Implied Warranty of Habitability Extended Beyond Initial Home Purchaser to Second Purchasers

by Kent Holland | Mar 5, 2013 | Newsletter Article

After having a house built by a Homebuilder, the purchasers sold it to another family three years later, and the new owners discovered water infiltration around their windows two years after that and filed suit against the Builder asserting breach of implied warranty...

Certificate of Merit Requirement was Waived by Engineer’s Failure to Timely Push for Dismissal

by Kent Holland | Feb 20, 2013 | Newsletter Article

A Texas requirement, that a plaintiff must file a certificate of merit signed by an expert when it files a complaint against an engineer, was deemed waived by the defendant (engineer) where the engineer substantially participated in the litigation process over a three...

The “Completed and Accepted Doctrine” Bars Third Party Suit against Architect that Failed to Observe and Report an Obvious, Patent Construction Defect to Owner/Client

by Kent Holland | Feb 20, 2013 | Newsletter Article

The “Completed and Accepted Doctrine” was held by a court to bar a slip and fall case against an architect who failed to observe that a construction contractor had failed to install “contrast marking stripes” on steps inside a theater the architect designed.  The...

Subcontractor’s Waiver of Consequential Damages is Enforced where the Waiver Clause was Incorporated by Reference from the Prime Contract

by Kent Holland | Feb 18, 2013 | Newsletter Article

Where a subcontract contained an “incorporation by reference” clause, expressly incorporating the terms of the prime contract between the general contractor and project owner, the “waiver of consequential damages” clause of the prime contract flowed down to the...

Subcontractor’s Waiver of Claims Against Payment Bond is Void and Unenforceable

by Kent Holland | Feb 18, 2013 | Newsletter Article

Whereby the terms of its contract, a subcontract waived its rights to make a claim against the prime contractors payment bond, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts held the waiver to be contrary to public policy and, therefore, void and unenforceable.  In Costa v. Brait...

Arbitration Results Between Owner and Contractor Have no Collateral Estoppel Affect in Subsequent Litigation Against Architect (Lost Profits not Recoverable in any Event)

by Kent Holland | Feb 18, 2013 | Newsletter Article

After a project owner lost its arbitration against a construction contractor it filed a lawsuit against its Architect to recover damages for breach of contract on the same project. The trial court granted summary judgment to the Architect on the basis that the adverse...