Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Charleston Partners Arden Lowndes and J. Patrick Norris recently secured a significant win on behalf of an engineering firm involved in the repair design of a high-rise residential building in coastal South Carolina. The case arose from construction defect claims brought by a homeowners’ association against the general contractor, which in turn filed a third-party equitable indemnity claim against GRSM’s client.
The GRSM team mounted a vigorous defense, deploying strategic and incisive cross-examination of the general contractor’s representatives and expert witnesses. Based on this testimony, they moved for summary judgment, arguing that the general contractor could not prevail on its equitable indemnity claim because it necessarily bore at least 1% of fault for the alleged damages—a threshold that, under South Carolina law, barred recovery. The team’s innovative use of this argument proved decisive.
The court agreed and granted summary judgment in favor of GRSM’s client, dismissing the indemnity claim in its entirety. This outcome eliminated the client’s potential exposure and avoided the time and expense of protracted litigation.
This result highlights the strength of GRSM’s Construction practice, which delivers legal solutions for every aspect of construction and engineering projects nationwide. With more than 240 attorneys, including many with technical backgrounds in trades such as structural steel and electrical engineering, the team provides industry-leading counsel to clients navigating complex, multi-jurisdictional projects.