In Beacon Residential Community Association v. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP et al., No. A134542, the Court of Appeal reversed demurrers by the architects, holding that under the common law and Senate Bill No. 800 (“SB800”), a design professional may be liable in negligence to a third party purchaser.
The architects had successfully argued that under the common law enunciated in Bily v. Arthur Young & Co. (1992) 3 Cal. 4th 370 and Weseloh Family Ltd. Partnership v. K.L. Wessell Construction Co., Inc. (2004) 125 Cal. App. 4th 152, they owed no duty of care to the homeowners association or its members, and consequently could not be liable. The trial court agreed holding liability could not be premised on negligent design and the HOA was required to show the design professionals had “control” in the construction process, assuming a role beyond that of providing design recommendations to the owner.
The Court of Appeal disagreed, and reversed, holding Bily and Weseloh do not preclude liability of professionals to third parties, but instead merely define the scope of that duty. Applying the Bily policy factors to the present case, the Court found the architects could be liable to the third party purchasers for negligence.
Additionally, the Court found that regardless of liability under the common law, SB800 clearly establishes an independent basis for tort liability for a design professional who, as a result of a negligent act or omission causes, in whole or in part, a violation of the standards for residential housing.
This is a major ruling because the Court expressly clarified that design professionals may be liable in negligence to third party purchasers under both the common law and SB800 even if they did not have “control” in the construction process.
This document is intended to provide you with information about construction law related developments. The contents of this document are not intended to provide specific legal advice. This communication may be considered advertising in some jurisdictions.