SB 885: Contracts: design professionals: indemnity.

Existing law makes specified provisions in construction contracts void and unenforceable, including provisions that purport to indemnify the promisee against liability for damages for death or bodily injury to persons, injury to property, or any other loss arising from the sole negligence or willful misconduct of the promisee or the promisees agents who are directly responsible to the promisee, or for defects in design furnished by those persons.

This bill would specify, with certain exceptions, for construction contracts and amendments to them entered into on or after January 1, 2017, that a design professional, as defined, only has the duty to defend himself or herself from claims or lawsuits that arise out of, or pertain or relate to, negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct of the design professional. The bill would prohibit these provisions from being construed to affect any duty of a design professional to pay a reasonable allocated share of defense fees and costs with respect to claims and lawsuits alleging negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct of the design professional, as specified. defend any claims brought against him or her on an ongoing basis during their pendency or the design professionals obligation to reimburse reasonable defense costs incurred by other persons or entities, limited to the design professionals degree of fault, as determined by a court, arbitration, or negotiated settlement. The bill would provide that contracts and solicitation documents are deemed to incorporate its provisions by reference and would define claim to include a demand for money or services, lawsuit, or demand for arbitration. The bill would prohibit waiver of these provisions and would provide that any clause, covenant, or agreement contained in, collateral to, or affecting a contract that requires a design professional to defend claims or lawsuits against other persons or entities is void and unenforceable. The bill would provide legislative findings and declarations in support of these provisions.