On April 9, 2026, Philadelphia partner Mohammad Ghiasuddin presented “Expanding Scope of Design Professional Liability” for The Harmonie Group’s three-part webinar series on Professional Liability. During his session, Mohammad discussed the trend of expanded design professional liability beyond contractual privity, particularly through negligent misrepresentation claims, exposing architects and engineers to suits from non-clients and subsequent purchasers. Design professionals are now routinely named alongside contractors and subcontractors in construction defect litigation, with claims implicating both tort and contract theories and requiring compliance with procedural rules such as certificates of merit. These cases also raise complex timing issues, including the application of statutes of limitations, the discovery rule, and statutes of repose.
