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Developer contracted with Engineering Firm to investigate a property before Developer bought it. Engineer inspected the property and found no defects. But there were defects. Developer sued the Engineer for professional negligence. Florida, like most other states, has a legal doctrine called the economic loss rule. Simply stated, the economic loss rule says you can't sue in tort for purely economic damages absent privity of contract. Simple, right? Not surprisingly, the law surrounding the economic loss rule is hopelessly confused, and it has the inequitable result of depriving some injured persons of a remedy. But this was Developer's lucky day. While the trial court dismissed Developer's lawsuit against Engineer under the economic loss rule, the Supreme Court overruled, holding that professional engineers owe their clients a duty to perform their services as similar professionals in the community would, whether or not the engineer has a direct contract with the client. Moral: If you're a professional engineer, call the carrier and beef up the coverage. Moransais v. Heathman. Moransais v. Heathman, 1999 WL 462629; 1999 Fla. LEXIS 1134 (Fla. 1999) (opinion subject to revision). |
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