Arne B. Sandberg
Partner | Walnut Creek
asandberg@lozanosmith.com
Tel: 925.953.1620
Fax: 925.953.1625
Vcard
Bio
Overview
Arne B. Sandberg is a Partner in Lozano Smith's Walnut Creek office and co-chair of the firm's Facilities and Business Practice Group. Mr. Sandberg represents public agencies in construction disputes and complex property cases, and is a leader of the firm's Construction Advice and Litigation ("CAL") attorney team. He has litigated on behalf of public agencies since 1993, and he has specialized in public works construction and contract disputes and litigation since 1997.Mr. Sandberg has represented a wide variety of public works projects "from cradle to grave," with emphasis on proactive project management to minimize claims, as well as cost-effective resolution of disputes and litigation. He helps clients resolve as many disputes as possible during construction, while assisting clients in keeping the project on schedule and preparing clients for claims that may arise at the conclusion of the project. In addition to defending large claims, he has prosecuted many actions to recover damages for public agency clients based on design and construction defects, including seven-figure recoveries.
Mr. Sandberg also drafts construction agreements for public agencies with contractors, design professionals, and construction managers. While no agreement is "bullet proof," he relies on his experience in disputes to develop provisions that reasonably protect his clients' interests and minimize the potential for disputes.
Education
Mr. Sandberg earned his J.D. from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. He earned a B.A. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.Professional Affiliations
He is a member of the California Bar Association and the American Public Works Association.Presentations
Mr. Sandberg speaks on construction topics at public agency and construction industry conferences, including CASBO, CASH, and APWA, as well as webinars and other venues.Progressive Design-Build Authority Has Been Expanded for Local Public Agencies
February 2024Number 11The start to 2024 brings with it some exciting changes regarding the accessibility of the progressive design-build (PDB) construction delivery method to California cities, counties, special districts, and transit districts. Before last year, there was ambiguity in the law as to whether PDB was available to local public entities for public works projects. Effective January 1, 2023, the Legislature allowed K-12 school districts to use PDB for any project over $5 million, a...
SB 531 Amends Fingerprinting Requirements for Student Work Experience Contracts
February 2024Number 12With Senate Bill (SB) 531, the California Legislature amended Education Code section 45125.1 to provide an exemption from criminal background check requirements when, subject to specific conditions, an entity contracts with a school district, county office of education, or charter school (LEAs) to provide student work experience opportunities.BackgroundEducation Code section 45125.1 requires a valid criminal records summary if an employee of any entity that has a contrac...
Bid Thresholds Raised for 2024
December 2023Number 48According to the California Department of Education Office of Financial Accountability and Information Services, pursuant to Public Contract Code section 20111(a), the bid threshold for K-12 school districts' purchases of equipment, materials, supplies and services (except construction services) has been adjusted to $114,500, effective January 1, 2024. The notice may be viewed here.The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office is expected to announce a simi...
Legislature Launches Pilot Program Allowing CMAS Contracts for Installation of Certain Materials SB 1422
July 2023Number 26Senate Bill (SB) 1422, signed by the Governor in September 2022, permits State and local agencies, including school districts and community college districts, to use State-approved California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) contracts for the installation, or purchase and installation, of resilient flooring, carpet, lighting fixtures, and synthetic turfs, which have limitations that are different from standard CMAS contracts.BackgroundExisting law allows local agencies to use ...
AB 185 Authorizes Alternative Design-Build Construction for K-12 School Districts
October 2022Number 46Governor Newsom signed the Education Omnibus Trailer Bill (AB 185) on September 27, 2022, which included authorization for K-12 school districts to use “alternative design-build” contracts for public works projects. This variation on an existing delivery method provides school districts with another option for public works contracting.Existing Design-Build StatutesGenerally, in lieu of typical competitive bidding that involves two contracts (one for the ...
Piggyback Contracts for Modular Components Are Ineligible for State Funding
July 2022Number 33Last month, the State Allocation Board (SAB) affirmed its position that school districts and county offices of education must competitively bid contracts to acquire modular building components for installation on a permanent foundation, and that “piggybacking” may not be used. Importantly, SAB has determined that such piggyback contracts will not qualify for funding from SAB-administered programs if submitted after August 21, 2022. However, questions ...
