California Civil Code

§ 2782.8

CIV § 2782.8 Effective Jan 1, 2018Div. 3 · Title 12 · Part 4

Statute text

(a)For all contracts, and amendments thereto, entered into on or after January 1, 2018, for design professional services, all provisions, clauses, covenants, and agreements contained in, collateral to, or affecting any such contract, and amendments thereto, that purport to indemnify, including the duty and the cost to defend, the indemnitee by a design professional against liability for claims against the indemnitee, are unenforceable, except to the extent that the claims against the indemnitee arise out of, pertain to, or relate to the negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct of the design professional. In no event shall the cost to defend charged to the design professional exceed the design professional’s proportionate percentage of fault. However, notwithstanding the previous sentence, in the event one or more defendants is unable to pay its share of defense costs due to bankruptcy or dissolution of the business, the design professional shall meet and confer with other parties regarding unpaid defense costs. The duty to indemnify, including the duty and the cost to defend, is limited as provided in this section. This section shall not be waived or modified by contractual agreement, act, or omission of the parties. Contractual provisions, clauses, covenants, or agreements not expressly prohibited herein are reserved to the agreement of the parties.

(b)All contracts and all solicitation documents, including requests for proposal, invitations for bid, and other solicitation documents for design professional services are deemed to incorporate by reference the provisions of this section.

(c)For purposes of this section, “design professional” includes all of the following:

…

Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 8, Sec. 1. (SB 496) Effective January 1, 2018.