Can a client sue a designer for the failures of a contractor that the client hired?
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Can a client sue a designer for the failures of a contractor that the client hired?
My wife is an interior designer. She recently designed a home and suggested a construction
company for the renovation that the client, not my wife, ended up hiring. That builder has
been massively behind schedule and has not paid subcontractors on time so the work is
taking much longer to be completed. The client is saying that she is holding my wife
responsible for all the problems going on with the job. My wife has even paid out of pocket to
cover things the builder hadn’t purchased or was behind on payment just to help the project
move ahead. Can my wife be held responsible?
Asked on October 5, 2016 under Business Law, Maryland
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
No, she is not liable unless she was actually supervising or managing the contractor's work, or guaranteed their performance, or has some financial tie to them, or if the problem(s) were in some way due to her design (which does not seem to have been the case). In the absence of a conntection or or rule in managing (e.g. "GC'ing") the contractor, she is not liable for another entity's or person's negligence or intentional breach of their obligations simply becasuse she suggested them. To be liable, she must have able to exert control over what happened or otherwise to have been at fault; a "suggestion" does not estabish enough fault for what occured.
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