Why do cases settle?   It’s usually because the parties to a dispute recognize that there is an uncertainty as to what the ultimate outcome might be in the jury’s verdict or an arbitration award and they also recognize that they will incur substantial costs in taking...

Most sizeable claims against Architects include claims related to the services provided by some Engineering Subconsultants who are under contract to the Architect and presumably have contractual indemnity and duty to defend obligations to the Architect where a claim...

CCP 411.35 (b) (1) requires that before filing a complaint or cross-complaint against a design professional for professional negligence, the lawyer representing the plaintiff and the lawyer(s) representing the cross-complainant(s) must serve a certificate declaring...

Many design firms have faced the following scenario:  A building, or series of buildings (e.g., college campus) has serious defect issues, e.g., water intrusion.  The damages are catastrophic requiring reconstruction in the tens of millions of dollars.  In the...

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk that design professionals have always faced on their projects due to delays. It has been almost a year since WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. The pandemic has...

For decades, we have told design professionals to eliminate the word "supervise" from the owner/prime design consultant agreement, make it clear that safety on the job site is the sole responsibility of the general contractor, and no one will have an argument that...