The Louisiana Court of Appeal recently addressed the liability of architects in premises liability claims in Holleman v. Golden Nugget Lake Charles, LLC, 2024 WL 4897557 (La. App. 3 Cir. 11/27/24). Plaintiff Martha Holleman (“Ms. Holleman”) alleged she sustained injuries after slipping on wet travertine tiles near the pool area of the Golden Nugget Casino….
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In Kristina L. Ives, Individually, et al. v. HMB Professional Engineers, Inc., et al., 2024 WL 2487850 (Ky. Ct. App. May 24, 2024), the Court of Appeals of Kentucky reversed and remanded the Fayette Circuit Court’s decision to grant summary judgment in favor of engineers (the “Engineers”) on the basis they were immune from liability….
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Increasingly more states are enacting certificate of merit statutes for professional negligence claims, but what satisfies the certification requirement continues to be litigated. The South Carolina Court of Appeals recently held an affidavit from engineer was sufficient to satisfy the affidavit filing requirement for claims of professional negligence against an architect, at least as it…
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Georgia made some notable amendments to Georgia Code § 43-15-23 – which governs the licensure and certification of engineering firms – introducing several key changes that strengthened the regulatory framework for engineering firms in the state. Under the previous law, firms were required to obtain a certificate of authorization from the Georgia State Board of…
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Indemnity provisions are common features of contracts between project owners and engineering firms tasked with design elements of the project. However, a project owner sued by a general contractor cannot simply ride the contractor’s coattails to prove the project owner’s indemnity claims, as the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts held in…
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A common issue in Architect and Engineer cases is distinguishing between what are possible alternate designs and what are repairs to defective designs. Just because one architect or engineer would have handled a design challenge differently does not mean it was originally handled incorrectly. This distinction was recently addressed in North Carolina. In Cranes Creek,…
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During the 2023 legislative session, the Alabama State Legislature passed Act #2023-477, significantly impacting architects, engineers, and other design professionals in the state. Introduced by State Senator Clyde Chambliss, this bill aims to protect clients who may not be familiar with professional liability insurance policies and their coverage. Signed into law on June 14, 2023,…
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Highlighting the importance of the statute of repose in relation to construction and design indemnity claims, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed summary judgment based on the Tennessee statute of repose in favor of a third-party defendant subcontractor. Hinman v. ValleyCrest Landscaping Development, Inc., 89 F.4th 572 (6th Cir….
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The recent decision by the Louisiana Court of Appeals in City of Ruston v. Womack & Sons Construction Group, Inc., 374 So. 3d 311 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2023) underscores the critical need for architects to meticulously draft and review contracts, contract conditions, and change orders in construction projects. The City of Ruston (the “City”)…
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In American Automobile Insurance Company v. FDH Infrastructure Services., LLC, 364 So.3d 1082 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023), The Court of Appeals of Florida, Third District (“Court of Appeals”) held all construction-based claims against design professionals are subject to a four-year statute of limitations, not the two-year statute of limitations. Tower King II was contracted to…
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