Curriculum Vitae

Click here for printable version

Areas of Expertise

All floor covering products:
Installation, Moisture Vapor Emissions, Adhesives, Performance
Standards of practice in the floor covering industry
Slip & Fall, Forensic Investigation
Standards of practice in the retail industry (floors)

Formal Education

Dorsey HighSchool- Science
Los Angeles City College- Psychology (AA degree)
San Fernando Valley State College, Ergonomics (2 years)

Specialty Training

Forensic Science
Institute of Real Estate Management, CPM
Mohasco Research and Development School
Armstrong Training School
Individual Specialized Manufacturer’s Training.
California Department of Consumer Affairs Expert’s training program

Forensic Sciences 

He provides test data for: moisture vapor intrusion investigations, site condition evaluations, site safety evaluations, design and material performance and failure opinions.

Qualifications

Mr. Newson was first certified as a competent expert in the field of commercial floor covering by the Los Angeles County Courts in 1979. He has testified numerous times as both a plaintiff’s and defense expert witness. In 1993 the California Department of Consumer Affairs certified him as a floor-covering expert. For 27 years Mr. Newson has been part of their Industry Experts program, he acted as an investigator and mediator in contractor-consumer disputes. He is currently an editor of the California Contractors License Examination.

Mr. Newson has handled over 1,500 ligation matters. He has testified in over 25 times at trial, 200 depositions, and numerous Arbitrations and Mediations.

His list of references is very long. Mr. Newson has consulted for many major educational institutions, medical facilities, and Governmental Agencies. He recently completed studies for UCLA, USC, Cedar Sinai Hospital of Los Angeles, Bob Hope Airport, Baltimore Washington International Airport and The US Department of Justice. Ken is a Certified MCLE for the California and Nevada Bar Associations. Mr. Newson has provided legal expertise, and consulting in 32 states, 2 U.S. Territories and 4 Canadian Provinces.

Mr. Newson has conducted studies on site suitability for specialty flooring products for all types of public facilities. He is the floor-covering advisor, and past member of the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles chapter, for the Society of American Registered Architects (SARA). He teaches continuing education courses for the American Institute of Architecture (A.I.A.) and SARA. He has had instructional and editorial columns for their national publications. Also, he conducts symposiums for A.I.A and SARA on concrete additives and moisture vapor, in preparation for floor covering and the “Standard of Practice for the Flooring Industry”.

Mr. Newson was accepted as a member of the American College of Forensic Examiners (ACFE#10104), and subsequently passed the peer review and became a Diplomate of The American Board of Forensic Examiners. On April 1, 1999, he became a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Engineering & Technology. Mr. Newson was elevated to the level of Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute.

His certification is specialized to all matters pertaining to floors and their function as part of a system. Subsequently, he has conducted investigations for several private companies, individuals. and public agencies. He investigates cases involving toxic fumes, toxic mold, premises liability, product liability, installation, industry standards of care involving the National Codes of Safety, and the International Building Code.

Experience

Mr. Newson worked as a construction project manager and was moved to the Commercial Real Estate Management department. He was the Director of Daily Apartment Operations for Urbanetics Financial Corporation, and managed several thousand apartment units in

the Southwest, handling interior buildouts. He was Director of Property Management for the Heritage Group.

Mr. Newson entered the flooring industry. He completed the educational requirements to qualify as a Certified Property Manager the National Board of Realtors. He began his own chain of commercial floor covering outlets and became a licensed floor-covering contractor in California.

Over the next two years he was trained in fabrication and installation of all types of flooring materials. Dupont Chemical sent him to seminars around the country to be trained in the use and specification of fiber systems. Specialty floor covering material manufacturers sent instructors to him to provide individual training for products such as, linoleum, cork, rubber, wood, vinyl, epoxy, and stone.

This training allowed him to train his sales and installation staff. His firm sold and installed over 5,000,000-sq. ft. of specialty products, for use in athletic facilities, schools, restaurants, factories, airports, hospitals and retail stores.

Mr. Newson joined the faculty at Ambassador College and taught classes in textile specification for real estate managers. He began teaching this same course for the National Boards of Realtors as part of their Professional Property Manager’s certification, and The National Apartment Owners Association’s “Certified Managers Program”.

Mr. Newson has published several articles on floor covering specification in national trade publications such as The Journal of Property Management. He also writes articles pertaining to the specification of floor covering and site conditions for architectural publications.

Dupont enlisted him into their advisory counsel, made up of eight qualified contractors, where he was asked to confer with other floor covering contractors when they needed advice.Mr. Newson opened the “Design Resource Center” in Van Nuys California, where he taught classes in materials specification to Interior Designers and Architects.

He opened Interior Specifications, a consulting and management company, to service the design and construction community.

Mr. Newson was certified as a Forensic Expert in Federal Courts in Illinois, Washington DC and Guam.

Credentials:

California Bar Association Certified-MCLE- Provider #11509
Nevada Bar Association
Fellow America College of Forensic Examiners Institute Certificate #10104
Diplomate American Board of Forensic Examiners
Diplomate American Board of Forensic Engineers
And Technologists
Certified Property Manager (retired)
California Contractors License #710802
California Department Consumer Affairs Expert
California Contractors License Board Mediator

Teaching Positions:

Ambassador College
National Board of Realtors
National Apartment Owners Association
The Design Resource Center
West Los Angeles City College
University Nevada Las Vegas, School of Architecture
California Bar Association
Nevada Bar Association

Lecturing Bodies; 
Society of American Registered Architects
American Institute of Architecture
City of Las Vegas, Public Planning

Associations:
American College of Forensic Examiners Institute
National Wood Flooring Association NWFA
Marble Institute of America MIA
American Standards Testing & Materials Int. ASTM

Publications: 
California Bar Association:
MCLE Text Book
“Floor Litigation”
Daubert/ Forensic Science in Slip & Fall (Jurispro.com)

SARASCOPE

• Cork Flooring
• Rubber Flooring
• Carpet
• Resilient flooring
• Moisture Vapor Migration
• Floor Safety Design
• Wood and Stone flooring
• Life cycle costs

Journals 

• Carpet
• Resilient flooring
• Moisture Vapor Migration
• Floor Safety Design
• Life cycle costs
• The Daubert Dilemma in the Slip & Fall Case

  The Apartment Owner

• Carpet
• Resilient flooring
• Moisture Vapor Migration
• Floor Safety Design

Awards

Society of American Register Architects Certificate
Ambassador College Certificate
Presidential Certificate SARA