This past May the Construction Claims Advisor summarized a Washington Court of Appeals case against an engineer for faulty design and a contractor for faulty construction. Although no damage, or economic loss occurred, the building was subject to failure from seismic activity, and thus posed a safety risk.
The Home Owner's Association successfully sued to recover all costs for the necessary repairs. The court rejected the engineer's defense that only situations that result in personal injury or physical damage to property are subject to negligence claims.
A recent article by Bart Reed at the Stoel Rives Ahead of Schedule blog discusses further the issue of tort suits against design professionals that were previously barred by the independent duty doctrine. Click here to read the post. To learn more about Construction Claims Advisor and the ConstructionPro Network membership, click here.
