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Construction Industry Design Defects

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

The Site Report - Construction Law Insights, Issue 7, July 2025

Welcome to our seventh issue of The Site Report for 2025! In this edition, we address direct v. consequential damages in Florida, how the OBBB will fuel construction projects, China's construction of the world's largest...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

Building Design Disputes – New Analysis of Direct v. Consequential Damages in Florida

Are design professionals involved in your Florida project? If so, then you need to be aware of this newly decided case. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, in Orlando, issued an Order on July 11,...more

MG+M The Law Firm

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to Address the Application of the Statute of Repose to Contractual Indemnification Claims

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An issue of great importance to all construction project parties, including design professionals and contractors, is pending before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). In the matter of Trustees of Boston...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Revisits the Admissibility of Evidence of Product’s Compliance with Governmental Regulations or...

In 2014, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated opinion in Tincher v. Omega Flex, Inc., 628 Pa. 296, 104 A.3d 328 (2014). That case was a product liability action based on a design defect. The defense bar...more

J.S. Held

Exploring Wood-Framed Roof Collapses: Causation and Identifying Responsible Parties

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AN OVERVIEW OF THE CAUSES OF ROOF FAILURE - Collapses of wood-framed roofs are frequently reported in North America, ranging from simple agricultural roofs to complex roofs in industrial buildings. Controllable factors...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

West Virginia Supreme Court Offers Guidance on Contractual and Implied Indemnity Claims

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals recently reversed, in part, and affirmed, in part, a lower court decision regarding dismissal of contractual indemnity and implied indemnity claims. WW Consultants was the design...more

Frantz Ward LLP

The Design Liability Hot Potato: The Spectrum Between Collaboration and Delegated Design

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The Benefits of Collaboration - In today’s construction industry, it is no secret that there is always increasing pressure to speed up schedules and to keep costs down. One key factor that can help achieve these goals is to...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Emergency Arbitration Proceedings and How They Relate to Construction Disputes

A recent win by a team of Bradley construction attorneys highlighted the role emergency arbitration proceedings can play in a dispute subject to an arbitration agreement.  The ongoing case involves the design and construction...more

K&L Gates LLP

New Jersey Legislature Amends Statute of Limitations for Defect Claims Brought by Condominium and Homeowners' Associations

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Common interest communities in New Jersey likely have more time to assert construction and design defect claims under the New Jersey Legislature’s 2022 amendment to N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1. Condominium associations, cooperative...more

Porter Hedges LLP

Two Key Takeaways from the 35th Annual Construction Law Conference in Texas

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Earlier this month, our firm was well-represented at the 35th Annual Construction Law Conference in San Antonio, Texas. As always, the conference presented great opportunities to visit with colleagues and other construction...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Texas Contractors No Longer Bear Risk for Defects in Owner-Furnished Designs

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The Texas Legislature recently passed a new law concerning owner-furnished designs for construction projects, thereby overturning more than 100 years of precedent in Texas previously holding that contractors bore the risk of...more

Miller Nash LLP

Owner’s Design Defects Can Excuse Contractor’s Own Defective Performance

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Generally, the implied warranty of the adequacy of the plans and specifications, also known as the Spearin Doctrine, allocates risk to the owner for any defect in the design of the project. This influential federal decision...more

White and Williams LLP

Utah Digs Deep and Finds “Design Defect” Includes Pre-Construction Geotechnical Reports

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The Supreme Court of Utah recently found that an incorrect pre-construction geotechnical engineering report is a “defective design.” Thus, actions arising from an incorrect geotechnical report are appropriately governed by...more

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP

Law Brief®: David Pfeffer and Richard Schoenstein Discuss the Legal Implications of Infrastructure Collapses

On the latest Law Brief® episode, David Pfeffer, Partner and Chair of the Construction Practice, joins Host Richard Schoenstein to discuss the legal implications of building collapses, and more common partial collapses. David...more

Butler Snow LLP

Tennessee Construction Legislative Updates

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The Tennessee legislature recently passed the Construction Industry Payment Protection Act (“CIPPA”), SB2681/HB2706, which offers significant changes to the Tennessee construction industry. Not only does the act amend...more

Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP

The Relevance Of The Spearin Doctrine In An Increasingly Design-Build World

Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Spearin, 248 U.S. 132 (1918), virtually all construction risk was borne by the contractor, except for (i) express carve-outs set forth in a contract or (ii)...more

Benesch

Ohio Supreme Court: All Claims for Defective Construction or Design Must Be Brought Within 10 Years of Substantial Completion

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The Court’s decision in New Riegel Local School District Board of Education, et al. v. The Buehrer Group Architecture & Engineering, Inc., et al. interprets Ohio’s Statute of Repose,  which generally requires certain...more

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP

What Every HOA and Condo in Transition/Turnover Should Know About Florida’s Statutes of Limitations and Repose

Florida’s Statute of Limitations and Statute of Repose for construction and design defect claims are each contained in § 95.11(3)(c), Florida Statutes, which provides, in relevant part: We are frequently retained by...more

White and Williams LLP

Massachusetts Court Holds Statute of Repose Bars Certain Asbestos-Related Construction Claims

Claims Arising Out of a Deficiency or Negligence in the Design, Planning, Construction and General Administration of Improvements to Real Property Among Those Affected. In Stearns v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, the...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Florida Courts Consider Control, Not Contractual Privity, for Negligence Claims Against Design Professionals - Construction and...

Though many states require a contractor to hold a contract directly with a design professional to pursue a claim against a designer for design omissions or defects, a recent case confirms that, in Florida, contractual privity...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Federal Court Expresses Public Policy Concern Regarding Economic Loss Rule

In Prestress Services Industries of TN, LLC v. W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co., 280 F.Supp.3d 908 (N.D. Miss. 2017), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi faced a “rather interesting...more

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

Appellate Group News: 2017 Year In Review

2017 was a significant year for Murtha Cullina’s appellate practice group. The firm was recognized by the Connecticut Law Tribune as its "Appellate Litigation Department of the Year." 2017 also marked two anniversary dates of...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Bankruptcy Court Holds That “Economic Waste” Doctrine, As Adopted In Wisconsin, Prevented Owner From Recovering Costs To Repair...

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WTE-S&S AG Enters., LLC v. GHD, Inc., 2017 Bankr. LEXIS 2343 (Bankr. N. D. Ill. August 18, 2017) - This breach of contract dispute arises out of a contract to design and build a cow-manure digester on a farm in Wisconsin. ...more

Robinson+Cole Construction Law Zone

Tic Toc Tic Toc: The Clock Is Running on Construction and Design Claims by the State of Connecticut Beginning October 1, 2017

Our readers may recall that Public Act No. 15-28 was signed by the Governor back in 2015, subjecting the State of Connecticut and its political subdivisions to a statute of limitations for asserting actions and claims arising...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

The Spearin Doctrine Revisited: Penzel Construction v. Jackson R-2 School District

In a recent Missouri appellate decision, the court recognized and reaffirmed the Spearin Doctrine which provides that an owner impliedly warrants the adequacy of plans and specifications it provides to a contractor. In Penzel...more

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