The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion extending application of the economic loss doctrine to certain construction claims. Among other things, the economic loss doctrine prevents a party from recovering on...more
Utah courts continue to strengthen both the common law and statutory economic loss rule by limiting what duties are independent of those in a typical buyer/seller contractual relationship and thus limiting the common law...more
Often times, both contract and tort claims co-exist in a subrogation matter and the line between the two can be blurred. This is especially true in the context of damages resulting from new home construction defect claims....more
Precision Hydraulic Cylinders, Inc. v. Manufacturing. Technology, Inc., No. 7:18-CV-203-FL, 2019 BL 344743, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 156670 (E.D.N.C. Sept. 13, 2019) - Precision Hydraulic Cylinders, Inc. (“Precision”) issued...more
In Hexagon Holdings Inc. v. Carlisle Syntec, Inc. No. 2017-175-Appeal, 2019 R.I. Lexis 14 (January 17, 2019), the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, discussing claims associated with allegedly defective construction, addressed...more
D.W. Wilburn, Inc. v. K. Norman Berry Assocs., No. 2015-CA-001254-MR, 2016 Ky. App. Lexis 206 (Ky. Ct. App. Dec. 22, 2016) - This case arose out of a construction project in which the Oldham County Board of Education...more
Owners who are dissatisfied with their contractors’ performance increasingly assert fraud-based claims in addition to breach of contract claims because fraud-based claims are not typically barred by contractual waivers and...more
In a recent ruling, the Arizona Supreme Court clarified that the economic loss rule does not apply to non-contracting parties. See Sullivan v. Pulte Home Corporation, 667 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 36 (Ariz. 2013). This ruling both...more
In Utah International, Inc. v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 108 N.M. 539, 775 P.2d 741 (Ct. App. 1989), the New Mexico Court of Appeals adopted, for the first time, the economic loss rule in New Mexico. The defendant designed,...more
The economic loss doctrine generally holds parties to the benefits, burdens and obligations set out in their contracts and bars tort claims such as negligence, misrepresentation and theft for purely economic loss when a...more
This annual update is to provide a review of the most significant decisions impacting design professionals. The cases will consider the following important issues: the effect contractual language has on a professional...more