MASS. COURT HOLDS ARCHITECT MAY BE FORCED TO INDEMNIFY PROJECT OWNER FOR INJURY TO THIRD PARTY

MASSACHUSETTS COURT HOLDS ARCHITECT MAY BE FORCED TO INDEMNIFY
PROJECT OWNER FOR INJURY TO THIRD PARTY

In LeBlanc v. Logan Hilton Joint Venture, 942 N.E. 2d 970 (Mass. 2011), the property owner, Logan Hilton Joint Venture (“Hilton”), and the building architect, Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc. (“Cambridge Seven”), entered into a contract to build The Hilton Hotel at Logan International Airport in Boston. The contract between Hilton and Cambridge Seven required Cambridge Seven to verify for the owner, with supporting documentation, that the contractor complied with the construction contract. An indemnification clause in the contract also required the architect to “indemnify Hilton against all financial losses caused by negligent acts, errors or omissions committed in the course of its contractual professional services or those of its consultants”.

A maintenance electrician was electrocuted while working on an electric switch gear. The electrician’s estate sued Hilton, Cambridge Seven and others for negligence. Hilton sought indemnity from Cambridge Seven.

The Court held that Cambridge Seven breached its contract when it failed to monitor and report the contractor’s failure to mount appropriate warning signage. According to the Court, Cambridge Seven’s breach created a “field of risk” for third parties likely to come into contact with the electric switch gear. The Court held architects performing contractual duties are liable to third parties, not parties to the owner-architect contract, who are exposed to danger as a result of the architects’ failure to carry out their obligations.

Architects are advised to observe all aspects of the project which fall within the architects’ duties. Failure to report a contractor’s or subcontractor’s defective work to the owner may expose the architect to direct liability and indemnity where the contract requires indemnity and a third party is injured due to the defective work.