§ 150.001.Definitions

Seven definitions, and the third sets the reach of the chapter’s central requirement.

"Licensed or registered professional" means a licensed architect, licensed professional engineer, registered professional land surveyor, or registered landscape architect — or any firm in which such a professional practices, including a corporation, professional corporation, limited liability corporation, partnership, limited liability partnership, sole proprietorship, joint venture, or any other business entity.

Four professions, and no others. The certificate of merit requirement does not reach accountants, lawyers, doctors, or contractors — a claim against any of them proceeds without one, whatever its resemblance to a design claim.

The firm is covered as fully as the individual, and the list of entity forms is exhaustive enough that a design practice cannot escape by its structure.

"Complaint" means any petition or other pleading that for the first time raises a claim against such a professional for damages arising out of the provision of professional services. That phrase fixes when the affidavit is due — with the first pleading asserting the claim, not the first pleading in the case.

"Claimant" reaches a plaintiff or third-party plaintiff seeking damages, contribution, or indemnification — so a defendant seeking to pass liability on to a design professional is a claimant and needs an affidavit too.

"Certified municipal inspector" was added for the disaster-service immunity later in the chapter, and covers a full-time political subdivision employee certified by a national model code group or licensed as a plumbing inspector.

The practice of architecture and of engineering take their meanings from the Occupations Code.