| (1) |
As used in this section:
Terms Used In Utah Code 13-8-7- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
- Land: includes :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Person: means :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
| (a) |
“Design professional” means:
| (i) |
an individual licensed under:
|
| (ii) |
a nongovernmental entity engaged in the business of providing services that require a license described in Subsection (1)(a)(i). |
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| (b) |
“Design professional services” means:
| (i) |
professional services within the scope of the practice of architecture as defined in Section 58-3a-102; |
| (ii) |
professional engineering or professional land surveying as defined in Section 58-22-102; or |
| (iii) |
professional services within the scope of the practice of landscape architecture as defined in Section 58-53-102. |
|
| (c) |
| (i) |
“Design professional services contract” means a contract under which a design professional agrees to provide design professional services:
| (A) |
to a governmental entity; or |
| (B) |
for an improvement owned or to be owned by a governmental entity. |
|
| (ii) |
“Design professional services contract” does not include a construction contract, as defined in Section 13-8-1. |
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| (d) |
“Indemnification provision” means a covenant, promise, agreement, or understanding in, in connection with, or collateral to, a design professional services contract that requires the design professional to:
| (i) |
indemnify or hold harmless any person from or against liability for damages other than liability for damages to the extent caused by or resulting from:
| (A) |
the design professional’s breach of contract, negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct; or |
| (B) |
the design professional’s subconsultant’s negligence; |
|
| (ii) |
defend any person from or against a claim alleging liability for damages, including a claim alleging:
| (A) |
the design professional’s breach of contract, negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct; or |
| (B) |
the design professional’s subconsultant’s negligence; or |
|
| (iii) |
reimburse any person for attorney fees or other costs incurred by the person in defending against a claim alleging liability for damages, except to the extent the attorney fees or costs were incurred due to:
| (A) |
the design professional’s breach of contract, negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct; or |
| (B) |
the design professional’s subconsultant’s negligence. |
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| (e) |
“Governmental entity” means the same as that term is defined in Section 63G-7-102. |
| (f) |
“Improvement” means the same as that term is defined in Section 78B-2-225. |
| (g) |
“Subconsultant” means a person with whom a design professional contracts to provide a service related to or part of the design professional services that the design professional agrees to perform under a design professional services contract. |
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| (2) |
An indemnification provision is void. |
| (3) |
| (a) |
A design professional shall perform design professional services under a design professional services contract consistent with the professional skill and care ordinarily provided by other design professionals:
| (i) |
with the same or similar professional license; and |
| (ii) |
providing the same or similar design professional service:
| (A) |
in the same or similar locality; |
| (B) |
at the same or similar time; and |
| (C) |
under the same or similar circumstances. |
|
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| (b) |
| (i) |
Except as provided in Subsection (3)(b)(ii), a design professional services contract may not establish a standard of care different from the standard of care described in Subsection (3)(a). |
| (ii) |
A design professional services contract may require a design professional to perform design professional services consistent with a specialized design expertise if the nature of the project that is the subject of the design professional services contract reasonably requires the specialized design expertise. |
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| (c) |
A provision in a design professional services contract that purports to waive or conflicts with a provision of Subsection (3)(b) is void. |
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| (4) |
The provisions of this section apply to a design professional services contract executed on or after May 8, 2018. |
Enacted by Chapter 222, 2018 General Session
