Homeowner Suit against Project Developer’s Geotechnical Engineer Barred by Economic Loss Doctrine

A homeowner’s house developed large cracks in its foundation and walls due to settling, lateral movement of the foundation, and an unstable slope of the building lot. It filed suit against a geotechnical engineering firm that had ten years earlier prepared a site...

Contractor May Sue Construction Manager for Losses Due to Alleged Poor Project Oversight and Interference with Contractor’s Work

Contractor sued its client, the project owner, and sued the construction manager (CM) that was under contract to the owner – alleging that the CM failed in its obligation and duty to oversee and administer the project according to industry standards thereby impeding...

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...

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...

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...

Architect not Liable to Home Purchaser for Economic Losses Caused by Failed Sewage Disposal System that Architect Certified to Local Government as Meeting Permit Requirements

Kent Holland, J.D. ConstructionRisk, LLC Where a homeowner sued an architect for negligent misrepresentation and violation of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) based on the fact that the architect prepared and submitted a certification to the local government as...

Economic Loss Rule Bars Concrete Supplier’s Claim Against Design Engineer

Gail S. Kelley, J.D., PE ConstructionRisk, LLC In a dispute arising from defective concrete, State Ready Mix, Inc. v. Moffatt & Nichol, 232 Cal.App.4th 1227 (2015), the Appeals court found that the economic loss doctrine barred the concrete supplier’s claim...

A/E Failure to Meet Standard of Care Entitles Project Owner to Recover on Negligence Claim but not for Breach of Contract

Kent Holland ConstructionRisk, LLC In a decision that this author finds confusing, an appellate court in New York held that where there was expert testimony demonstrating that an A/E failed to meet the professional standard of care in designing sheer walls for the...

Property Owners Can Pursue Negligence Actions Against Contracted Engineer Under Washington State’s ‘Independent Duty Doctrine’ (Variation on ‘Economic Loss Rule’)

James N. Rhodes, J.D. ConstructionRisk, LLC The Supreme Court of Washington applied the state’s “independent duty doctrine” to allow a professional negligence and a negligent misrepresentation action to move forward by residential property owners against their...

Limitation of Liability Clause Enforced – $70K Limit on $4.2 Million Claim

An architect’s contract containing a limitation of liability clause (LoL) was enforced to grant a partial summary judgment limiting the architect’s liability to $70,000 in the face of a $4.2 million claim for damages due to structural problems that required a nearly...