No A/E duty to Subcontractor to Assure Payment Bond Procured or That General Contractor Paid Him Prior to Progress Payment Being Approved

by Kent Holland | Feb 7, 2011 | Newsletter Article

A subcontractor worked on a project for five months without being paid and then sued the A/E for negligence, claiming that the A/E owed it a duty, as a third party beneficiary, to assure that the contractor maintained a payment bond or paid the subcontractor before...

Change Order Bars Owner’s Claim Against A/E

by Kent Holland | Feb 7, 2011 | Newsletter Article

The owners of a home under construction were sued by an architect whose copyrighted plans were used without permission in the design and construction of their new house.   This architect (Mr. Page) sued the owners (Mr. and Ms. Gunthrop) for copyright infringement.  A...

Economic loss doctrine bars owner’s claim against subcontractor

by Kent Holland | Feb 7, 2011 | Newsletter Article

A court dismissed a project owner’s suit against the manufacturer of flooring materials that were used in the building because there was no privity of contract between the owner and he manufacturer. The manufacturer was a subcontractor to the flooring contractor...

Indemnification language found ambiguous and unenforceable

by Kent Holland | Feb 7, 2011 | indemnification clause, Newsletter Article

According to a Louisiana appellate court, an indemnification clause can not be enforced to require a party to indemnify  for the indemnitee’s own negligence unless the clause specifically states that to be the intent of the parties in no uncertain terms. An...

Contractor sues engineer for misrepresenting site conditions

by Kent Holland | Feb 7, 2011 | differing site conditions, Newsletter Article

Where a general contractor prepared its bid in reliance upon information provided by the project owner’s engineer, and the site conditions differed from what was represented, the contractor sued the engineer for misrepresenting the conditions. Both the...

Architect not liable for premises injury without evidence that design violated the standard of care

by Kent Holland | Feb 7, 2011 | Newsletter Article, standard of care

A jury found an architect liable for the personal injuries sustained by a city employee who fell though the attic floor of the city garage that was designed by the defendant. The flooring was supported by number two pine 2 x 8s. One of them broke under the weight of...