In Ronald R. Wagner & Co., LP v. Apex Geoscience Inc. and Braun Intertec Corporation, 2018 WL 4344713 (Tex. Ct. App., Sept. 18, 2018), the Texas Court of Appeals held that preparation of an aggregate analysis report was not exempt from the Texas Engineering Practice Act. Ronald R. Wagner & Co., LP (“Wagner”), a contractor…
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In Patriot Contracting, LLC v. Star Insurance Company, 2018 WL 1123586 (U.S. Dist. Ct., E.D. La.), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled that exculpatory clauses in the general contract benefitting the architect were enforceable. The State of Louisiana (the “State”) contracted with Defendant The Architectural Studio/James Dodds, AIA Corporation…
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In Suffolk Construction Co., Inc v. Rodriquez Quiroga Architects, et al., 2018 WL 1335185 (U.S. Dist. Ct., S.D. Fla. Mar 15, 2018), the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida held that an architect and engineer breached owed a duty to the contractor by providing design plans which the contractor relied upon….
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In City of Whiting, Indiana v. Whitney, Bailey, Cox, & Magnani, LLC, 2018 WL 1400890 (U.S. Dist. Ct., N.D. Ind. March 20, 2018), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana held that an owner’s tort claim for damage caused by the failure of a retaining wall designed by a subconsulting engineering…
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In Auburn Hills Tax Increment Finance Authority v. Haussman Construction Co., 2018 WL 385057 (Mich. Ct. App. January 11, 2018), the Michigan Court of Appeals held that the owner of a construction project could not maintain a professional negligence claim against the architect for failing to adequately review payment applications. The Auburn Hills Tax Increment…
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In Stapleton v. Barret Crane Design & Engineering, 2018 WL 985775, (2nd Cir. 2018), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that contractual privity, or its functional equivalent, did not exist between an owner and engineering firm retained by the design-builder, because there was no contract between the parties and the…
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In Engineering and Terminal Services, L.P. v. TARSCO and Orcus Fire Protection, LLC, 525 S.W. 3d 394 (TX 2018), the Court of Appeals of Texas held the statutory requirement to file a Certificate of Merit along with a lawsuit based on professional negligence of an engineer does not apply to third party claims for contribution….
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In Triangle Construction Company, Inc. v. Fouche and Associates, Inc., 218 So. 3d 1180 (Mississippi 2017), Triangle Construction Company, Inc. (“Triangle”) contracted with East Madison Water Association (“EMWA”) to build a water system in Madison and Leake Counties in Mississippi. The contract designated Fouche and Associates (“Fouche”) as the project engineer, although Fouche was not…
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In Zirkelbach Construction, Inc. v. DOWL, LLC, 402 P.3d 1244 (Mont. 2017), the Supreme Court of Montana ruled design professionals can contract to limit liability for a contract claim, even if the limitation is a nominal percentage of the overall fees paid, as long as the parties do not disclaim all liability outright. However, the…
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In Curtis Engineering Corporation v. Superior Court of San Diego, 16 Cal. App. 5th 542 (Cal. App. Ct. 2017), the Court of Appeals for the Fourth District of California addressed the impact of the relation-back doctrine on the certificate of merit law in professional negligence actions against design professionals. California’s certificate of merit law, codified…
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