In April 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill-496 (SB-496), which modifies the existing Civil Code section 2782.8, adding protections for private contracts entered into by design professionals on or after January 1, 2018 and strengthening the protections available to design professionals with regard to public contracts too. Importantly, the new law limits the “duty to defend” to the comparative fault of the professional in both private and most public construction contracts. Civil Code section 2782.8 previously applied to public contracts entered into by design professionals with local public agencies, excluding state agencies as defined in the statute. The revised 2782.8 places private contracts and public contracts, with non-state agencies, on equal footing with some limited exceptions. Read more on AIACC's blog