California’s Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the principal architects for a condominium project may be sued directly by a condominium homeowners association for design defects. [...]
The decision held that even though, on most projects, the developer has the final say on design choices, the architect can’t escape liability to the end user. This decision is likely to give homeowners associations another target in defect cases.
— bdcnetwork.com
2 Comments
"The units allegedly developing several defects including water infiltration, structural cracks, and overheating that made units virtually uninhabitable at times. The homeowners association sued the architects, alleging that these defects were caused by negligent design."
not new...what is interesting is eventual owners can sue the architect despite never having a contract directly with the architect.
"In deciding that the architects owed a duty of care to the ultimate owners, the Court highlighted three factors: (1) the closeness of the connection between the architects’ conduct and the plaintiffs’ injuries, (2) the limited and predictable class of potential plaintiffs, and the absence of options for the owners in obtaining design services on their own. "
In development suits everyone is named as a party to the action. It maximizes the pool from which to collect damages and creates fighting between the named parties who all blame each other to avoid liability, strengthening the plaintiff's case.
If they weren't named by the plaintiff they would be by the defendant who would try to shift or at least spread liability. Thus a sued developer turns around and sues the architect, construction manager, contractors, etc.
In my experience anyone can sue anyone anytime for anything. That a court codified this is no surprise. In this particular instance the architects will now sue the developers.
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