In an effort to prevent unmeritorious malpractice claims from proceeding against licensed professionals, including licensed professional engineers, a minority of state legislatures have passed statutes requiring the filing of an affidavit or certificate of merit by the plaintiff supporting the plaintiff's contention that it has a valid legal claim against the defendant engineer. However, in the world of litigation, it seems that there are an abundance of experts who are willing to provide affidavits and/or certificates or merit where required as a precursor to or at the time filing suit. As a result, I have not seen statutory requirements for affidavits or certificates of merit as being successful countermeasures against frivolous lawsuits. For those of you practicing in jurisdictions with such requirements, what has your experience been? Do you find that these requirements are helpful in avoiding litigation?
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Sarah Johnson, J.D.
Partner
Karbal, Cohen, Economou, Silk & Dunne, LLC
Chicago IL
(312)431-3643
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