Indemnification Clause Unenforceable where Inconsistent with a State’s Contribution Act Applicable to Joint Tortfeasors

by Kent Holland | Aug 28, 2017 | indemnification clause, Newsletter Article

By: Kent Holland A contract required the architect to indemnify its project owner client (a hotel) against damages and attorneys fees arising from injuries on hotel property. The hotel, architect and others entered into settlement agreements with a plaintiff that...

Court Affirms that Indemnification Clauses Traditionally Used and Interpreted as Extending Only to Third-Party Claims – Cannot be Used for First Party Damages from Breach of Contract

by Kent Holland | Jul 26, 2017 | indemnification clause, Newsletter Article

By: J. Kent Holland, Jr. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a U.S. District Court decision that granted summary judgment to an engineer, holding that the statute of limitations had run on a breach of contract action, and the...

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 Kent Holland | Jul 26, 2017 | differing site conditions, Newsletter Article

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 Kent Holland | Jun 16, 2017 | economic loss doctrine, Newsletter Article

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)

by Kent Holland | Jun 1, 2017 | differing site conditions, Newsletter Article

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

by Kent Holland | Jun 1, 2017 | Newsletter Article, professional liability exclusion

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...