Architects are easy targets for lawsuits – frivolous and otherwise

The Straight Line, Issue 5, December 2017

Any fool with $250 and a typewriter can sue anybody. In my own practice I have seen an architect sued over mechanical defects, a mechanical engineer sued over structural defects and a structural engineer sued over building envelope defects. A contractor often has no money and insurance will not cover workmanship defects, so the plaintiff will try to place liability on insured “deep pockets” defendants such as architects and engineers.