{"id":888056,"date":"2016-04-06T10:49:27","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T16:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=888056"},"modified":"2016-04-06T10:49:27","modified_gmt":"2016-04-06T16:49:27","slug":"construction-defects-defective-plans-and-specifications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defects-defective-plans-and-specifications\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction Defects &#8211; Defective Plans and Specifications"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>J. Norman Stark | Legally Speaking | March 31, 2016<\/p>\n<p>Construction defect and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/how-to-contain-construction-disputes\/\" target=\"_blank\">legal liability due to defective construction documents<\/a> \u2013 the plans and specifications, has been the subject of many highly contested claims. Who is to bear the brunt and loss \u2013 the Owner, Architect, Engineer, or Contractor?<\/p>\n<h2>Construction Law Cases<\/h2>\n<p>The landmark construction industry legal decision concerning the <em>Implied Warranty of Adequacy<\/em>, stated:<strong> \u201d<em>Where one agrees to do for a fixed sum, a thing possible to be performed, he will not be excused or become entitled to additional compensation because unforeseen difficulties are encountered&#8230;But if the contractor is bound to build according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/contractors-can-be-liable-for-following-owners-directives\/\" target=\"_blank\">plans and specifications prepared by the owner<\/a>, the contractor will not be responsible for the consequences of defects in the plans and specifications.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><em> United States v. Spearin<\/em>, 248 U.S. 132 (1918).<\/p>\n<p>This decision, known as the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/contractors-beware-marylands-economic-loss-doctrine-is-alive-and-well\/\" target=\"_blank\">Spearin Doctrine<\/a><\/strong>, applies in public and private construction industry projects, having been adopted by the courts in virtually every state. In Ohio, the Supreme Court denied the contractor\u2019s <em>Spearin <\/em>claim, despite evidence of the inadequacy of the plans and specifications that included untimely owner responses to 700 RFIs, 250 Field Work Orders, and 85 ASI\u2019s (Architect\u2019s Supplemental Information). The Court\u2019s opinion was based upon the contract\u2019s \u201cno-damages-for-delay\u201d clause, which limited the contractor\u2019s breach of contract damages to the remedy specified in the contract \u2013 merely an extension of time. This decision to severely limit the scope of <em>Spearin<\/em><em>, in this Ohio case,<\/em>held that the specific terms of the contract governed, and may preclude the contractor\u2019s right to invoke the <em>Spearin Doctrine <\/em>as a basis for its claim.<em> Dugan &amp; Meyers Construction Co. v. Ohio Dept. of Administrative Services,<\/em>\u00a0113 Ohio St. 3d 226, 864 N.E.2d 68 (2007).<\/p>\n<h2>Construction Contracts &#8211; Building Safety and Dangerous Conditions<\/h2>\n<p>Contractors\u2019 building safety and other claims may hinge upon specific facts, and the terms of the contract. For example, if the contractor is bound to build according to plans and specifications prepared by the owner, the contractor will\u00a0<strong>not <\/strong>be responsible for the dangerous conditions and consequences of defects in the plans and specifications. Consistent with this legal principle&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/construction-defects-defective-plans-specifications-j-norman-stark\" target=\"_blank\">To finish reading this article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>J. Norman Stark | Legally Speaking | March 31, 2016 Construction defect and legal liability due to defective construction documents \u2013 the plans and specifications, has been the subject of many highly contested claims. Who is to bear the brunt and loss \u2013 the Owner, Architect, Engineer, or Contractor? Construction Law Cases The landmark construction&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defects-defective-plans-and-specifications\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Construction Defects &#8211; Defective Plans and Specifications<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14,4,9009],"tags":[19,284,9160],"class_list":["post-888056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-2","category-construction-defects","category-design-professionals","tag-construction-defects-2","tag-design-professionals","tag-spearin-doctrine","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Construction Defects - Defective Plans and Specifications - Advise &amp; 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