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ARTICLE · 15 AUGUST 2022

Beware The Duty To Defend Language In Contracts With Architects And Engineers

Gentry Locke
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It is the job of the Virginia legislature to make and change the laws of our Commonwealth. Sometimes, these new or changed laws are plastered all over the news.

United StatesReal Estate and Construction
Andrew O. Gay
Andrew O. Gay

It is the job of the Virginia legislature to make and change the laws of our Commonwealth. Sometimes, these new or changed laws are plastered all over the news. More often than not, new and changed laws are put into effect with little to no publicity. Nevertheless, there they are, ready to be used as a tool, or weapon, when the time presents itself.

Despite the world's reaction to COVID-19, the Virginia legislature was hard at work in 2020. Part of its work included amending an existing law concerning indemnification provisions in contracts with design professionals. Historically, indemnification provisions included a duty to defend. In 2020, the Virginia legislature changed this rule, following a popular trend among other state legislatures, by adding the following paragraph to Va. Code § 11-4.4:

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