A Guide to a Design Professional's Potential Liability in Georgia   Tags: products_liability, property, real_estate  

In all of an architect’s undertakings in the design and coordination of a project, he or she must exercise particular standards of professional care and skill, in the interest of minimizing the risk of harm to others. The architect owes these duties to the client, contractors, and in some instances to third parties such as subcontractors, constructions workers, and those who foreseeably use the building. This research guide collects and organizes legal materials that discuss an architect's potential liabilities in Georgia.

The architect owes these duties to the client, contractors, and in some instances to third parties such as subcontractors, constructions workers, and those who foreseeably use the building.

In architectural malpractice litigation, three basic sources of liability may arise

1. Liability to the Client
2. Liability to the Contractor
3. Liability to Third Persons

Failures in the design and construction of architectural structures may result in various harms. Physical failures can result in personal injury to members of the public or a defective design may render a structure that a client cannot use for its intended purpose.

Under Georgia Law, architects may be held liable for professional negligence under theories of contract and tort for personal injury, property damage, or economic loss. This research guide presents resources and annotations regarding each of these potential

This annotation discusses the potential liabilities that architectural professionals in Georgia may encounter, as well as the particular issues associated with their litigation. Particularly, the guide provides information regarding liabilities that stem from professional conduct including design services and project supervision.

This research guide seeks to present the legal issues relating to architectural negligence and to aggregate into one resource the legal research materials related to the subject.

The author hopes that design professionals as well as attorneys with little or no familiarity with the subject matter find the material accessible. With that hope in mind, you will find linked text throughout this guide, which when clicked will either present additional information or take the user to another helpful resource.

Gabriel Azar, in the Fall of 2006, is a third year law student at the Georgia State University College of Law. He currently serves as Executive Editor of the Georgia State University Law Review. After graduating in the spring of 2007, Gabriel will pursue a career in Patent Law as an associate with Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett and Dunner, LLP in its Atlanta office.

Bibliographies on this Web site were prepared for educational purposes by law students as part of Nancy P. Johnson's Advanced Legal Research course. The Law Library does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided. Thorough legal research requires a researcher to update materials from date of publication; please note the semester and year the bibliography was prepared.

The annotations provided here do not constitute legal advice. This research guide is not comprehensive. Every case giving rise to potential liability for an architectural professional is complex and presents its own unique facts.

The author last updated this guide in November 2006. Legal materials are updated often. Therefore a user of this guide should always check any case or statute to ensure that it is still good law. Additionally, secondary sources, like the various journal articles and treatises provided, receive new annotations and updates on a regular basis. Look for the most recent version of the publication and always check in the supplemental pocket parts.

Do not rely on the author of guide’s interpretation of the cases or statutes provided. The same caveat applies to authors of referenced treatises and journals.

Secondary Sources: This guide references many secondary sources that compile cases from various jurisdictions, e.g. American Law Reports (ALR). Because the legal issues considered by this guide—tort and contract— are matters of state law, only Georgia cases will have "binding effect" in Georgia. If, however, Georgia courts have not addressed a particular issue, Georgia courts may view as persuasive relevant decisions from other jurisdictions.

Finally, use this guide as a starting point. If you have questions about how to proceed from there, then talk to your reference librarians. They are your best resource in the law library.