Back in September, 2015, the supreme judicial court of MA issued a decision regarding the use of the CMAR (construction manager at risk) method for public projects. In short, the decision states that rather than a project manager being liable, a municipality could be liable / responsible for defects in plans and specifications for a public project even if a CMAR was used.

In short, a Ma state agency, DCAMM employed a CMAR for a project, then when a subcontractor tried to get paid extra dollars for changes, scheduling, coordination and design errors, the subcontractor went after the CMAR for the extra dollars then DCAMM. The court ruled the public agency does give an implied warranty with regards to a designers plans and specifications. Somewhere in there, I foresee a possibility of this having effect on the new school, even with a contingency fund built in. Right now, I would just say it is a possibility and that is what happens when lawyers and the courts get involved. Even with a guaranteed maximum price, there seems to be an opening, so we will just have to watch this project unfold and see what happens and hope for the best.

Jeff Bennett

you can find this online and read the entire text of the ruling