What are the legal responsibilities of a project manager?
The project manager role is less defined than the architect or quantity surveyor. The duties turn on the appointment, but the courts read in real obligations, from securing insurance to warning of risk.
They turn on the terms of the appointment, but the courts read real duties into the role: a project manager must take reasonable care that required insurance is in place and cannot act as a post-box, must report deficiencies in the consultants it co-ordinates, and must warn of risks such as fire, so a clear detailed appointment is the practical protection
They turn on the terms of the appointment, but the courts read real duties into the role. The project manager's position is less defined than the architect's or quantity surveyor's, so detailed conditions of appointment should be agreed before the work starts. Within the role, the courts have found substantive duties. Pozzolanic Lytag v Bryan Hobson held that a project manager must take reasonable care that the required insurance is in place and cannot act as a post-box. Chesham Properties v Bucknall Austin found an implied duty to report deficiencies in the other consultants the project manager co-ordinates. Pride Valley Foods v Hall held that a project manager should have advised on the fire risk of expanded polystyrene panels and gave no appropriate advice, the Court of Appeal remitting the question whether that advice would have been acted on, and Six Continents v Carford held that forwarding a manufacturer's letter was not enough, a proactive assessment of the fire risk being required. The practical protection is a clear, detailed appointment rather than a brief letter.
| The role | Less defined than the architect or quantity surveyor |
| Professional indemnity | Pozzolanic Lytag: secure it, do not act as a post-box |
| Report | Chesham Properties: report the co-ordinated consultants |
| Warn of risk | Pride Valley and Six Continents: warn of fire risk |
| Appointment | Agree detailed conditions before the work starts |
The problem
The title project manager suggests a clear role, but in construction the boundaries of the position are blurred. The duties of the architect and quantity surveyor are settled; the project manager's role is newer and less defined. A safer course is to set out the duties in detailed conditions of appointment agreed before the work starts, yet all too often the appointment is an ill-defined letter. Standard codes and forms, such as those published by the professional bodies, are a useful starting point, but they do not by themselves prevent disputes about what the project manager was engaged to do.
More than a post-box
A project manager must do more than pass paperwork on.
A project manager was engaged for a project in which the contractor was to carry professional indemnity insurance. A structure collapsed through a design fault, but the contractor had no adequate cover. The court held that the project manager owed the client a duty to take reasonable care that the required insurance was in place, and could not act as a post-box, simply passing on evidence of proposed cover without comment. A project manager without the expertise to advise on insurance should obtain expert advice, if necessary at its own cost.
Report and warn
The duty also reaches co-ordination, reporting and giving warning advice.
The court held that a project manager had an implied duty to the employer to report deficiencies in the performance of the other professional firms whose work it was responsible for co-ordinating.
A project manager engaged to manage the construction of a factory was held to have owed a duty to advise on the fire risk of expanded polystyrene panels and on compartmentation, and to have given no appropriate advice. The trial judge held that the claim failed on causation, finding that the managing director of the employer would not have accepted the advice. The Court of Appeal held that reasoning inadequate, allowed the appeal and remitted the causation issue for reconsideration. The conditions of appointment required the firm to specify the materials, and the duty to warn of the fire risk went with that.
A project manager for kitchen equipment received recommendations from a manufacturer which, if followed, would have prevented a fire. The court held that the duty to ensure the installation was not susceptible to fire was not met by merely forwarding the letter; a proactive approach, assessing the fire risk of the installation, was required.
Practical steps
Agree detailed conditions of appointment before the service starts; do not rely on a brief letter.
Where a standard tick-box form is used, check that each service is described clearly enough to avoid argument about its scope.
Do not act as a post-box: on insurance, materials and design, give or obtain proper advice, and warn of risks such as fire.
Report deficiencies in the other consultants whose work you co-ordinate, as an implied part of the role.
Authorities
| Authority | Citation | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Pozzolanic Lytag Ltd v Bryan Hobson Associates | [1999] BLR 267 | A project manager owed the client a duty to take reasonable care that the required insurance was in place and could not act as a post-box; without the expertise to advise, it should obtain expert advice |
| Chesham Properties Ltd v Bucknall Austin Project Management Services Ltd | (1996) 82 BLR 92 | A project manager had an implied duty to the employer to report deficiencies in the performance of the other professional firms whose work it co-ordinated |
| Pride Valley Foods Ltd v Hall and Partners | (2001) 76 Con LR 1 | A project manager should have advised on the fire risk of expanded polystyrene panels, the duty going with its obligation to specify materials, and gave no appropriate advice; the Court of Appeal set aside the finding that the advice would not have been heeded and remitted the causation issue |
| Six Continents Retail Ltd v Carford Catering Ltd | [2003] EWCA Civ 1790 | The duty to ensure an installation was not susceptible to fire was not met by forwarding a manufacturer letter; a proactive assessment of the fire risk was required |