(1) A design professional employed by a business entity or an agent of the business entity is not individually liable for damages resulting from negligence occurring within the course and scope of a professional services contract if:

(a) The contract is made between the business entity and a claimant or with another entity for the provision of professional services to the claimant;

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 558.0035

  • Claimant: means a property owner, including a subsequent purchaser or association, who asserts a claim for damages against a contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or design professional concerning a construction defect or a subsequent owner who asserts a claim for indemnification for such damages. See Florida Statutes 558.002
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Design professional: means a person, as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 558.002
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • property: means land that is improved and the improvements on such land, including fixtures, manufactured housing, or mobile homes and excluding public transportation projects. See Florida Statutes 558.002
(b) The contract does not name as a party to the contract the individual employee or agent who will perform the professional services;
(c) The contract includes a prominent statement, in uppercase font that is at least 5 point sizes larger than the rest of the text, that, pursuant to this section, an individual employee or agent may not be held individually liable for negligence;
(d) The business entity maintains any professional liability insurance required under the contract; and
(e) Any damages are solely economic in nature and the damages do not extend to personal injuries or property not subject to the contract.
(2) As used in this section, the term “business entity” means any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association, self-employed individual, or trust, whether fictitiously named or not, doing business in this state.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Chapter 558 Contents