Our Mission: Your Success

Michael J. Timpane leads the Firm’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practice. ADR provides participants with an effective alternative to costly and time-consuming litigation. ADR can be used to resolve cases in their entirety or, in the right circumstances, specific issues and disputes.

Mr. Timpane has resolved more than 775 cases involving a broad range of disputes over multiple legal disciplines. Mr. Timpane has extensive experience serving clients involved in complex construction disputes involving multiple parties, interests, legal and technical issues. As both a practicing litigation and ADR professional, Mr. Timpane is uniquely qualified to understand the issues and work efficiently towards dispute resolution.

Mr. Timpane provides the following ADR Services:

• Mediation
• Arbitration
• Early Neutral Evaluation
• Construction Project Neutral and Dispute Resolution Services
• Court Appointed Special Master
• Court Appointed Discovery Referee

Please contact Mr. Timpane’s ADR case coordinator to obtain additional information regarding his services, rates and availability.

Aurora Sanabria-Delgado, ADR Case Coordinator
(510) 907-3245
adelgado@smtdlaw.com

Michael Timpane has extensive experience resolving complex construction matters involving claims for payment, delay, disruption and related counter-claims, arising from large public and private projects ranging from water treatment and pumping plants to prisons, schools, and public buildings of all kinds, as well as commercial, retail and residential development projects. Mr. Timpane has resolved more than 750 cases serving as a mediator, arbitrator, early neutral evaluator, court-appointed referee, special master, project neutral, or chair/member of dispute resolution boards. For 19 years, from 1984 until 2003, Mr. Timpane was a trial lawyer specializing in construction, surety, construction defect, real estate, insurance coverage, and complex commercial litigation matters. From 2003 to 2008 he was an independent full-time neutral, and from 2008-2012 Mr. Timpane was at JAMS on its Global Engineering and Construction panel, as well as its Construction Defect, Insurance Coverage and Real Property panels.

In 2012, Mr. Timpane decided to re-open a law practice and combine that with his work as a neutral. He is now the managing partner of SMTD Law’s Oakland office and resident neutral with the firm. His mediation services are available directly through SMTD Law, while his arbitration services are administered through the American Arbitration Association, on whose Construction and Commercial panels he serves.

Representative Matters

• Mediator: Settled dispute arising from the construction of a forward operating base in Helmund Province, Afghanistan between US general contractor and Jordanian subcontractor- resolved dispute and revitalized business relationship.
• Mediator and early neutral evaluator: Provided early neutral evaluation ENE of complex schedule issues, then successfully mediated public university dormitory construction case with contract value of $85 million and claims in excess of $15 million.
• Arbitrator: Arbitrated dispute between general contractor and developer, involving competing claims for unrecognized change orders, delay and disruption costs by the contractor and “missed the market” delay claims by owner.
• Court-Appointed Referee: In over 14 consolidated actions, evaluated multi-million dollar contract and subcontract balance claims where residential portion of development and corresponding financing had been halted by historic state action; analyzed owner’s claims for over-billing and defective construction, and settled all subcontractor and contractor payment claims, as well as facilitating refinancing and escrow payments at close.
• Dispute Resolution Board (DRB): Member of a DRB on a $60 million police station in Northern California, which was instrumental in real-time resolution of ongoing claim and delay issues, including assisting in resolution of claims by major trade subcontractors.
• Mediator: Retained to mediate and then perform an ENE with respect to $7 million of claims arising from Hurricane Katrina clean-up work in the 9th Ward of New Orleans. At issue was whether the Corps of Engineers and its first-tier contractor took actions which justified a request for equitable adjustment (REA) by the second and bankrupt third tier contractors, with ancillary federal contracting and bankruptcy issues.
• Mediator: Settled dozens of cases arising from partially constructed subdivision improvements, usually involving large claims by utilities or site-work contractors against subdivision payment bonds, bank set-asides or title insurers based on mechanic’s liens and priority issues.
• Special Master: Appointed to render accountings on a public high school general contract valued over $72 million and involving over 20 subcontractors.
• Arbitrator: Decided dispute between general contractor and developer involving a Southern California resort hotel, where cost-plus contract claim by contractor was not only disputed, but owner claimed over-billing and an entitlement to a savings refund from contractor.
• Mediator: In dispute between large community church and general contractor, after initial session with lawyers did not produce a settlement, convened a session between principals of church and contractor on site which produced a full settlement of payment, completion and alleged defect claims.
• Mediator: Settled all claims at conclusion of $10+ million elementary school project, including payment and competing delay and alleged defect claims.
• Mediator: Settled all project close-out issues involving construction of new prison between Dept. of Corrections, completing surety, and three major trade subcontractors.
• Arbitrator: Decided through motion for summary judgement (MSJ) the issue of preclusion of claims by homeowners association (HOA) against developer from previous settlement agreement, and after ruling arbitrated surviving claims.
• Dispute Review Board: As chair of a DRB for a new electrical substation for six large pumps controlling outflow from a major storm water facility, settled electrical/general contractor’s potential claims in exchange for operational relief on pump switchover windows which allowed the project to complete on time with no further claims.
• Early Neutral Evaluator and Mediator: Settled public parking garage case by evaluating and issuing advisory opinion on 51 issues including schedule, and then mediating final resolution of all claim issues, allowing $12+ million project to close out upon project completion.
• Project Neutral: Retained at conclusion of large state laboratory project by general contractor, electrical subcontractor, and controls sub-subcontractor; assisted in resolution of complex control and payment issues with no attorney involvement.
• Arbitrator: Settled a completing surety’s claims against commercial general liability (CGL) carriers based on $16 million costs of repairing and completing defectively installed 20-mile pipeline outside of Austin, Texas.
• Mediator: Settled all claims between large trade subcontractor, financially troubled general, and surety on not just the large public project initially briefed but two other projects as well.
• Dispute Review Board: Chair of DRB for contractor of new library/community center with $17.5 million contract value, project completed on time on budget with no claims.
• Mediator: Settled all claims of general contractor for delay and overruns, and owner counter claims for delay, on $13+ million condominium project.
• Mediator: Settled claims by earthwork contractor on sludge pond dredging project against city, involving complex issues of lump-sum vs. unit-pricing; claims in excess of $750,000 were resolved and the parties’ relationship restored.
• Mediator: Settled claims of transit agency against new switchyard general contractor, track designer, and manufacturer for million dollar damages from train collision.
• Mediator: Settled general contractor’s and electrical subcontractor’s large claims on $16+ million project to construct the elevated trackway for an airport tram system.
• Mediator: Settled schedule and outstanding change order claims by general contractor against city park and recreation department on $17 million project for construction of new city recreational center.
• Dispute Review Board: Retained as member of DRB on a $45 million renovation and upgrade of a large municipal zoo.

