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If you have problems viewing this e-mail visit www.aiane.org Nebraska Court of Appeals Ruling re: Design Professional's Liability Risks for Supervision of ConstructionCompliments of Edward H. Tricker, Woods Aitken Design Professional’s Supervision of Construction May Not Be “Professional Services” The Nebraska Court of Appeals has recently issued a decision of which you need to be aware. In Associated Engineering, Inc. v. Arbor Heights, LLC, the court handed down a ruling which has potential insurance coverage implications for design professionals. Specifically, the ruling has the potential to affect whether a design-professional’s supervision and inspection of construction services constitute “professional services” for insurance purposes. Insurance professionals should be aware of the potential ramifications of Associated Engineering so that they can better serve their design professional clients. In Associated Engineering, a project owner sued an engineer for negligent breach of contract. The owner alleged that the engineer negligently breached its contract by making design errors, failing to properly supervise construction, and failing to ensure that the project was completed according to project specifications. The owner did not, however, provide expert testimony on the appropriate standard of care for engineers. When a design professional is sued for negligent failure to perform professional services, such expert testimony is normally required. The court found, however, that expert testimony was not required in this case since the “design error” allegations were never submitted to the jury. Rather, the court noted that only the failure to supervise and failure to ensure specification-compliance allegations were submitted to the jury. Thus, under Associated Engineering expert testimony is not required to show the appropriate standard of care for supervising construction and ensuring that construction complies with project specifications (hereinafter “supervisory services”). The necessary implication of such a holding is that supervisory services are not professional services. As mentioned above, Associated Engineering has the potential to impact design professionals’ insurance coverage. Indeed, design professionals often obtain at least one of two types of insurance policies: professional liability policies and commercial general liability (“CGL”) policies. Professional liability policies often provide coverage for “professional services.” Conversely, commercial general liability policies often contain endorsements excluding “professional services.” If supervisory services are no longer considered professional services under Associated Engineering, then insurance coverage for supervisory services may be affected under these types of policies. Specifically, supervisory services may no longer be covered under a professional liability policy and may no longer be excluded under a CGL policy. Such a result would not be without precedent. Indeed, some courts have expressly held that certain supervisory services are not “professional services” for purposes of a CGL policy’s professional services exclusion. What constitutes “professional services,” however, may also be expressly defined in the policy. For example, some common CGL policy forms contain professional services exclusions that define “professional services” as including “supervisory or inspection activities.” If a policy does contain such a definition, the policy language may trump any judge-made definitions. Accordingly, insurance professionals should consult the specific policy language to help determine coverage under a particular policy. While the potential ramifications of Associated Engineering are significant, such ramifications are not necessarily inevitable. As Associated Engineering is a relatively recent case, the breadth with which it will be interpreted remains to be seen. Experienced legal counsel can further advise insurance professionals on what Associated Engineering means for them, and what they can do to best assist their design professional clients. LES Sustainable Energy Program Incentives for 2012 Are Back to Help Businesses Save Money Click here to read the article. 15 Minutes: Boost Your Business and the EconomyThe AIA database of Stalled Projects has drawn significant attention from the media and investors. What's missing? YOUR projects! Take 15 minutes; shake the dust off one or more projects that has been sitting on your shelf due to lack of financing, and contribute to this important effort. Getting your unbuilt work on this directory gives you national exposure to investors and the media - and that's good for your business. As a bonus, this effort is an important part of the AIA's national advocacy efforts to get the financial markets working again. It is quick, easy and you just might find someone interested in getting your project moving forward! Legislative Update
Click here for a list of legislation of interest to AIA Nebraska Click here to view The Unicameral Update.
