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Brock Bridge Limited Partnership Inc. v. Development Facilitators Inc.2/26/1997
Phase One and communicated with Stone before signing the June 5, 1991 contract.
Far from being merely an instrument through which DFI entered into contracts, Streib exercised his own professional judgment and skill in making the cost estimates for Phase One of the off-site improvements. Ultimately, Streib personally made the estimates on DFI's behalf in the contract of June 5, 1991. In short, Streib personally committed the acts that appellants allege were negligent. If the court determines that the corporation (with whom appellants have contractual privity) was negligent in its representations to appellees, then Streib will be liable for that negligence. Morlock, 89 Md. App. at 223.
Our conclusion is strongly reinforced by B.O.P. § 14-401(c)(2). That section reads:
(c) Liability not affected. --
(2) An individual who practices engineering through a corporation, limited liability company, or partnership is not, by reasons of the individual's employment or other relationship with the corporation, limited liability company, or partnership, relieved of any individual responsibility that the individual may have regarding that practice.
Id.
To deny relief to BBLP for lack of contractual privity would shield Streib from the consequences of his negligence (assuming it is proven) in a way that B.O.P. § 14-401(c)(2) prohibits. Essentially, Streib provided personal engineering services to BBLP through the corporate entity DFI, of which he is the president. BBLP relied upon verbal guarantees made by Streib to Stone, guarantees to which Stone refers in the June 5 contract. Although DFI made the contractual guarantee, the guarantee arose out of engineering services (i.e., estimates, plans, and negotiations) provided by Streib in his capacity as an engineer licensed, inter alia, in the State of Maryland. To deny a cause of action against Streib would vitiate the very words of the statute, and would run squarely against the legislative policy to "safeguard life, health, and property and to promote the public welfare by regulating persons who practice engineering in the State." B.O.P. § 14-102. Denying a cause of action would also open the door for engineers to escape the consequences of tortious negligence by acting always through the corporate form. Section 14-401(c)(2) expressly prohibits this result. This section, in and of itself, grants appellants a cause of action against Streib. We remand to the circuit court for an evaluation of the merits of this claim.
JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY REVERSED IN PART AND VACATED IN PART; CASE REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS CONSISTENT WITH THIS OPINION.
COSTS TO BE PAID BY APPELLEES.
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