Commercial Painting Company, Inc. v. The Weitz Company, LLC (Dissent)

Syllabus

economic-loss doctrine bars recovery in tort for purely economic losses in certain situations. In this case, the Court is asked to apply that doctrine to bar tort claims brought by a subcontractor against a general contractor, where the relationship between the subcontractor and general contractor is governed by a contract. The majority opinion cabins the economic-loss doctrine to products liability cases and refuses to extend it to contracts for services for fear that doing so would require that we also create various exceptions. I respectfully disagree with that holding. The core rationale underlying the economic-loss doctrine—to create a boundary line between tort and contract law to ensure that parties can allocate risks and responsibilities as they see fit—applies equally to cases involving contracts for services. And to the extent that any exceptions to the rule would be needed, their creation would not be nearly as difficult or messy as the majority predicts. I would hold that the economic-loss doctrine applies here and precludes the subcontractor from recovering punitive damages and pre-judgment interest.