Builders and Contractors Exchange
Weekly Bulletin: 24 aug 2007
Applicability Of The “Spearin Doctrine” In Virginia
Under federal common law (commonly called the “Spearin Doctrine”), a contractor who is bound by contract to build according to plans and specifications furnished, prepared or otherwise provided by the owner will not be responsible for consequences arising from defects in such plans and specifications. Moreover, when an owner provides a contractor with binding design specifications, the owner has impliedly warranted that the specifications are free from design defects. Notably, the owner cannot use general disclaimers (for instance, to require the contractor to check the plans, examine the site, and to determine project requirements) to overcome this implied warranty or as a vehicle to shift the risk of design flaws to contractors who follow the specifications.
In Greater Richmond Civic Recreation, Inc. v. Ewing’s Sons, the Supreme Court of Virginia established the confines of Virginia’s version of the “Spearin Doctrine” explaining: “Generally, a construction contractor who has followed plans and specifications furnished by the owner which have proved defective or insufficient will not be responsible to the owner for loss or damage which results solely from the defective or insufficient plans and specifications in the absence of negligence on the contractor’s part, or any express guarantee or warranty by [the contractor] as to their being sufficient or free from defects.” Virginia cases also illustrate that burdens other than those enumerated in or contemplated by the contract may not be placed upon the contractor without additional compensation.
Thus, in Virginia, if a contractor has either expressly agreed to review and verify all details shown on the drawings he received from the owner, or is contractually obligated to review drawings and/or specifications for defects and ambiguities and verifies that they are free from such infirmities, or is negligent and does not build in compliance with the specifications provided by the owner – that contractor will likely be held responsible for failures or defects resulting from his work. However, if the contractor builds in full compliance with the original specifications and drawings provided him by the owner, that contractor will generally be entitled to payment for any additional costs, caused by unforeseen circumstances, reasonably incurred by the contractor to produce a satisfactory result.
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This article is meant to bring awareness to this topic and is not intended to be used as legal advice.