GBA updates free Limitation-of-Liability Case Index

Silver Spring, Md. — The Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA) published a new edition of Limitation-of-Liability Case Index, an important legal reference conveying in lay terms the results of 75 cases where the legality of limitation-of-liability provisions has been challenged in the courts, usually without success. Available free of charge, the GBA document is particularly useful for geotechnical and other civil engineers, architects, other design professionals, environmental scientists, construction-materials engineering and testing (CoMET) professionals, and others who include a limitation-of-liability provision in their contracts or are thinking of doing so, as well as their legal counsel.

The Index was prepared for GBA's Legal Affairs Committee by Committee Vice Chair Terence J. “Terry” Scanlan, Esq., a principal of the Seattle law firm Skellenger Bender, P.S.

Although the limitation-of-liability (LOL) concept is 400-years-old, it was GBA that innovated its application to the design, environmental, and CoMET professions in 1969. By applying the concept, now upheld in most states, a client agrees to limit a design professional’s liability to a given amount, most commonly $50,000 or the fee, whichever is higher. Without using “legalese,” the Index describes each of the 75 listed cases in terms of its background and the points or holdings involved, and – to support additional research – identifies the case by name, jurisdiction, and citation. The cases span the period 1956 to 2014.

Established in 1969, the Geoprofessional Business Association is geoprofessionals’ strongest advocate. GBA serves geotechnical engineers, environmental and CoMET professionals, various civil-engineering specialists, and other geoprofessionals by giving them effective tools for achieving business success by confronting risk and optimizing performance. GBA creates those tools by promoting an environment of trust where members share their collective talent, energy, expertise, and experience to help one another succeed as firms and individuals.

All GBA-member firms' technical activities are under the full-time control of an individual who is legally and/or ethically bound to hold paramount public health, safety, and welfare. GBA's associate membership comprises geoprofessional constructors; geoprofessional educators; geoprofessionals employed by government agencies, not-for-profit organizations, and industry; and attorneys and other consultants to GBA-member firms.

Obtain more information about GBA at its website (www.geoprofessional.org) or by contacting the organization at info@geoprofessional.org or 301-565-2733.