Landscape Architect Liability Law

The lability law stresses that a person who wishes to be registered as a landscape architect must complete at least 18 years and should have a moral character. He\she needs to have passed a specified exam and must have obtained a professional degree in Landscape architecture. He\she must complete any of the following criteria to get legal registration to practice as a landscape architect:

* Complete at least 3 years of practical experience in an office or under a registered landscape architect.

* Complete specified type of internship which is accepted by the state board of landscape architect examiners.

Now there is an amendment in the law that the applicant who selects the first criteria requires to complete 3 years of practical experience in an office and under the registered landscape architect.

The landscape liability law specifies that certificate of authorization to offer landscape architecture services can be issued to the corporation only when the persons owning 50% of shares in that corporation and more than 50% of interests in the corporation are professional engineers, surveyors and landscape architects.

The landscape architect liability law allows the state board of landscape architects to establish fee to cover the cost for checks and other instruments returned by financial institutions due to insufficiency of funds.

The law eliminates the requirement that the board hold examinations for applicants to practice as a landscape architecture not less than once annually. It also eliminates the requirement to include architect’s place of business on the architect’s certificate of qualification.

The Bambi theory of liability was originated in New Jersey which specifies that the landscape architects were liable to recoup the cost of landscaping lost to the most voracious herbivore, white tailed deer. This theory stresses that the landscape architect have a duty to advice their clients that deer are more likely to consume the expensive planting they specify to be planted on vast areas.

If the landscape architect fails to advice the client about this, the client can then have the right to recover the cost of landscaping lost. However this theory is not accepted by many people especially by the landscape architects and their lawyers. Hence a contract clause is included in this theory of liability.

The new landscape architect liability law specifies that as no plant is deer proof, the landscape architect is not liable to repay the owner the cost of landscaping lost due to deer damage. However the landscape architect would need to provide the list of landscape plants which are rated as resistance to deer damage. This helps the landscape architect prevent himself from any of the legal actions.

The landscape architect liability law suggests some professional liability of a landscape architect. Since a small omission or error can bring a legal action against the landscape architect, he\she needs to follow the professional liability strictly.

In fact the actual responsibility of a landscape architect is to preserve the natural resources and to design and plan for environmentally friendly projects. The landscape architect therefore requires fulfilling his responsibility as per the law.