Steve Fowler is a litigation shareholder in Miller Starr Regalia’s Walnut Creek office. For more than 22 years, Steve’s practice has focused on serving the construction industry, representing construction, manufacturing, engineering, forest products, and real estate clients in complex business litigation, arbitration and mediation. His experience includes representing domestic and international builders, owners, developers, contractors, engineers, material suppliers and product manufacturers.
As a construction industry legal expert, Steve is experienced in every phase of public and private construction. He has tried, arbitrated, and mediated disputes involving hospitals, airports, renewable energy (including hydroelectric, wind and solar generation plants), power plants, manufacturing plants, rapid transit, oil refineries, commercial buildings, high-end private residences and multi-unit housing developments.
Steve received a J.D. from University of California Hastings College of the Law in 1987 and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1980.
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He is a member of the Legal Advisory Committee of the AGC (Association of General Contractors), and a member of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Construction Industry. Steve presents California construction seminars designed to explain complex legal issues to non-legal construction professionals. He also has provided presentations on document preservation and production issues in complex litigation, including electronic discovery.
Steve co-authored a treatise on California Construction Law that was published by Federal Publications Seminars LLC. Additionally, he authored the “California Construction Law” chapter of the State Public Construction Law Sourcebook, published by CCH in 2002.
Representative Matters:
Swinerton Builders: Steve represents Swinerton in a complex construction delay and disruption case arising out of Swinerton’s work as the general contractor on the San Francisco Conservatory of Music project in downtown San Francisco. The case was successfully resolved by mediation.
Cortese Properties: Steve represents Cortese Properties in an action against Chevron to recover damages caused by Chevron’s failure to properly remediate soil and groundwater contamination at a project site in Lafayette. The matter was successfully arbitrated in late spring of 2009.
Shell Company: From 2005 through 2007, Steve served as the lead trial attorney for Shell Company in defense of a $75 million product defect and fraud claim brought by EBMUD alleging defects in thousands of underground water service pipes made from a Shell polyutylene resin. The case involved strict product liability, negligence, breach of warranty and fraud claims. Following a phase one court trial resulting in favorable rulings for Shell, the matter was settled at mediation.
Weyerhaeuser Company: Steve has been trial counsel for Weyerhaeuser in a series of antitrust cases pending in the U.S. District Court of Oregon (Portland). The cases involve allegations that Weyerhaeuser has engaged in anticompetitive conduct in the alder saw log and alder lumber markets in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. Two of the cases were tried to a jury. The most recent trial, in early 2008, was a class action suit brought by the direct purchasers of alder lumber.
Vestas-Americas Wind Technology, Inc.: Steve worked on a number of wind turbine projects for Vestas, troubleshooting contract and warranty claims and developing litigation strategies.
Ghilotti Construction: Steve represented Ghilotti (a civil construction contractor involved in highway, road and bridge construction) in disputes with Caltrans, as well as a number of bid protests.
Regency Park Patio Homeowners Association v. Weyerhaeuser Co.: The case involved allegations of fraud, unfair business practices, product defect, negligence and breach of warranty relating to hardboard siding products manufactured by Weyerhaeuser. Plaintiffs sought over $10 million in damages. The case was recognized by the Daily Journal as one of the Top 10 defense verdicts of 2002. (Stanislaus County Superior Court, Modesto, California)
California Giant v. Weyerhaeuser Co.: Industrial fire case involving extensive damage to an agricultural food processing facilities involving damages in excess of $20 million. (Superior Court, Santa Maria, California)
Coast Mountain Hardwoods v. Weyerhaeuser Co. Antitrust and breach of fiduciary duty claims relating to alder sawlog and lumber markets in the Pacific Northwest. Plaintiff sought over $800 million in damages. Successfully resolved through mediation for $14 million. (United States District Court, Portland, Oregon)
Centex v. Regents of the University of California: Represented the Regents of the University of California in contractor delay and disruption claims in excess of $30 million arising out of the construction of the UC Davis Medical Center. The representation also included offsetting cross claims for defective work, repair costs and delay. Settled through mediation.
Ebasco v. Exxon: Represented contractor Ebasco in delay and disruption claims arising from the construction of an oil refinery. The case was successfully tried to a jury in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, which awarded Ebasco over $40 million—one of the largest contractor-favoring construction delay and disruption verdicts in California history. Over a five-month period, the jury trial included extensive presentations on project scheduling, disruption and complex engineering issues.
Honolulu Rapid Transit: Defended the City and County of Honolulu on claims arising out of the termination of Honolulu’s proposed rapid transit project. The case involved claims by the contractor for wrongful termination and termination costs pursuant to the F.A.R., and was tried before a three panel dispute resolution board for six weeks in Honolulu.
Misawa v. Tang: Represented Misawa Homes in the arbitration of a complex construction dispute arising out of a large, high end, residential project in Vallejo, California. The case involved extensive landslide repair and civil engineering work. It was settled after several months of arbitration before a three-member panel in San Francisco, California.
Nevada Power Company v. Boecon: Represented Boecon in a case involving the alleged defective construction of a cooling tower adjacent to a power plant outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. The case involved extensive engineering and construction failure analysis. The case was dismissed by the trial court and sanctions were awarded for the destruction of material evidence. The matter was settled while on appeal.
Boecon v. Catalytic: Representation involved complex delay and disruption claims arising out of the construction of a nuclear reprocessing plant for the Department of Energy. The matter was filed in the United States District Court, District of Idaho, and was tried for over a year before a Special Master in San Francisco, California. Judgment for Boecon.
