KEY PLAYERS & ROLES
This is the specific county in Michigan where the East Superior Residential Tower is located and where the case is being heard.
What is Superior County?
The structural elements that were subject to substitution from stronger welded joints to weaker bolted connections were called this.
What are chevron braces or chevron connections?
The Plaintiff's Complaint alleges the required retrofitting cost an amount in excess of this to ensure safety.
What is $23 million dollars?
This is the profession that Reed Alvarez retired from.
What is attorney?
If a witness makes a hearsay statement relating to a startling event made while under the stress of excitement, it is admissible and called this.
What is an Excited Utterance (Rule 803(2))?
This engineer's passing is noted as a loss to the community, and he led the structural engineering team for the East Superior Residential Tower.
Who is Mr. Travis Swift?
The central columns in the core, surrounding the elevators and stairwells, provide this crucial structural function for the building.
What is the actual structural support?
Reed Alvarez lost new renters, Ellie and Karl Boone, who sent a Lease Cancellation Notice (Exhibit #9) dated this month and year.
What is March 2016?
The Defendants deny liability, claiming the structure met code and that the retrofits were this, rather than required corrections.
What are "voluntary upgrades"?
If an attorney asks a question that is not important to the case at hand, one would make this objection.
What is relevance?
This is the name of the limited liability company responsible for the construction and final assembly of the tower.
What is Metro Builders, LLC?
According to Dr. Rowan Hightower, this is the minimum requirement for structural design, and engineers should not stop here when evaluating risk.
What are the codes (or building codes)?
This person's sworn statement relayed a complaint from a resident that the building swayed during a heavy thunderstorm?
Who is Reed Alvarez?
Whitley Carter noted that she took this professional distinction as a badge of honor because it demonstrated her meticulous nature.
What is the record for the most reported code violations in her department?
The parties stipulate that this is the only matter to be decided in this trial, with any damages to be decided at a later proceeding.
What is liability?
This former city employee was dismissed from city employment for abuse of company time and unprofessional behavior before becoming the independent inspector hired by the HOA for the retrofit work.
Who is Corley Toomey?
The substitution of bolted connections for welded joints reduced construction costs by this percentage range and accelerated the schedule by more than three months.
What is 14% to 18%?
The specific name of the firm that prepared the Structural Retrofit Invoice (Exhibit #10).
What is Qualitative Engineering Services, LLC?
The defense's affirmative defense alleges this principle, arguing the Plaintiff is barred from recovery because the Plaintiff's own negligence was greater than the Defendant's.
What is Comparative Negligence?
This objection exception generally excludes evidence of subsequent measures taken after an injury to make the harm less likely to occur.
What is Subsequent Remedial Measures? Rule 407.
This defense expert noted that their compensation includes $500 per hour for deposition and deposition preparation.
Who is Dr. Ash Forrester?
This type of connection is described in the whistleblower memo as being "less ductile under cyclical loading," leaving the lateral system vulnerable under repeated wind excitation.
What are bolted joints (or connections)?
The HOA paid this amount for temporary housing and relocation costs for residents, separate from the $310,000 in consulting fees.
What is $185,000?
Dr. Ash Forrester questioned the analytical rigor of this plaintiff-side witness, recalling that they failed a first-semester calculus course at Stanford.
Who is Dr. Ellis Chen?
If a team runs out of time and cannot call a witness at all, the other team's attorney will receive this score for their cross-exam.
What is the average of the other cross-exams for their team?