Florida construction attorneys
When a building fails because of what was drawn, specified or planned, the builder may not be the right defendant. We trace the failure back to the plans and to the professional who approved them.
Design and development claims
Some defects come from the drawings, the specifications or the development plan, and the crew that followed them did what it was told.
Florida's construction-defect statute treats a failure of the design of real property to meet the applicable professional standards of care, at the time of governmental approval, as a construction defect in its own right. The people responsible and the proof differ from a workmanship case.
The responsible party might be an architect, engineer, surveyor or geologist, or a developer who planned and delivered the project. Before naming anyone, we need to know who prepared which plans, who sealed them, and who actually made the decision that failed.
What to do first
A design claim is proved from documents. The plans as issued, as revised and as built can tell different stories.
Ask for the permit set, revisions, addenda, specifications and as-built drawings. Chapter 558 lets parties request an exchange of plans and specifications, but you can start collecting now.
The agreement with the architect or engineer sets the scope of work and may limit who can be held liable. Look for any prominent liability statement and who is named as a party.
Photograph the problem and note when it appeared. Evidence that the failure follows the design rather than the workmanship is valuable.
Emails, meeting notes and change directives show who decided what. Do not delete messages with the design team, contractor or developer.
What a design claim can address
The statute's definition reaches deficiencies in design, specifications, surveying, planning, supervision and observation of construction, not only the physical building work.
A claim may name a design firm, a developer, and the builder together, each on a different ground.
Drainage, structural, waterproofing or layout problems that come from what was drawn and specified, measured against the professional standard of care at the time of governmental approval, as Chapter 558 defines a defect.
The definition of construction defect also covers deficiencies in surveying and in supervision or observation of construction, which can matter where a professional was hired to check the work as it went up.
The statute's definition of contractor includes a person engaged in the business of designing, developing or constructing real property. That can bring a developer within the same notice process as the builder.
Who can be responsible
The same chapter that governs defect notices also limits when an individual designer can be held personally liable.
Chapter 558, Florida Statutes, defines a design professional as a licensed architect, landscape architect, engineer, surveyor or geologist, or a registered interior designer. Section 558.0035 says a design professional employed by a business entity is not individually liable for negligence within a professional services contract if five conditions are met, including a conspicuous statement in the contract and damages that are solely economic. The claimant must serve the notice of claim on the design professional as applicable, and a party served may forward it to others it believes responsible, within 10 days, or 30 days where an association of more than 20 parcels is involved.
Design professional liability
Four questions decide whether a design claim is ready and who belongs in it.
How we work
Design cases are documentary and technical. We assemble the record first, then decide who to notify and on what basis.
Talk with our teamA simpler way forward
You do not need to know whether the design was wrong before you call. Bring the drawings and a description of the failure.
Describe the building, the problem, and who designed and developed it.
We tell you whether the problem looks like a design issue, a construction issue, or both, and what proof would settle it.
If you retain us, fees are discussed at the consultation and are no fee unless we recover. We manage the notice, the exchange of documents and the deadlines.
Design and development questions
Who is responsible turns on the contract, the licence and the plans.
Ask us about your situation ↗Chapter 558 lists, among the causes of a construction defect, a failure of the design of real property to meet the applicable professional standards of care at the time of governmental approval. The definition also covers deficiencies in specifications, surveying, planning and supervision or observation of construction.
The statute names persons licensed in Florida as architects, landscape architects, engineers, surveyors or geologists, and registered interior designers. A developer is not a design professional by that definition, but the statute's definition of a contractor includes those in the business of designing, developing or constructing.
It depends on the contract. Section 558.0035 protects an employee of a business entity from individual liability for negligence if the contract meets its conditions, including a prominent statement and solely economic damages. If the conditions are not met, the individual may not have that protection.
Generally yes. Chapter 558 names design professionals among the parties who receive a notice of claim, and a claimant may not file an action covered by the chapter without following it. The notice generally goes to the person you contracted with when the claim arises from a contract.
Section 95.11 has an action-founded-on-design paragraph with a 4-year period and a 7-year outer limit, and a separate 2-year paragraph for professional malpractice that runs from discovery and is limited to those in privity. Which one fits depends on the claim and the parties, and we identify it.
Proof and further reading
Case resultWe won $50K for a client injured on Hollywood Boardwalk after a construction crew failed to provide proper safety measures for pedestrians.
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Case resultWe won $80K+ for homeowners stuck with a defective solar system, canceling their finance deal, refunding payments, and fixing their roof.
Read the case →