REMINDER: New Fingerprinting Requirements for All Contracts Became Effective January 1, 2022
May 2022Number 21Due to lingering questions in the education community, we are sending this Client News Brief as a reminder concerning new fingerprinting and criminal background check criteria for employees of any entity that has a contract with a local educational agency (“LEA”). The 2021-2022 Education Omnibus Budget Trailer Bill (AB 130) was signed by Governor Newsom on July 9, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022, the requirements of Education Code section 45125.1 were br...
California Supreme Court Rejects Expansion of the Prevailing Wages Requirement
SeptemberNumber 24On August 16, 2021, the California Supreme Court rejected arguments in two cases that sought to expand the definition of “public works” under the prevailing wage statutory scheme, which was designed to enforce minimum wages on construction or maintenance projects paid with public funds. Both opinions are authored by Justice Carol Corrigan and reference each other, with Justices Goodwin Liu and Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar dissenting in both.In one case, the ...
Office of Public School Construction Addresses Prohibition of Piggyback Contracting for Permanent Modular Buildings
July 2021Number 17On July 7, 2021, the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) issued a mass email to all California school districts and county offices of education reiterating that the Public Contract Code (PCC) does not allow a school district "to acquire factory-built modular building components via piggyback contracting." "Piggyback contracting" is a procurement method for "personal property" that allows a school district to avoid competitive bidding when another public agency has a...
Appellate Court Rules That a Challenge to a Lease-Leaseback Contract Is Moot due to Completion of the Project
September 2020Number 69In a recent ruling, a California Appellate Court determined that a taxpayer’s reverse validation action alleging conflicts of interest in lease-leaseback agreements became moot upon completion of the project. (James D. McGee v. Torrance USD (2020) 49 Cal.App.5th 814.) However, this decision may lead to more immediate and aggressive litigation for public agencies defending reverse validation actions in the future.BackgroundIn 2013, taxpayer James D. McGee initiated...
Court Rules that Second Contract with the Same Vendor Did Not Create a Conflict of Interest
January 2020Number 6A recent California Appellate Court ruling has determined that a public entity's award of a second contract to a construction firm did not create a conflict of interest even though it related to an earlier contract between the parties. InCalifornia Taxpayers Action Network v. Taber Construction, Inc. (2019) A145078, the First Appellate District held that the contractor's second contract with a school district did not create a conflict of interest because both contracts we...
Appellate Court Concludes That Public Entities May Initiate Substitution Of A Subcontractor
June 2019Number 25In Synergy Project Management, Inc. v. City and County of San Francisco, certified for publication on March 14, 2019, the California Court of Appeal concluded that awarding agencies, like prime contractors, have the power to request substitution of a subcontractor under Public Contract Code section 4107 (hereafter referred to as Section 4107).BackgroundThe City and County of San Francisco (City) had awarded a contract to Ghilotti Bros., Inc. (Ghilotti) for a major renovation...
Appellate Courts Reject Recreational Trail Immunity for Adjacent Hazards
August 2017 Number 47 Two decisions in the last three months have increased the potential for a public entity to be held liable for an injury suffered on one of its recreational trails. Appellate courts deciding Garcia v. American Golf Corporation (May 3, 2017, No. B267613) ___ Cal.App.5th ___ and Toeppe v. City of San Diego (July 27, 2017, No. D069662) ___ Cal.App.5th ___ held that a public entity cannot assert recreational trail immunity when an adjacent hazardous condition of the publi...
Legislature Imposes New Procedures for Selection of Lease-Leaseback Contractors
September 2016 Number 63 Scrutiny regarding school districts' use of lease-leaseback (LLB) construction contracts has prompted the Legislature to impose additional contracting requirements that will make the use of LLB more complicated, and will limit a school district's discretion in selecting the LLB contractor. Assembly Bill (AB) 2316, which the Governor signed on September 23, 2016, will require school districts to use a comprehensive "best value" selection process for LLB contractors. A...
