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Georgia Amends Construction Anti-Indemnity Statute
Practical Law Legal Update w-002-4866 (Approx. 3 pages)
Georgia Amends Construction Anti-Indemnity Statute
by Practical Law Real Estate
| Published on 24 May 2016 • Georgia |
The Georgia legislature recently passed HB 943 which amends Georgia's anti-indemnity statute to include contracts for engineering, architectural, and land surveying services.
On April 26, 2016, the Georgia legislature enacted HB 943, which expands Georgia's construction anti-indemnity statute to cover contracts for engineering, architectural and land surveying services (Ga. Code Ann., § 13-8-2).
HB 943 adds a subpart to the statute that is generally similar to the portion that governs construction contracts. However, there are two significant differences:
- For construction contracts, the statute expressly limits claims for damages and losses to those arising out of bodily injury, death or property damage. However, for engineering and architectural contracts, the statute does not limit claims to those arising out of these types of damages.
- Anti-indemnity clauses in construction contracts are void and unenforceable to the extent that damages are caused by the indemnitee's sole negligence. The new language applicable to engineering and architectural contracts is not limited to damages caused by the indemnitee's sole negligence. Importantly, this broader language voids any contract that requires the indemnitor to indemnify any other party.
Parties to construction projects in Georgia should review their engineering, architectural and land surveying service contracts to ensure that they are in compliance with the amendment. For more information on anti-indemnity statutes and indemnity clauses in construction contracts, see: