Cologne, Germany -- (SBWire) -- 07/17/2013 --GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: The Claimant is the owner of a plot of land beside the cliff line in Rügen. He wanted to redevelop the old building there. The outline building permit applied for was likely rejected because stability was not guaranteed. In the end, the Claimant was seemingly granted the necessary planning permission on condition that a ground survey be implemented at the site of the old building. The Claimant subsequently requested that the Defendants, an architectural firm and the structural engineer, carry out the redevelopment project. These parties did not appear to implement the ground survey.
Eventually, part of the cliff line broke off after approximately one and a half years, whereupon a usage prohibition was initially applied vis-à-vis the Claimant to the redeveloped old building and later a demolition order.
The Claimant asserted damage claims against the Defendants, which the regional court dismissed and the appeal court allowed. The BGH overturned the judgment contested by the Defendants and referred it back so that the court of first instance must now deal with whether the Claimant would have opted even in accordance with the duty of the Defendants for the implementation of the redevelopment project. The period before the relevant risk was realised is decisive.
An architect is subject to many obligations. He also, for instance, has certain advisory and asset management obligations with respect to his client. The advisory obligations concern him not only technical areas but also obvious legal questions. Architects are best seeking legal advice from an expert lawyer in good time in order to prevent any breaches of obligations and damages claims.
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Risk Disclosure for Construction Projects by Architects and Structural Engineers