Decades of experience in forensic construction and expert analysis
Founded in 1983, Coe & Company is a trusted leader in forensic construction consulting and expert witness services — supporting hundreds of construction disputes across residential, commercial, public, and infrastructure projects.
Lyle E. Coe
Owner & Principal Forensic Consultant
- CA General Contractor · CSLB #471343
- CA Electrical Contractor · CSLB #471343
- Journeyman Inside Wireman since 1977
Lyle E. Coe — Construction Management Advisor, Forensic Consultation + Expert Witness Services
Lyle Coe has extensive experience as a project and construction manager. His experience encompasses projects that start in conception, are under construction, are completed, and are in dispute. Many of his current clients include 10,000-square-foot, $25-million-plus custom single-family residences; many others are much larger projects where he has been retained to manage and troubleshoot multi-million-dollar issues, or to act as an expert witness and provide cost estimates on general construction, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire sprinkler (MEPF) issues for buildings up to 1,200,000 square feet or more.
His experience includes government and private-sector work on both interior and exterior design problems — roofing, flashing, framing, MEPF issues, and general contractor or subcontractor standard of care. He has hired and supervised engineering and design teams for projects with over $3 million in design services alone, and has consulted as a Construction Management Advisor in planning, scheduling, budget cost estimating, negotiations, and contracting methods. Past clients have included national architectural and engineering firms, the University of California at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, corporations such as AT&T, Pacific Bell, and IBM, and transportation facilities including BART, the Port of Oakland, and SFO Airport.
He is sought out for contract reviews and claims analysis, construction cost estimating, change order negotiations, expert witness testimony, and destructive testing oversight. He opines on the standard of care for contractors, construction managers, inspection companies, and specialty subcontractor services. He has served as a court-appointed third-party expert and has assisted in contract mediation and dispute resolution on projects involving issues exceeding $10 million — participating in over $3 billion in total construction value since 1973.
He has led investigations into system failures and start-up design problems involving lighting, energy management systems, flash freezers, HVAC, fire sprinklers, chilled water systems, electrical power, automated conveyors, photovoltaic systems, and fire investigations. He has been disclosed as the designated expert on over 190 cases and has consulted on over three hundred additional cases for advice, field investigations, document evidence evaluation, and material findings.
Coe & Company Construction Services
Coe & Company is licensed in California as a general and electrical contractor, bringing top-level MEP and specialty expertise together with broad general construction knowledge. The firm helps clients manage, plan, and control construction costs — mitigating issues with efficient solutions during the pre-construction, construction, and post-construction phases.
Exposure to construction defect claims can be mitigated to actual costs through the company's specialties: defect investigation, change order negotiation, job costing, dispute resolution, and mechanics lien negotiations. As a consultant, Mr. Coe provides cost consulting and expert witness services throughout California and Nevada, representing plaintiff and defense positions for developers, manufacturers, contractors, subcontractors, and insurance carriers.
Fifty years, from the tools to the witness stand
A career that began with a four-year electrical apprenticeship in 1973 and built — project by project — into one of Northern California's most experienced forensic construction practices.
2003 – Present
Owner — Forensic Consultant & Expert Witness
Coe & Company Construction Services · Lodi, CA
Independent forensic construction consulting and expert witness practice, licensed in California as a general and electrical contractor. Specialties include defect investigation, change order negotiation, job costing, dispute resolution, and mechanics lien negotiations, with plaintiff and defense expert witness services throughout California and Nevada.
- Disclosed as designated expert on over 190 cases; consulted on 300+ more
- Litigation participation on over 470 residential homes
- Court-appointed third-party expert; mediation and dispute resolution on $10M+ matters
2010 – 2017
Senior Associate, Forensic Expert Witness
LaCroix Davis LLC · Folsom, CA
Forensic expert support on HVAC and humidity studies, underground utilities, electrical installations in California and Nevada, school district control and power systems, roofing methods, and mold, water-intrusion, and structural liability consultations.
2010 – 2014
Forensic Building Consultant + CMA
Xpera Group, Inc. · Folsom, CA
Claims review for insurance providers on construction delays and bonding actions; work-in-place cost evaluations; estimating from plan takeoffs and supplier invoices; on-call expert support to consultants and attorney clients.
