Third Party Beneficiary Claim against Subcontractor

by Kent Holland | Jun 25, 2018 | Newsletter Article

A city filed suit against an engineering subcontractor, asserting that the city was a third-party beneficiary of the subcontract. The subcontractor filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the city lacked privity of contract to file suit. The motion was...

Texas Certificate of Merit Requirement Does not apply to Third-Party Contribution Claims

by Kent Holland | May 13, 2018 | Newsletter Article

Engineer sued its client for unpaid fee. The client counterclaimed, alleging that engineering designs contained errors, omissions, and other deficiencies that caused the owner to sustain damages. The Engineer, while denying that there were any defects in the...

Statute of Limitations Began to Run on Date Homeowner Saw Rust on Roof and not from Date Leaking Began

by Kent Holland | May 13, 2018 | Newsletter Article

A homeowner sued the architect and contractor that designed and installed their metal roof, alleging defects due to negligence and breach of contract. The work was done 13 years before suit was filed. Just a year after installation the roof began leaking. The...

Subcontractor Indemnification to Prime for Arbitration Award to Homeowner is Barred because Award did not explain basis for decision and would violate anti-indemnity statute if Prime was negligent

by Kent Holland | May 13, 2018 | Newsletter Article

An arbitration award to a homeowner against a homebuilder/contractor only determined damages and did not provide any explanation for the basis of the award – such as who was at fault or even what elements of the complaint formed the basis for the award. A court...

Contract Language Made Code Compliance a separate Duty from the Standard of Care Duty

by Kent Holland | May 13, 2018 | Newsletter Article

Architect is subject to potential liability for failure of design to comply with fire code requirements regardless of whether the generally accepted standard of care was satisfied. This is because it agreed to contract language stating it would comply with the...

Why a Project Owner Isn’t Made an Additional Insured Under a Design Professional Policy

by Kent Holland | May 13, 2018 | Newsletter Article

Design professionals do not name project owners or contractors as additional insureds under their professional liability policies. This paper from the library of articles and papers hosted on the ConstructionRisk.com website explains why. Read it here. About the...