Following a California case last ye...

Following a California case last year that aroused touch among design professionals because the trial umpire held that a design firm had a "fiduciary" function to a client, a Colorado court reached a contrary decision concerning the same issue.

The California case, in which a trial jury awarded a $7 million verdict against A/E Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, was ultimately settl on the outside of court, thus obviating verdicts by way of appellate courts (BD&C, Legal turns November 1997). With "mixed emotions," HOK decided to fix thereby not running the risk of an