Government Can’t Use Contract’s General Disclaimer of Reliance on Site Information to Deny Differing Site Condition Claim (Metcalf v. U.S. precedent)

By: J. kent Holland, Jr. The U.S. Army denied a differing site condition claim of its contract that allegedly encountered subsurface rock conditions as well as ground water conditions, differing materially from what was represented in a geotechnical report provided to...

Economic Loss Doctrine Bars Claim against Designer by a Third Party Seeking Purely Economic Losses

By J. Kent Holland, Jr., Esq. The Maryland Court of Appeals applied the economic loss doctrine to bar a claim against an engineer by a general contractor seeking to recover economic losses based upon reliance on allegedly defective designs. In the absence of...

Encountering Soil Conditions Differing from data in Government Provided Geotechnical Report Entitled Design-Builder to Differing Site Condition Recovery (ASBCA Decision)

Geotechnical, Saturated Soil, Geotechnical Report, Metcalf Construction During site excavation, a design-build contractor encountered a large quantity of unsuitable soils, and this required remediation before foundation work could commence for a building. In this...

Professional Liability Exclusion in CGL Policy Bars A/E from GCL Additional Insured Coverage for Laborer’s Injuries From Alleged Failure to Plan for Safe Removal of Digester Tank Lid

Sparks from a cutting torch being used to remove bolts from a wastewater digester tank ignited a methane gas explosion that killed an employee of a construction subcontractor and injured an employee of another subcontractor. Both subcontractor’s were required by their...

Indemnification Clause Required Indemnification Only for Damages Caused by Indemnitor

Where a subcontracted laborer brought personal injury action against a general contractor (GC), the GC filed suit against subcontractor to require it to indemnify it for any damages awarded against it. The laborer alleged he was injured from toxic fumes while...

Contractor May Recover on Differing Site Condition Despite Not Following the Notice Requirements of Contract

After final payment was made under its contract, a utility construction contractor submitted a written request for additional payment to the project owner seeking payment for extra work it performed as well as increased costs due to delays and disruptions during the...

Economic Loss Rule Barred Claim against Contractor’s President

An error was made by a surveyor in setting the level for a foundation pad for a church building.   A construction contractor then proceeded to excavate dirt from the foundation area, believing the resulting level would be higher than required by the base flood...

A Claim Under the Negligent Misrepresentation Exception to the Economic Loss Doctrine May Be Predicated on Implied Representations

This dispute concerned Pennsylvania’s application of the Economic Loss Doctrine and its interpretation of the exception allowed by Section 552 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. Gongloff Contracting, L.L.C., (“Gongloff”) was a second-tier subcontractor on a...

Developer is Third Party Beneficiary of Window Manufacturer’s Warranty but Economic Loss Doctrine Prevents Recover of Consequential Damages

Kent Holland, J.D. ConstructionRisk, LLC Where the developer of an apartment complex filed suit as an intended beneficiary under the contract between a window manufacturer and one of the subcontractors on the project, the trial court denied the manufacturer’s demurrer...

Failure to Design According to the IBC Was Not Breach of Contract But Could be Malpractice

By Gail S. Kelley ConstructionRisk, LLC Where compliance with the IBC 2000 was not an explicit contract requirement, design firm’s failure to design a seismic retrofit in accordance with the IBC 2000 was not a breach of its contract. However, the firm’s...