Dukes v. Philip Johnson/Alan Ritchie Architects, P.C.

Mar 27, 2008

In Dukes v. Phillip Johnson/Alan Ritchie Arch., P.C., 252 S.W.3d 586 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth 2008, pet. denied), the Fort Worth Court of Appeals held that an architect whose contractual scope of work did not include reviewing the Water Gardens for safety owed no duty to a visitor who drowned. The Court also held that codes of professional ethics do not impose duties that are actionable under negligence law — a position consistent with the Board of Architectural Examiners Rules provision (22 TAC Rule 1.141). Houston Partners Grant Gealy served as trial and appellate counsel for the architectural firm, securing the summary judgment in their favor and successfully defending the challenge to that ruling on appeal.