Project designer may not unreasonably rely on information supplied by others
The Construction Risk.com Report points to a Wisconsin appellate court decision holding a contract clause permitting an architect to rely on reports from other firms does not relieve the architect of its duty to inform the owner of inadequacies in the report and the need for additional investigation.
The architect based its design for the project on information in a structural engineering report supplied by the owner. Investigating the structure was outside the scope of the architect's undertaking. But the owner produced evidence that the architect's reliance on the information in the report was unreasonable and that the architect should have recommended further study before basing its design for the project on the information in the report. Accordingly, the architect was not entitled to summary judgment on the owner's breach of contract, professional negligence and misrepresentation claims. The case is styled Kerry Inc. v. Angus-Young Associates, Inc. and you can secure a copy by clicking, Download file.