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Arbitrator, American Arbitration Association Construction and Commercial Panels, 2006-2008 and present
• Mediation Panel, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 2006-present
• Mediator, Arbitrator, Settlement Mentor, or Judge Pro Tem for Superior Courts of Marin, Alameda, and Contra Costa, 2003-2010
• Mediator, San Francisco Early Settlement Program, BASF, 1995-2010
• Co-chair, ABA Dispute Resolution Section Teleconference Committee, 2010-2012
• Member, ABA Section for Dispute Resolution, 2005-present; Arbitration Committee, 2015-present
• Member, Forum on the Construction Industry, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee-ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section, 1988-present
• Member, Dispute Review Board Foundation, 2005-2012
• Author and presenter: “Construction Damages Methodologies,” ABA Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Jan. 2013
• Author and presenter: “ADR in the Construction Industry,” ABA FSLC, Jan. 2015
• Guest lecturer, Hastings School of Law, both mediation and arbitration classes, 2010-2014
• Speaker, “Detecting Lies in Negotiations,” Construction SuperConference, 2010
• Author and Speaker, “Putting the ‘DR’ back in ‘ADR'” and “Advanced Mediation Advocacy,” Pearlman Conference, 2009-2010
• Author and Speaker, “Bringing ADR Forward”, address to Midwestern EPC contractors general counsel, 2010
• Author and Speaker, “Real-Time Resolution Process of Construction Projects,” Construction SuperConference, 2009
• Author and Speaker, “Payment Clauses and the Surety: If or When?” presented at the Construction SuperConference, 1997
• Co-editor, “California Fidelity and Surety Bond Practice,” California Continuing Education of the Bar, 1991 Supplement

ADR Training

• JAMS Mediation and Arbitration Workshop, JAMS, 2008 and 2009
• Large/Complex Arbitration Training, ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, 2007
• Dispute Review Board Advanced Chair Training, Dispute Review Board Foundation, 2006
• Arbitrator Training, American Arbitration Association, 2006 and 2017
• Arbitrator Training, Construction Dispute Resolution Service and the University of New Mexico Law School, 2006
• Mediating the Litigated Case, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law, 2004
• Advanced Mediation Training for Insurance Coverage Disputes, ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, 2003
• Certified as mediator by American Academy of Attorney Mediators, 1992

Experience

• Managing Partner and Resident Neutral, SMTD Law LLP, 2012-present
• Full-time Neutral, JAMS, 2008-2012
• Full-time Mediator and Arbitrator, Timpane ADR Services, 2003-2008
• AAA Construction and Commercial arbitration panels, 2006-2008 and present
• Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Wolkin & Timpane, LLP (currently known as Wolkin Curran, LLP), 1995-2003
• Partner (1991-1995) and Associate (1984-1991), Knecht, Haley, Lawrence & Smith (formerly Dingus, Haley and Foust)

Education

• D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, 1984
• A., with distinction, University of Virginia, Echols Scholar, 1981