Contractual Limitation Period Not Voided by Alleged Fraud
The MTCA opinion summarized in yesterday's post contains another interesting tidbit of relevance to a common type of clause found in many construction industry contracts -- the "contractual limitation period" by which the parties agree to shorten up the normal statute of limitations for commencement of suit.
The contract at issue in this case stated that any suit against the geotechnical engineer (Golder) had to be brought within 1 year of Golder's substantial completion of services -- considerly shorter than the 3 year or 6 year statutes that would normally govern claims against design professionals or contractors.
In this additional holding, Division 1ruled the 1 year clause was valid and enforceable regardless of whether the engineer "misrepresented" the soils conditions -- that is, the Court declined to adopt a fraud exception to the ordinary rule that such clauses are to be enforced as written.