Job Order Contracting for School District Public Works Projects
June 2016 Number 35 As of January 1, California school districts have been authorized to use job order contracts for public works projects greater than $25,000. Approved by Governor Jerry Brown in October of last year, Assembly Bill No. 1431 modified the Local Agency Public Construction Act to authorize job order contracting for school districts until January 1, 2022. This bill comes after a decade-long pilot program of the job order contract project delivery method at Los Angeles Unified...
Another California Appellate Court Opines On Lease-Leaseback Construction
April 2016 Number 25 An appellate court has ruled that a lease-leaseback (LLB) contract without competitive bidding was legally enforceable. In McGee v. Balfour Beatty Construction, LLC, et al. (Apr. 12, 2016) 2016 Cal.App.Unpub. Lexis 2626, a California appellate court rejected the holding of Davis v. Fresno Unified School District (2015) 237 Cal.App.4th 261, that competitive bidding was required for an LLB contract unless additional non-statutory contract terms were included. However, t...
The Public Private Partnership (P3) Project Delivery Method: What Is It and Is It an Option for Your Project?
April 2016 Number 23 Local public agencies have several options when it comes to choosing a delivery method for a construction project. The public-private partnership method, or P3, is one option that is receiving increased attention. P3 involves a long term partnership between a public agency and private entity, where typically the private entity finances, designs, builds, operates, and/or maintains a fee-producing public project. In exchange, the private entity will be repaid over an ex...
The Department of Industrial Relations Suspends Electronic Submission of Certified Payroll Records by Contractors
March 2016 Number 13 The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) recently announced that it has temporarily suspended enforcement of its requirement that contractors submit their certified payroll records (CPR) electronically. This electronic system ("eCPR" system) was intended to take the place of contractors submitting paper copies of their records, but the eCPR system is not working as expected. Even though the DIR has suspended the eCPR system for the time being, contractors are stil...
New Statutes Affect Local Agency Public Works Projects
November 2015 Number 72 New legislation will impact public works projects for local public agencies, including cities, school districts, and counties. In light of these changes, public agencies will want to closely review their public works bidding and construction documents to ensure they are updated in accordance with these new laws. Liquidated Damages - Government Code section 53069.85 currently allows liquidated damage provisions in local agency public works contracts to compensa...
New Bill Makes Significant Revisions to Prequalification, Lease-Leaseback, and Lease-to-Own Statutes
September 2015 Number 51 In a year when lease-leaseback agreements have been a hot topic, a new bill makes prequalification mandatory for all lease-leaseback and lease-to-own agreements by school districts having more than 2,500 average daily attendance (ADA), and makes other significant changes to school construction law. Commencing in 2012, Public Contract Code section 20111.6 made prequalification mandatory for school district public projects where three criteria were met: (1) a pro...
Significant Lease-Leaseback and Conflict of Interest Issues Sparked by Appellate Court
June 2015 Number 30 Despite a recent appellate court decision that affirmed the validity of "lease-leaseback" contracts for school districts to build facilities under Education Code §§17400, et seq., a new appellate court decision from a different appellate court district has allowed a lawsuit to proceed against a particular lease-leaseback arrangement that was similar to many in use by school districts in the State. In a portion of the decision relevant to all public agencies, ...
New Law Consolidates and Amends Design-Build Requirements
February 2015 Number 8To consolidate and amend the numerous design-build statutes for certain public agencies that have been enacted over many years, the Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 785 in 2014, with some elements becoming effective January 1, 2015. This law repealed existing design-build statutes for cities, counties, waste and recycling facilities, the Santa Clara County Transit District, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, and redevelopment agencies. In their s...
Court Decision Reinforces Public Agencies' Right to Access Retention Funds
January 2015 Number 2 An appellate court has confirmed that a public agency can access retention funds held in escrow simply by declaring the contractor to be in default on the public works project. In Pittsburg Unified School District v. S.J. Amoroso Construction Co., Inc. (December 22, 2014) 2014 Cal.App. Lexis 1175, the contractor attempted to distinguish its case from other recent court decisions that allowed such access, but the court rejected its arguments. Generally, if requeste...
Legality of "Lease-Leaseback" Construction Delivery Method is Confirmed by Appellate Court
September 2014 Number 62 Addressing a long-simmering issue, a California appellate court decision has confirmed that a school district need not comply with competitive bidding when constructing facilities under a "lease-leaseback" arrangement. This ruling confirms that recent challenges to lease-leaseback agreements are without merit. Lease-leaseback is a construction delivery method authorized by Education Code section 17406, which allows a school board "without advertising for bids" ...
