[consulting] Contract > Developer liable for bugs?

[Joshua Brauer]

On Aug 7, 2008, at 12:20 AM, Michael Prasuhn wrote:

> On Aug 6, 2008, at 8:04 PM, Jason Flatt wrote:
>> On Wed Aug 6 2008 4:14:15 pm Michael Prasuhn wrote:

>> Of course admitting to being responsible for damage or loss, could
>> open the door for a civil case pretty easily. Hell it's practically
>> an arrow saying, "in case of emergency, sue THIS PERSON."
>
>
> So I don't think they could sue you for damages using *just* the
> contract as the basis of the suit. They would need to build a civil
> case on other evidence.
>

Certainly they can sue using the contract as the basis or even absent  
a contract of any sort. And the suit can be expensive to deal with  
even if it is without merit and eventually thrown out. It seems to me,  
a non-attorney, that having a solid contract that is unambiguous will  
do the most to persuade attorneys the client approaches from deciding  
to take the case.

Another thread which hasn't come up here is that of insurance. It  
seems your business liability insurance should be covering some of  
this liability. Should a client need a higher level of insurance/ 
guarantee or want you to warrant community work it seems a discussion  
with an insurance agent may be in order to determine the cost and  
educate the client as to the cost of that coverage. It may even be  
that the insurance company (and their lawyers) would have some  
standard provisions they would want in the contract.

Josh
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