(1) As used in this section:

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Terms Used In Utah Code 13-8-7

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • Land: includes :
         (18)(a) land;
         (18)(b) a tenement;
         (18)(c) a hereditament;
         (18)(d) a water right;
         (18)(e) a possessory right; and
         (18)(f) a claim. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Person: means :
         (24)(a) an individual;
         (24)(b) an association;
         (24)(c) an institution;
         (24)(d) a corporation;
         (24)(e) a company;
         (24)(f) a trust;
         (24)(g) a limited liability company;
         (24)(h) a partnership;
         (24)(i) a political subdivision;
         (24)(j) a government office, department, division, bureau, or other body of government; and
         (24)(k) any other organization or entity. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
     (1)(a) “Design professional” means:

          (1)(a)(i) an individual licensed under:

               (1)(a)(i)(A) Title 58, Chapter 3a, Architects Licensing Act;
               (1)(a)(i)(C) Title 58, Chapter 53, Landscape Architects Licensing Act; or
          (1)(a)(ii) a nongovernmental entity engaged in the business of providing services that require a license described in Subsection (1)(a)(i).
     (1)(b) “Design professional services” means:

          (1)(b)(i) professional services within the scope of the practice of architecture as defined in Section 58-3a-102;
          (1)(b)(ii) professional engineering or professional land surveying as defined in Section 58-22-102; or
          (1)(b)(iii) professional services within the scope of the practice of landscape architecture as defined in Section 58-53-102.
     (1)(c)

          (1)(c)(i) “Design professional services contract” means a contract under which a design professional agrees to provide design professional services:

               (1)(c)(i)(A) to a governmental entity; or
               (1)(c)(i)(B) for an improvement owned or to be owned by a governmental entity.
          (1)(c)(ii) “Design professional services contract” does not include a construction contract, as defined in Section 13-8-1.
     (1)(d) “Indemnification provision” means a covenant, promise, agreement, or understanding in, in connection with, or collateral to, a design professional services contract that requires the design professional to:

          (1)(d)(i) indemnify or hold harmless any person from or against liability for damages other than liability for damages to the extent caused by or resulting from:

               (1)(d)(i)(A) the design professional’s breach of contract, negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct; or
               (1)(d)(i)(B) the design professional’s subconsultant’s negligence;
          (1)(d)(ii) defend any person from or against a claim alleging liability for damages, including a claim alleging:

               (1)(d)(ii)(A) the design professional’s breach of contract, negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct; or
               (1)(d)(ii)(B) the design professional’s subconsultant’s negligence; or
          (1)(d)(iii) reimburse any person for attorney fees or other costs incurred by the person in defending against a claim alleging liability for damages, except to the extent the attorney fees or costs were incurred due to:

               (1)(d)(iii)(A) the design professional’s breach of contract, negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct; or
               (1)(d)(iii)(B) the design professional’s subconsultant’s negligence.
     (1)(e) “Governmental entity” means the same as that term is defined in Section 63G-7-102.
     (1)(f) “Improvement” means the same as that term is defined in Section 78B-2-225.
     (1)(g) “Subconsultant” means a person with whom a design professional contracts to provide a service related to or part of the design professional services that the design professional agrees to perform under a design professional services contract.
(2) An indemnification provision is void.
(3)

     (3)(a) A design professional shall perform design professional services under a design professional services contract consistent with the professional skill and care ordinarily provided by other design professionals:

          (3)(a)(i) with the same or similar professional license; and
          (3)(a)(ii) providing the same or similar design professional service:

               (3)(a)(ii)(A) in the same or similar locality;
               (3)(a)(ii)(B) at the same or similar time; and
               (3)(a)(ii)(C) under the same or similar circumstances.
     (3)(b)

          (3)(b)(i) Except as provided in Subsection (3)(b)(ii), a design professional services contract may not establish a standard of care different from the standard of care described in Subsection (3)(a).
          (3)(b)(ii) A design professional services contract may require a design professional to perform design professional services consistent with a specialized design expertise if the nature of the project that is the subject of the design professional services contract reasonably requires the specialized design expertise.
     (3)(c) A provision in a design professional services contract that purports to waive or conflicts with a provision of Subsection (3)(b) is void.
(4) The provisions of this section apply to a design professional services contract executed on or after May 8, 2018.