbitration. He has been retained as a consultant or expert in more than 100 construction matters.
WhereTampa Bay (Clearwater office). Primarily Florida, with more than 10 out-of-state cases and consulting matters.
Retained byOwners, developers, public entities, contractors, subcontractors, insurers and their counsel

Who does the work

Daniel R. Zorrilla, J.D., BSBC, CGC, CFCC

Dan Zorrilla is Oxley’s President and testifying expert on construction schedule delay, disruption, lost productivity, cumulative impact and related damages.

He has been in construction since 1991 and in consulting and expert work since 2008. He has testified in more than 40 cases, in litigation, including federal court, and in arbitration. He has been retained as a consultant or expert in more than 100 construction matters.

After earning his J.D. in 2011, he practiced law for about a year on litigated matters. He is a member of The Florida Bar and does not practice law.

CV and testimony history available to counsel on request. Full profile →

The scheduling team behind the analysis

David Hengelbrok, P.E., PSP

Sr. Schedule Consultant

David performs CPM scheduling in Primavera P6, schedule narratives and time impact analyses, and has supported expert reports and testimony on delay, disruption, acceleration, productivity, termination and associated damages.

Florida Professional Engineer PE 93179
AACE International Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP)
B.S., Civil Engineering, University of Florida, 2014

Jeremy Easen, BSBC, CGC

Construction Scheduling Consultant

Jeremy brings more than 25 years of field and operations experience with general contractors. He provides CPM scheduling, analyzes delay claims and inspects on-site conditions in support of the testifying expert’s analysis.

Florida Certified General Contractor CGC1522591
B.S., Building Construction, with Honors, University of Florida (M.E. Rinker School of Construction Management), 2000

Methods

How disruption and loss of productivity are measured

An assignment may examine alleged disrupting events, available production information, comparisons and contributing factors. The approach and the scope of conclusions depend on the questions and evidence.

Analysts may consider comparisons within the project, other supported benchmarks or another approach suited to the questions presented. Comparability, assumptions, contributing factors and available records affect what each analysis represents.

Define the disrupted work

Identify which activities were affected, over what period, and under what conditions.

Establish the productivity loss

What labor, production, comparison and other information is available, and what assumptions affect its interpretation?

Consider available comparisons

Comparisons may use project information or other supported sources, with the assumptions and limitations identified in context.

Connect loss to cause

Link the measured loss to the conditions relied on, and address each party’s contribution, including owner-caused and contractor-caused factors.

Treat delay separately

Differences between productivity effects and completion-date effects that are relevant to the assigned questions are kept in view.

State limits

Bulk or incomplete labor records may support only limited inferences. The report states what the records can and cannot show.

How an assignment runs

From the record to the opinion

01

Establish the documentary position

Assess what labor, production, schedule and project records can actually support before forming any view on cause.

02

Isolate the events and the work

What events and periods are documented, what work may have been affected, and under what conditions?

03

Measure and compare

Examine production outcomes using an approach suited to the question, and state the comparator, evidence and key assumptions.

04

State the opinion and its limits

Set out the conclusion, the basis for it, and the points at which the evidence stops supporting a firm view.

Project types

Projects behind the disruption work

The team’s project and testimony experience covers high-rise condominiums and apartments, hotels and resorts, mixed-use and student housing, schools and medical facilities, roads, bridges and highways, airports, residential development infrastructure, federal and defense facilities, warehouses and distribution centers, and industrial and power facilities.

Possible assignment outputs

Identification of disrupting events and their mechanism
Productivity analysis against a stated and justified comparator
Separation of attributable from non-attributable loss
Technical findings and, when part of the engagement, expert testimony at deposition, trial, arbitration or mediation

When this comes up

Costs substantially exceeded the estimate without a corresponding time overrun
A disruption or loss-of-productivity claim requires support or rebuttal
A global or total-cost claim needs to be tested.
Counsel needs an early view of what the labor and production records actually support

Where we work

Tampa Bay and Florida, with out-of-state matters

Oxley is based in Clearwater, in Tampa Bay, and works primarily in Florida, with more than 10 out-of-state cases and consulting matters.

Tampa Bay

Office in Clearwater. Serving matters in the Sixth Judicial Circuit (Pinellas and Pasco), the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit (Hillsborough), the Twelfth Judicial Circuit (including Sarasota and Manatee) and the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division. Clearwater · Tampa · St. Petersburg · Pinellas County · Hillsborough County · Sarasota

Florida

Serving matters statewide in Florida circuit courts, the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, arbitration and mediation. Orlando · South Florida · Jacksonville · Gainesville · Naples & Fort Myers · All Florida areas

Out-of-state matters

Matters involving projects outside Florida, in court and in arbitration, including AAA arbitration. The analysis follows the governing contract and the forum’s rules on expert testimony.

Independence

What a reliable disruption opinion avoids

Oxley acts for only one party on a project. Fees do not depend on the findings. Any earlier role on the project is disclosed at intake.

Disruption pleaded as delay

Treating a productivity loss as a completion-date delay, or the reverse, without addressing the different questions each one presents.

Bulk labor records used beyond their limits

Drawing a detailed causal conclusion from aggregate labor totals that cannot support it.

Assumed causation

Demonstrating a loss and asserting its cause, without addressing each party’s contribution, including owner-caused and contractor-caused factors.

FAQ

Construction disruption expert witnesses: common questions

What does a construction disruption expert witness do?

A disruption expert examines whether productivity on identified work was affected, what conditions contributed, how the loss was measured, and what the records can actually support. Disruption questions concern productivity and may arise with or without an effect on project completion.

Who is Oxley’s construction disruption expert?

Daniel R. Zorrilla, J.D., BSBC, CGC, CFCC, is Oxley’s President and testifying expert on construction schedule delay, disruption, lost productivity, cumulative impact and related damages. David Hengelbrok, P.E., PSP, and Jeremy Easen, BSBC, CGC, support the scheduling and productivity analysis.

How is disruption different from delay?

Delay concerns whether and why the completion date moved. Disruption concerns productivity and cost on the work itself, including effects that occur without a change in the completion date. The two can appear in the same dispute, but they are different questions and need different support.

What records does a disruption analysis use?

The available labor and production detail affects the comparisons and inferences a disruption analysis can support. Activity-level records, aggregate information and other project evidence may have different uses and limitations, depending on the facts and the methodology.

Does Oxley work for owners or contractors?

Both: owners, developers, public entities, general contractors, subcontractors, insurers and their counsel. The analysis addresses each party’s contribution, including owner-caused and contractor-caused factors.

Where does Oxley provide disruption expert witness services?

Oxley is based in Clearwater, in Tampa Bay, and handles matters across Florida and matters involving projects outside Florida.

Has Dan Zorrilla testified as a disruption expert?

Yes. Dan has testified as a disruption expert in litigation and in arbitration. He has testified in more than 40 cases overall, in litigation, including federal court, and in arbitration. His CV and testimony history are available to counsel on request.

What should we send for a first conversation?

Party names and a brief nonconfidential description for conflict review only. Please wait until Oxley confirms intake before sending confidential or substantive materials.

For counsel

Talk to a consultant

Also in this practice

Construction Disruption Expert Witnesses