17 Vista Fee Assocs. v. Teachers Ins. and Annuity Assoc. of America

17 Vista Fee Assocs. v. Teachers Ins. and Annuity Assoc. of America,
1999 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7981 (July 15, 1999)
The plaintiffs/third-party plaintiffs 17 Vista Fee Associates and 17 Vista Associates (“17 Vista”) entered into a sale agreement with defendant Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (“TIAA”), pursuant to which 17 Vista was to construct an office building at 17 State Street in Manhattan, and to sell it to TIAA upon completion. To obtain a certificate of occupancy for the building, the sales agreement required 17 Vista to perform several tasks, including construction of the building’s smoke purge system. 17 Vista retained Third-Party Defendant Jaros Baum & Bolles (“JB&B”), a mechanical engineer, to perform design services for the building.
Continue Reading The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York holds that seller of a building may seek indemnification from a mechanical engineer whose negligent design caused seller to have to pay the new owner for costs arising out of the design flaws. The Court also holds that the economic loss doctrine did not bar a claim for professional malpractice.