{"id":905683,"date":"2026-05-19T16:31:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T22:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=905683"},"modified":"2026-05-19T16:31:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T22:31:56","slug":"spearin-doctrine-owner-responsible-for-defective-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/spearin-doctrine-owner-responsible-for-defective-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"The Spearin Doctrine: Owner Responsible for Defective Plans in Dispute with General Contractor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

John Mark Goodman and Joe Mack Curry II | BuildSmart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spearin<\/em> doctrine is alive and well in Maryland. Pursuant to that doctrine, owners who provide plans and specifications to a contractor impliedly warrant that information and may be responsible if that information is defective. Last week, a Maryland appeals court applied the century-old Spearin<\/em> doctrine to affirm a trial court victory for Balfour Beatty in its dispute with the owner of the Turkish-American Community Center (TACC) in Lanham, Maryland. The case involved a $71 million contract to construct a multi-building campus for Turkish-Americans to celebrate Turkish culture. Following completion of the project, the owner refused to make final payment to Balfour Beatty claiming that its work was defective. In response, Balfour Beatty blamed the owner for providing defective plans and specifications. The trial court ruled in favor of Balfour Beatty and the Appellate Court of Maryland affirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court\u2019s decision relies upon the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s landmark decision in\u00a0U.S. v. Spearin<\/em>, 248 U.S. 132 (1918)<\/a>. In\u00a0Spearin<\/em>, the Supreme Court held that owners impliedly warrant the information, plans, and specifications that they provide to the general contractor: \u201c[I]f the contractor is bound to build according to plans and specifications prepared by the owner, the contractor will not be responsible for the consequences of defects in the plans and specifications\u201d (Spearin<\/em>, 248 U.S. at 136<\/a>). Importantly, this implied warranty \u201cis not overcome by the general clauses requiring the contractor to examine the site, to check up the plans, and to assume responsibility for the work until completion and acceptance\u201d<\/sup>\u00a0(Spearin<\/em>, 248 U.S. at 137<\/a>). Courts in many jurisdictions, including Maryland, have since adopted the\u00a0Spearin<\/em>\u00a0doctrine to protect contractors who rely upon an owner\u2019s defective design work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In TACC, the owner\u2019s consultant performed the initial design, which was purportedly 80% complete. Balfour Beatty completed the remaining 20% of the design work pursuant to its obligation under the \u201cdesign-build\u201d agreement. The court nonetheless found that Balfour Beatty was not responsible for defects in the design. The court based this conclusion on statements in the preamble to the contract regarding the history of the design and a representation that the owner was not aware of any design errors or omissions. The court also found that the final 20% of the \u201cdesign\u201d work was mainly coordination work with the architectural drawings and other trades. As such, the court determined Balfour Beatty did not accept full-design responsibility but was entitled to rely upon the design that the owner provided and implicitly warranted under the well-worn Spearin<\/em> doctrine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A full copy of the court\u2019s unreported decision is available\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes – please call Advise & Consult, Inc. at 801.641.8304, or email experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republished with permission. The article, \u201cThe Spearin Doctrine: Owner Responsible for Defective Plans in Dispute with General Contractor\u201d was originally published on BuildSmart by Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. Copyright 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Mark Goodman and Joe Mack Curry II | BuildSmart The Spearin doctrine is alive and well in Maryland. Pursuant to that doctrine, owners who provide plans and specifications to a contractor impliedly warrant that information and may be responsible if that information is defective. Last week, a Maryland appeals court applied the century-old Spearin doctrine to affirm a… Continue reading The Spearin Doctrine: Owner Responsible for Defective Plans in Dispute with General Contractor<\/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],"tags":[9895,12,9160],"class_list":["post-905683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-2","tag-advise-consult","tag-construction","tag-spearin-doctrine","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Spearin Doctrine: Owner Responsible for Defective Plans in Dispute with General Contractor - 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