{"id":9254,"date":"2014-09-05T06:01:47","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T12:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=9254"},"modified":"2014-09-03T14:02:18","modified_gmt":"2014-09-03T20:02:18","slug":"new-recently-revisited-florida-law-affecting-construction-disputes-possible-implications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/new-recently-revisited-florida-law-affecting-construction-disputes-possible-implications\/","title":{"rendered":"New and Recently Revisited Florida Law Affecting Construction Disputes and Possible Implications"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lynn Maynard Gollin – Gordon & Rees LLP – August 25, 2014<\/p>\n

In March 2014, Florida\u2019s Fourth District Court of Appeal issued The School Board of Broward County, Florida v. Pierce GodwinAlexander & Linville, 137 So. 3d 1059 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014), an opinion that addresses two legal issues of interest to parties involved in construction disputes \u2013 an architect\u2019s standard of care and the \u201cfirst cost\u201d defense.<\/p>\n

Architect\u2019s Standard of Care<\/p>\n

As a matter of law, Florida courts have uniformly applied a standard of care upon professionals that requires that the professional render services in a manner \u201cused by similar professionals in the community under similar circumstances.\u201d Moransais v. Heathman, 744 So.2d 973, 976 (Fla. 1999). See also, Pierce Godwin, 137 So. 3d at 1065 (and cases cited therein). An architect owes a duty of care to the client to render design services that are in compliance with applicable laws, including local ordinances. Id. See Robsol, Inc. v. Garris, 358 So. 2d 865, 866 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978).<\/p>\n

In Pierce Godwin, the architect and the school board entered into a contract wherein the school board argued the architect agreed to \u201cperform under a standard of care higher than the common law standard\u201d discussed above. 137 So. 3d at 1066. The architect argued that the \u201cdesign plans were prepared with ordinary and reasonable skill in accordance with the standard of care applicable to architects\u201d and no higher standard of care needed to be met. Id.\u00a0 The Fourth District court found otherwise stating, \u201c[w]here an express provision within a professional services contract provides for a heightened standard of care, however, the professional must perform in accordance with the terms of the contract.\u201d Id. See also, CH2M Hill Southeast, Inc. v. Pinellas County, 698 So. 2d 1238, 1240 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997).<\/p>\n

School board contracts are not custom made for each project and the terms of design contracts are generally known throughout the design community. But it is \u201call in how you say it\u201d and it appears that in this case, at least from the architect\u2019s perspective, it was not said well with respect to the applicable standard of care required.<\/p>\n

Calculating Damages \u2013 First Costs<\/p>\n

The affirmative defense of \u201cfirst costs\u201d is raised by a defendant to ensure that the damages awarded to the plaintiff (school board in Pierce Godwin) \u201cdo not include costs for construction that the school board would have incurred if the initial design plans matched the final design plans.\u201d Id. at 1070. The Fourth District indicated in Pierce Godwin that it was not familiar with a defense referred to as \u201cfirst costs.\u201d However, when circumstances warrant, most experts and claims consultants apply \u201cfirst costs\u201d in their damages calculation.<\/p>\n

The purpose of the defense is to ensure that as a result of a contract breach, the damages are awarded fairly; e.g., the amount of damages awarded does not exceed what a party is entitled to receive to return the contracting parties to the same position that they were in before the breach occurred. Id. at 1070. In other cases, \u201cfirst costs\u201d have been referred to as \u201cbetterment\u201d or \u201cadded value.\u201d Furthermore, courts in Florida have awarded damages, reduced by \u201cfirst costs\u201d in several reported cases, as have courts throughout the country. The court in the Fifth District summed up its viewpoint on \u201cfirst costs\u201d in connection with damage\u00a0 calculations finding, \u201c[i]f defective construction can be repaired, the proper measure of the owner\u2019s damages is the cost to repair which substantially gives the owner that to which he is entitled either under an express or implied contract.\u201d Lochrane Engineering, Inc. v. Willingham Realgrowth Inv. Fund, Ltd, 552 So.2d 228, 231 (Fla. 5th 1989).<\/p>\n

One Last Thought<\/p>\n

Though the issue has not been directly decided by the Florida Supreme Court, numerous district courts in Florida have determined that design professionals\u2019 duties, in certain circumstances, run to third parties with whom the professional is not in privity. Trikon Sunrise Assocs., LLC v. Brice Bldg. Co., 41 So. 3d 315, 318 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010). See also, A.R. Moyer, Inc. v. Graham, 285 So.2d 397, 402 (Fla. 1973); In Re: Standard Jury Instructions\u2014Contract and Business Cases, 116 So. 3d 284, 305 (Fla 2013) (discussing application of Restatement (Second) of Contracts \u00a7 302 (1981), collecting cases). Now that the application of the economic loss doctrine has been limited by the Florida Supreme Court, it is probable that third-party beneficiary claims in contract disputes will be pursued. See Tiara Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc., 110 So. 3d 399, 407 (Fla. 2013) (limiting use of the economic loss rule to the product liability context).<\/p>\n

via New and recently revisited Florida law affecting construction disputes and possible implications – Lexology<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lynn Maynard Gollin – Gordon & Rees LLP – August 25, 2014 In March 2014, Florida\u2019s Fourth District Court of Appeal issued The School Board of Broward County, Florida v. Pierce GodwinAlexander & Linville, 137 So. 3d 1059 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014), an opinion that addresses two legal issues of interest to parties involved in… Continue reading New and Recently Revisited Florida Law Affecting Construction Disputes and Possible Implications<\/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":[164],"tags":[118,164,284,214],"class_list":["post-9254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dispute","tag-architect","tag-construction-dispute","tag-design-professionals","tag-standard-of-care","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew and Recently Revisited Florida Law Affecting Construction Disputes and Possible Implications - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/new-recently-revisited-florida-law-affecting-construction-disputes-possible-implications\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New and Recently Revisited Florida Law Affecting Construction Disputes and Possible Implications - Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lynn Maynard Gollin – Gordon & Rees LLP – August 25, 2014 In March 2014, Florida\u2019s Fourth District Court of Appeal issued The School Board of Broward County, Florida v. 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