Recent developments in the liability landscape for design and building professionals

Until recently, little case law had emerged on the application of the statutory the duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid economic loss in respect of building defects which was introduced by section 37 of the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) (DBP Act). The Courts have now provided some clarification on the scope of that duty of care and confirmed the need for a plaintiff to prove a failure to take reasonable care by the defendant in order to be successful. What is the duty of care? The DBP Act introduced a duty on any person who carries out construction work to exercise reasonable care to avoid economic loss caused by defects: in or related to a building for which the work is done; and arising from the construction work. This duty of care is owed by that person to any current or future owner of the property on…