11
O P I N I O N
T he Accepted-Work Doctrine – also known as the Acceptance Doctrine, the Completed and Acceptance Rule, or, in Florida, the Slavin Doctrine – deals with the liability of contractors and design professionals for defects after completion of the project. Under the Accepted-Work Doctrine, contractors and designers are relieved of liability to injured third parties after a completed project goes back to the owner. Is there a doctrine in the house? Part 5
William Quatman GENERAL COUNSEL
Under this doctrine, once the owner has accepted the work, a contractor is not liable to third parties who have no contractual relations with it, for damages later suffered by reason of its negligence in the performance of its contract duties. Essentially, a contractor, architect, or engineer is relieved of liability to injured third parties caused by a patent, or obvious, defect after control of the completed premises has been turned over to the owner. Under this doctrine, the work of the contractor must be fully completed and accepted before the owner becomes liable and the contractor is exonerated for injuries to third parties caused by the defective work. WHY ADOPT SUCH A RULE? The rationale for the Accept- ed-Work Doctrine is that by occupying and resum- ing possession of the work, the owner theoreti- cally deprives the contractor of the opportunity to rectify its wrongs. Before accepting the work as
being in full compliance with the terms of the con- tract, the project owner is presumed to have made a reasonably careful inspection thereof, and to know of its defects. Therefore, if the owner takes the project in a defective condition, the owner ac- cepts the defects as their own. The concept is embodied in Par. 12.3 of the AIA A201 General Conditions (2017 ed.), under which the project owner has the right to accept the contractor’s work with defects and to negotiate a reduction in the contract price for that defective condition. Presumably, such an owner would also assume the risk of those known defects. Not only does this doctrine provide an affirmative defense for contractors as to patent construction defects, but it has been applied to design professionals as well for patent defects in their designs.
See WILLIAM QUATMAN, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER December 10, 2018, ISSUE 1275
Made with FlippingBook Annual report