An architect who worked on a state project but was terminated in 2003 cannot be sued beyond the three-year statute of limitations simply because his successor and contractors relied on his plans until the renovation was completed, a judge in Albany has held. Acting Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara (See Profile) said the state’s “attempt to transform ‘completion of performance under the contract’ to ‘completion of the project’ is not supported by case law.” Rather, he said in State of New York v. Wank Adams Slavin Associates, 5390-07, that the statute of limitations began when the professional relationship between the architect and state came to an end in 2003.
The suit was initiated in July 2007, three years and seven months after the architectural firm of Wank Adams was removed from a project to renovate the Alfred E. Smith State Office Building in Albany. The state made two arguments regarding the statute of limitations: that the claim did not accrue until the project was completed because the contractors had to rely on Wank Adams’ design throughout the renovation and, alternately, that the claim did not accrue until the state made its final payment to the firm in July 2004. McNamara rejected both arguments.
