Injured motorist cannot sue design professional for the alleged negligent design of roadway beyond the statute of repose that is applicable to improvements to real property

by Kent Holland | Oct 10, 2012 | Newsletter Article

Suit against a design professional by a motorist that was injured due to an out-of-control drunk driver in a January 2009 accident was dismissed because the design services of the professional had been performed more than eight years before the accident, and the eight...

Common Law Indemnity Allows Surety to Maintain Claim against Architect for Loss Allegedly Caused by Architect’s Negligence

by Kent Holland | Oct 9, 2012 | Newsletter Article

Where a General Contractor that entered into a contract with a nursing home was required to have a performance bond from a surety company (Safeco) and was default terminated by the project owner, the surety completed the project and sued the “obliges” under the bond,...

Failure to Follow Change Order Request Procedure Results in Design-Build Subcontractors Forfeiting Right to Recover Their Costs for Extra or Changed Work They Performed

by Kent Holland | Oct 9, 2012 | Newsletter Article

Two design-build cases decided by the federal district courts in Virginia dismissed suits by subcontractors to recover for extra or changed work they performed, because even though there was no question that the work was performed and that the prime contractor and...

Economic Loss Doctrine Precluded Negligence Claim against Design-Builder Because Design-Build Project Considered a “Product” not a “Professional Service”

by Kent Holland | Oct 4, 2012 | Newsletter Article

In Wisconsin, where the economic loss doctrine does not bar malpractice suits against professional service providers such as architects and engineers, a court concluded that a contractor who designed and constructed a resort and conference center that included an...

Negligence Claim Barred Where Issues Arise Under Contract Performance, and Breach of Contract is the Sole Proper Remedy

by Kent Holland | Oct 4, 2012 | Newsletter Article

A project owner/developer successfully recovered on most aspects of its complaint against a contractor for defective workmanship that caused window leaks and underground parking garage wall leaks, but its negligence claim was dismissed by summary judgment with the...

Statute of Repose Period Began to Run Only When Contractors Substantially Completed the last of their Overall Project Work Rather than the Date When Defective Materials Were Installed and Accepted for Beneficial Use

by Kent Holland | Oct 4, 2012 | Newsletter Article

When the State of New Jersey brought suit against a number of contractors involved in constructing a state prison, alleging that the centralized underground system that distributed hot water throughout multiple buildings of the prison was defective, the contractors...