Appellate Court Affirms a Public Agency's Right to Waive an Inconsequential Bid Defect
April 2014 Number 25 When is a defect in a low bidder's paperwork too significant for the public entity owner to waive? The Court of Appeal recently added another piece in the patchwork quilt of law addressing this seemingly simple, but sometimes difficult, question. The court concluded that a public agency may waive the omission of a single page of a bid package if exclusion of the page did not affect the bid amount or provide the bidder an advantage. In Bay Cities Paving & Gradin...
New DSA Construction Oversight Procedures Begin June 1, 2013
May 2013 Number 26 Significant Changes for Construction Management Beginning June 1, 2013, the Division of State Architects (DSA) will require new procedures and a new series of forms related to the inspection of school district and community college construction projects. Currently, contractors can start work on the second phase of a project before the first phase has been inspected and approved. After June 1, the DSA will require inspection and approval of the contractor's work on one ...
Significant Changes To Stop Notice Procedures For Construction Projects, Effective July 1, 2012
June 2012 Number 31 Numerous changes to the California Civil Code on July 1, 2012, will affect the stop notice provisions, which allow a subcontractor to force a public agency owner to withhold funds from the general contractor when the subcontractor has not been paid. The following is a summary of the more significant changes to these procedures. Stop Payment Notices - As of July 1, "stop notices" will be referred to as "stop payment notices." This change more accurately reflects the ...
Court Eliminates One Basis For Public Agencies To Recover Attorney Fees In Stop Notice Enforcement Actions
April 2012 Number 17 When a public entity receives a stop notice on one of its public works projects, it has a statutory obligation to withhold the amount of the stop notice and its "reasonable cost of any litigation." (Civ. Code, § 3186.) Many public entities have historically treated "reasonable cost" as including attorney fees. However, in Tri-State, Inc. v. Long Beach Community College District (Mar. 12, 2012) __ Cal.App.4th __ (2012 WL 764416), the court ruled that "reasonable co...
Contractor's Failure To Observe Change Order Procedures Bars Recovery
November 2011 Number 72 An appellate court has issued a decision that favors local public agencies when they experience delays on construction projects. In Greg Opinski Construction, Inc. v. City of Oakdale (October 6, 2011) 199 Cal.App.4th 1107 [WL 4625304], the court held that if a contractor fails to follow contract procedures to obtain a time extension, a local public agency is entitled to liquidated damages for delay in completing a project, even if the agency caused the delay. In ad...
New Legislation Addresses Labor Issues Related To Public Works Projects
October 2011 Number 61 Two bills signed by Governor Brown directly affect labor issues on public works projects. Assembly Bill (AB) 587 renews existing law exempting volunteer labor from prevailing wage requirements. Senate Bill (SB) 922 authorizes public agencies to enter into project labor agreements to avoid delays and interruptions on construction projects. AB 587 Labor Code section 1720.4 permits public agencies to use volunteer labor without paying prevailing wages. A volunteer ...
New Law Clarifies Defense And Indemnity Obligations For Architects And Engineers
New Law Clarifies Defense And Indemnity Obligations For Architects And Engineers...
Notable Projects and Cases
Mr. Sandberg has successfully resolved many complex public agency disputes with contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, and construction managers. Notable projects and litigation include:
- City of Antioch - $16 million water treatment plant expansion;
- Coast Unified School District - $20 million elementary school construction;
- City of Clovis - $28 million surface water treatment plant construction;
- Napa Valley Community College District - $25 million library and learning center construction;
- Merced City School District - $5 million elementary school expansion;
- Lammersville Joint Unified School District - $25 million elementary school construction;
- Pajaro Valley Unified School District - $14 million Watsonville High School addition;
- City of Milpitas - $40 million City Hall construction;
- City of San Leandro - $15 million library expansion and retrofit;
- City of Dublin - $13 million library construction;
- Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District - administration building expansion;
- Town of Windsor - corporation yard construction;
- East Bay Regional Park District - Contra Loma Swim Lagoon construction;