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Do You Have All The Facts About Out of State
Licensing Requirements?
Each month our newsletter strives to keep our built environment professional clients better informed. The following excerpt taken from an article written by J Kent Holland, Jr, Atty of Construction Risk Counsel, PLLC and the ConstructionRisk.com Report, Vol. 13, No. 7 (July 2011), demonstrates the severe consequences when credentials are not properly managed.
"Architect Not Entitled to Recover Fee for Services on Foreign Embassy Because Not Licensed in Washington, D.C."
"An architect licensed in the state of Maryland but not in Washington, D.C. entered into, and won, a competition for the architectural design of a new embassy and chauncery building in Washington, D.C. for the United Arab Emirates ("UAE"). Because she was not licensed in Washington, she was found by the court to have violated the licensing statute and therefore not entitled to recover any fee from the UAE for the services she had performed. The architect argued that she was not required to have a license as of the date she entered into the competition but that she would have obtained the license once she had a signed contract. In rejecting that argument, the court stated that the architect went beyond submitting bids and actually performed architectural services without a license. The court concluded: "District of Columbia law bars an architect from recovering (i) on a contact to perform architectural services in the District or (ii) in quantum meruit for architectural services rendered in the District, if the architect lacked a District of Columbia architect's license when he or she began negotiating the contract, entered into the contract, or performed the architectural services, even if the architect was licensed to practice architecture in another jurisdiction at such times.... There is no exception for international design competitions or the submission of bids to perform architectural services for foreign embassies (or public buildings or monuments) in the District."
Our clients enjoy numerous credentials management benefits, including license preservation and professional practice security. |
