CM 500
Design and Construction Law

Welcome

Welcome to Design and Construction Law. Most design professionals and contractors wish to achieve a number of goals. Not only do you find it necessary to create a technically sound structure that advances “state of the art” and meets your client's requirements and the community's aesthetic needs, but you must also try to stay within budget and time constraints. Attempts to achieve these goals expose you to risk and liabilities, sometimes resulting in legal action.

Course Description

Legal issues arising from design and construction services, focusing on risk management and liability awareness. Topical areas include basic legal doctrines, the design professional/client relationship, contractor selection, the construction process, and professional practice problems. Washington State law is featured.

Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to

• understand the design professional's and contractor's relationships with each other, clients, subcontractors, workers, and the public;
• recognize the professions' risks and exposures;
• help protect yourself and your firm against liability; and
• know how a professional should react to a suit or claim.

Course Content

Each week you should read cases and problems in Sweet's text and other materials as assigned. You're not expected to read the text “cover to cover”.

Lesson One: Chapters 1–6

• Sources of law
• American judicial system
• Legal research
• Forms of association
• Agency relationship
• Contract formation
• Remedies for contract breach

Lesson Two: Chapters 7, 10 (except .08–.11), 11

• Torts
• Professional registration
• Pontracting for design services

Lesson Three: Chapters 12, 14

• Professional design services
• Professional liability

Lesson Four: Chapters 10 (.08–.11), 15, 16; Hayton paper

• Risk management
• Copyright
• Contractor licensing

Lesson Five: Chapters 17, 18

• Construction contracts and pricing
• Competitive bidding

Lesson Six: Chapters 19–21

• Construction contract rights and duties
• Contract interpretation
• Changes

Lesson Seven: Chapters 22–23

• Payment
• Performance problems

Lesson Eight: Chapters 24–27

• Defects
• Subsurface problems
• Time
• Claims

Lesson Nine: Chapters 28, 31

• Subcontracting
• Construction-related accidents
• Indemnification

Lesson Ten: Chapters 29, 30, 32, 33

• Design professional as judge
• Construction dispute resolution
• Surety bonds
• Termination of construction contract

Weekly Discussions

Each week—from 6 pm Pacific on Friday through 6 pm the following Friday—we'll conduct a virtual discussion on that lesson's cases and topical questions posed by the instructor. To access our weekly discussions, you'll need a UW NetID and personal password.

Problem Submittals

Each week—by 6 pm Pacific on Friday—you'll answer 1–3 problems from the text. To submit your answers, you'll need a UW NetID and personal password.

Research Paper

A research paper is required.

Course Evaluation

You'll earn scores on your paper (50%), your participation in class discussion (25%), and your problem submittals (25%). Grades will be based on your total scores.

---

©2006, University of Washington. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or
by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.