Project’s Principal Architect Owes Duty To Future Homeowners Even If Client Makes Ultimate Decisions

California State Supreme Court decision (July 3, 2014).

A homeowners association sued a the project developer and various other parties including two architectural firms on behalf of its members over construction design defects that allegedly make the homes unsafe and uninhabitable. The architectural firms were alleged to have designed the homes in a negligent manner but they did not make the final decisions regarding how the homes would be built.