OH STATEOhio Supreme Court
1990

Floor Craft Floor Covering, Inc. v. Parma Community General Hospital Ass'n

54 Ohio St. 3d 1Ohio Supreme Court • Decided 1990Enforced
FLAGSHIPFlow-DownCited 145 times

HOLDING

Floor Craft, a flooring contractor, sued an architect for economic losses caused by defective plans, even though they had no direct contract with each other. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that contractors cannot sue architects in tort for purely economic damages without a direct contractual relationship (privity). This means if you're a subcontractor harmed by an architect's negligent design work, you generally cannot recover money damages unless you signed a contract directly with that architect.

KEY FINDINGS

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Do not rely on suing architects or other design professionals for economic losses unless you have a written contract directly with them

FULL COURT OPINION