2001 – 2010
Construction Management Advisor — Claims & Litigation
Lombard Consulting Services · Lafayette, CA
CMA services on construction claims and expert witness services across California — hospitals, schools, high-rise condominiums, and single-family housing — for developers, manufacturers, contractors, and insurance companies. Investigations spanned masonry and foundation failures, drainage litigation, water intrusion and mold, structural fires involving electrical systems and lightning, and a designated-expert electrocution case at a waste treatment facility.
2000 – 2005
Special Projects Senior Construction Planner/Estimator
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Johnson Controls master vendor subcontract) · Livermore, CA
Estimating, planning, and CMA oversight on laboratory construction: the $66M Terascale Simulation Facility, $120M of Title I/II budget reviews, ten new 20,000 SF buildings, $100M of seismic retrofits across twenty buildings, and inspection support across all 16 CSI divisions.
1999 – 2001
Construction Cost Consultant / Negotiator
San Francisco International Terminal + Port of Oakland Expansion · San Francisco & Oakland, CA
Deputy Chief Estimator for the on-site construction management team on SFO's $2B International Terminal project — estimating and negotiating over a thousand change orders of more than $100M, and reviewing over two hundred change orders with savings for the airport of over $20M. Senior Project Controls Specialist and Cost Consultant on the Port of Oakland's $50M Phase 1A expansion, negotiating over fifty-six changes with savings of over $1.8M.
1997 – 1999
Electrical Project Engineer / QA-QC Manager
Collins Electric — National Ignition Facility · Livermore, CA
Designed seismic conduit and equipment support systems for $10M of electrical subcontracts on the $1B NIF project; supervised high-voltage cable installation, materials inspection, and a four-person seismic design team.
1996 – 1997
Foreman and General Foreman
Sasco Electric · San Jose, CA
Managed day-to-day operations on warehouse, R&D, and major first-class office projects — supervising crews of up to fifty on electrical contracts exceeding $7M, with estimating and design-build layout responsibilities.
1994 – 1996
Operations Manager
Preszler Electric and Pump Service · Lodi, CA
Managed operations and scheduling for pump sales, repair, and installation across the Central Valley — $2M in annual sales, 24-hour on-call service, and MEP estimating and design for commercial and agricultural clients.
1990 – 1994
Owner + CEO
C2P Inc., dba Benchmark Cost Consulting + Management Services · Pleasanton, CA
Project management company serving AT&T and Pacific Bell with construction management, engineering, real estate, and design services in over 23 states — including fast-track management of a $20M Denver network control center conversion and supervision of over $120M of work from Atlanta to San Francisco.
1985 – 1990
Owner / Contractor
American Light and Power Specialists · Stockton, CA
Licensed electrical (and later general) contracting firm serving LLNL, AT&T, and Prudential — specialty electrical systems, high voltage, DDC controls, fire-life safety, inspections, and CMA services. Over thirty-one projects at LLNL; CMA at AT&T's 1.1M SF Western Regional Center; A/E representative at IBM's 1.2M SF Almaden facility.
1986 – 1988
CEO / Building Consultant
Residential Consulting Services Inc., dba HomeGuide Inspection Services · Stockton, CA
Founded and managed a home inspection company whose inspection experience included over 1,200 homes, commercial facilities, and expert witness services. Provided forensic evaluations of foundation, electrical, underground drainage, and plumbing systems, and was a founding member of the Central Valley's inspection industry association.
1982 – 1984
Business Manager / Financial Secretary / President
IBEW Local 591 · Stockton, CA
Led a 600+ member labor union — negotiating labor contracts, administering more than $2M in annual funds, and handling grievances, arbitrations, and labor relations board hearings.
1973 – 1982
General Foreman / Foreman / Journeyman Electrician
Various contractors · Central California & Bay Area
Four-year apprenticeship completed at the top of the class, followed by supervision on hospitals, schools, manufacturing and food processing plants, high-voltage substations, wineries, and fire reconstruction projects — with a specialty in troubleshooting and installing complex control systems.