Case In Which Exculpatory Provisions of a Contract Were Enforced

Exculpatory Provisions of a Contract were Enforced because it was Found that There was No Constructive Fraud on the Part of the School While Giving the Contract: In Branna Construction Corporation v. West Allegheny Joint School Authority, 430 Pa. 214, 242 A.2d 244 (1968), the school authority awarded a construction contract and provided the contractor with plans and specifications, which, the contractor alleged, materially misrepresented the subsurface conditions and caused the contractor to incur additional costs. Branna, 430 Pa. at 216, 242 A.2d at 245. This contract also contained exculpatory provisions warning the contractor not to rely on the plan and specifications and, instead, conduct its own investigation. Because the school authority could not be charged with prior knowledge of the unanticipated conditions, there was no constructive fraud. Id. at 219-20, 242 A.2d at 246. Without a finding of constructive fraud, the Court fully enforced the exculpatory provisions of the contract and held the contractor had no right to rely on the school authority's representations. Id. at 221, 242 A.2d at 247.