Contracts Breach of contract not bias for negligent actions By: Xavier L. and Timothy Grasty

Description Nevada court held that if a design professional breached its duty to a contractor by providing improper construction advice, the economic loss rule under negligence did not apply. Tort is not a remedy. Breach of contract is the remedy and the loss measures that apply in such instances.

Key words Negligence- failure to take proper care in doing something Contract- a written or spoken agreement Design- purpose, planning, or intention that exists or is thought to exist behind an action, fact, or material object. Construction- the building of something Economic Loss- refers to financial loss and damage suffered by a person.

Decision The economic loss rule applies to preclude negligence-based claims against design professionals, such as engineers and architects, who provide services in commercial property development, when the plaintiffs seek to recover purely economic losses. Because Mandalay suffered only economic loss, without personal injury or property damage, the economic loss rule barred it from proceeding with its negligence claims against Terracon, a design professional.

Citation Terracon Consultants Western, Inc. v. Mandalay Resort Group, ---P.3d--- (2009 WL , Sup. Ct., Nev., 2009)