The Spearin Doctrine sounds like a foreign policy declaration from the 19th Century. Actually, the Spearin Doctrine is a powerful legal defense for contractors facing a claim of defective workmanship.
When entering into a construction contract, a contractor agrees to perform a certain scope of work for an agreed upon price. Typically, a contractor’s scope of work includes an agreement that the contractor will construct what is required as set forth on the architect’s drawings and specifications. The architect’s drawings contain general information regarding the size, location, and dimension of the contractor’s work. Meanwhile, the architect’s specifications contain additional design information about the materials to be used, finishes, and tolerances.
However, what happens if a contractor follows the architect’s drawings and builds what is asked as the specifications specify but what is constructed fails to perform correctly? This is where the Spearin Doctrine comes into play.
The Spearin Doctrine gets its name from a 1918 Supreme Court decision, United States v. Spearin. There the Court held that by prescribing the character, dimensions, and location of the work to be built, the owner “import[s] a warranty that, if the specifications have been complied with, the [work] will be adequate.” In other words, if the specifications describe how it is to be built, the owner warrants that the contractor will be able to perform if it follows the specifications.
In order to successfully assert the Spearin Doctrine as a defense, contractors must understand the difference between “performance” and “design” specifications. A performance specification sets forth the standard of performance to be achieved. The contractor is expected to exercise it judgment in how best to achieve the performance standard. A basic example of a performance specification is if a specification states that the contractor shall construct a HVAC system shall maintain a certain level of temperature and humidity level, but leaves the design of the system necessary to achieve the required temperature and humidity levels up to the contractor performing the work.
Conversely, a design specification describes in detail the materials and equipment the contractor must use and the manner in which the work must be performed. As one court put it, “design specifications state how the contract is to be performed and permit no deviations. Performance specifications, on the other hand, specify the results to be obtained, and leave it to the contractor to determine how to achieve those results.”
The distinction between performance and design specifications is important because the Spearin Doctrine applies only to design specifications. Often, determining whether a specification is a performance versus design specification is difficult as a specification may blend elements of both. In order to differentiate between performance versus design specifications, courts look to the level of discretion that exists within the given specification. A contractor arguing that a specification is a design specification – and thus subject to the Spearin Doctrine – must show that the specification “does not permit meaningful discretion.”
Specifying a certain manufacturer of a product alone is not despositive of whether a specification is design rather than performance, especially when a specification permits substitution of a specified product with “an approved equal.” In determining whether a specification is design over performance, courts also look to how much oversight the owner exercised over the contractors work and whether the specifications lay out the contractors means and methods of contraction.
So, next time you are faced with a claim of defective workmanship, look closely at your specifications and see if the Spearin Doctrine can be applied as a defense.
Wally Zimolong
Wally represents contractors (and subcontractors) and developers. His clients build and develop residential, commercial, and industrial properties nationwide. Wally enjoys working with the owners of the businesses he represents because they tend to be entrepreneurs and all around interesting people.