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Nebraska’s State Capitol Documentary "This year will mark the 80th anniversary of the completion of the Nebraska State Capitol" said AFN President Bryce Hastings AIA, "and this documentary will inform the people of Nebraska of the value of this architectural icon and will show how it has been refurbished to serve well into the future." The most recent television documentary on the Nebraska State Capitol "Build Us a Tower" was produced over 30 years ago. The Architectural Foundation of Nebraska is pleased to recognize Dillon Foundation, AIA Nebraska, HDR Architects Inc., DLR Group, AFN Board Members, and other anonymous donors for their generous contributions to this project during the pre-production phase. AIA Omaha Presents TD AMeritrade Building Tour
When: February 10th, 2012 - 2:00- 3:30pm Info: This tour will focus on the building envelope of TD Ameritrade's new Headquarters building and will qualify for 1 CEU. The tour is open to ALL AIA, ASSOCIATE AIA, AND AIAS MEMBERS. Space is limited, so please RSVP to reserve a spot on the tour. Happy Hour: Immediately following the tour at Grisanti's Sponsor: AWS Nebraska, LLC RSVP to chris.johnson@weitz.com Stage Center Building in Oklahoma CityAIA Central Oklahoma Chapter on behalf of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation the presentation of written proposals for the redevelopment of the award-winning and iconic Stage Center Building in Oklahoma City. Submittals due February 29, 2012. 2012 Restore Omaha Conference Aims to Inspire and Teach Attendees to Restore Older Properties Restore Omaha Reception and Tour Restore Omaha Conference For more information and to register: Media questions contact: The conference is made possible with support from Metropolitan Community College, the Omaha Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, B.G. Peterson Co., the reEnergize Program, The Reader, The Architectural Offices and Urban Village Development. Click here for more information. NAAB Call for ParticipationEach year the AIA nominates approximately 10-15 practitioners to serve as AIA representatives on National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) school visits. Nominations are for a four year term, 2013-2016, and AIA representatives may be scheduled for up to one school visit per year. Interested members should submit their letters of interest by March 1. Seeking Home Design | Renovation TalentWe are expanding our slate for the 2012/2013 season and are currently on the hunt for new talent and fresh show ideas, particularly in the areas of home design and renovation. We are really hoping to find fun, exciting people who are tackling their industries in a new, unconventional way. Whether that be a brother/sister team who is buying and flipping houses or a kitchen/bath showroom doing unconventional renovations, we're open to any and all suggestions. Katie Woolsey 2012 AIA National Photography CompetitionAIA St. Louis presents the 2012 AIA Photography Competition for actively registered architects, AIA members and AIAS members. The entry deadline is March 1, 2012. Click here to see a presentation of the previous year's winners. AIA Nebraska Job BoardVisit our online job board and resume bank. Student Architects · Landscape Architects · Historians Intern Architect Construction Administration/Architectural Intern Resume BankJustin Burow Luz Marina Cabra Lindsay Neemann Michael A Tomczak Calendar of EventsTo view the Calendar of Events on the website click here.
Members in the News | Awards | RecognitionBeen in the news recently? Receive an award or special recognition? We'd love to hear about it! Please email your updates to Emily Wilcox, ewilcox2@unl.edu. Are you following us?Make sure to join AIA Nebraska's Facebook Group and start following us on Twitter!
AIA Nebraska is offering new ways to communicate with our members! By following us on Twitter or joining us on Facebook, you will be receiving the most up to date AIA Nebraska news first!
Click here to follow us on Twitter! OR Join AIA Nebraska's Facebook Group OR Become a Fan of AIA Nebraska on Facebook. AIA Nebraska is also on LinkedIn! Click here to join the AIA Nebraska Group!
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If you are planning any projects that could increase your organization’s energy efficiency, you may be interested in LES’ Sustainable Energy Program (SEP) financial incentives. 
Legislators introduced 476 bills for this Legislative Session -- not including resolutions and constitutional amendments. Committee hearings began January 17 and are expected to conclude the last week of February. 
The Architectural Foundation of Nebraska (AFN) has reached an agreement with NET Television to produce a 30-minute TV documentary “Nebraska's State Capitol" starting in January 2012 with planned completion in early Fall.
Event to teach and motivate our community to restore and preserve older properties
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