Arbitration or Jury Trial- Which is the better choice for A/E’s?

by Kent Holland | Aug 28, 2017 | Newsletter Article

By: Steve Whitehorn Whitehorn Financial Group, Inc One big question my architect and engineer clients ask me often : “When I sign a contract, is it better to choose arbitration or jury trial, in the event we need to resolve a dispute?” This is an important topic. It’s...

Indemnification and Defense Obligation Applied to Owner’s First-Party Claim to Require Engineer to Defend Owner Against Run of the Mill Contractor Claim

by Kent Holland | Jul 26, 2017 | Newsletter Article

By: J. Kent Holland, Jr. A recent court decision requiring an engineer to indemnify and defend its client, a project owner, against a routine contractor claim is a wakeup call to further clamp down on indemnification language so that only those damages resulting from...

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...

Essential to Engage Your Insurance Broker to Review Additional Insured Endorsement Requirements in Contracts

by Kent Holland | Jul 26, 2017 | Newsletter Article

By: Michael Herlihy, ARM, CRIS – Ames & Gough As discussed in the April, May and June editions of Construction Risk.com Reporter, the New York Supreme Court ruling in Gilbane Building Co./TDS Construction Corp. vs. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance/Liberty...

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...