Shackled by liability to third parties

摘要

Engineers find themselves in situations where reliance by third parties could be foreseeable with some frequency. In Craig v. Everett M. Brooks Co.~2, a Massachusetts court allowed a contractor to recover against a civil engineer. The engineer had made a mistake in preparing plans and laying out stakes for a road. As a result, the contractor had to rebuild two catch basins and relocate a road by eight feet. The court held the engineer liable because the contractor was reasonable in relying on the engineer's plans and specifications. The court said the engineer should have foreseen that reliance. The court allowed recovery because both the contractor and the engineer were under contract with the same owner, and the contractor's contract contemplated that the contractor would rely on the engineer's services. The court noted that the defendant engineer knew the only possible plaintiff and the extent of his reliance. In addition, damages were not remote. Under those circumstances, the court felt that imposing liability in the absence of a contractual relationship was reasonable.