Constructlaw

Subscribe to Constructlaw's Posts

Worth Constr. Co. v. I.T.R.I. Masonry Corp.,
2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2144 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 21, 2001)
Worth Construction entered into a masonry subcontract with ITRI Masonry for a correctional facility in New York. Due to cash flow concerns, ITRI requested and Worth acquiesced to an arrangement where Worth would pay ITRI’s actual payroll costs, but not payroll taxes or benefits, on a weekly basis. These costs would then be deducted from ITRI’s monthly progress payment. Nevertheless, ITRI began to fall behind in its payments to vendors and its workforce. Subsequently Worth began paying ITRI’s payroll and suppliers by joint check. Eventually Worth terminated ITRI for nonperformance on March 13, 1998 and hired all of ITRI’s tradesmen and supervisors to complete the masonry work.

Sinco, Inc. v. Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co.,
99 Civ. 10631 (AKH), 2001 U.S. Dist. Lexis 1986 (S.D.N.Y. March 1, 2001)
The district court considered whether a tender so defective as to undermine the buyer’s confidence in seller’s ability to cure renders the seller’s attempts to cure futile. The court declined to adopt the “shaken faith” or “loss of confidence” doctrine to relieve the buyer of a fall protection system for the safety of its workers from its contractual duty to accept the seller’s attempted cure. Ultimately, however, the court granted summary judgment to the buyer after finding the seller’s attempts to cure were ineffective.

Harbor Court Assoc. v. Leo A. Daly Co.,
179 F.3d 147 (4th Cir. 1999)
The plaintiffs, Harbor Court Associates and Murdock Development Company (“HCA/Murdock”) were the developers of Harbor Court Complex, located in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland. On April 28, 1983, HCA/Murdock hired Leo Daly (“Daly”), an architect with a principal place of business is in Nebraska, to design and construct the project. The parties used an A.I.A. document, which stated that, for disputes arising out of the contract: “any applicable statute of limitations shall commence to run and any alleged cause of action shall be deemed to have accrued in any and all events not later than the relevant Date of Substantial Completion of the Work, and [as to any failures occurring after substantial completion] not later than the date of issuance of the Final Certificate of Payment.”

17 Vista Fee Assocs. v. Teachers Ins. and Annuity Assoc. of America,
1999 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7981 (July 15, 1999)
The plaintiffs/third-party plaintiffs 17 Vista Fee Associates and 17 Vista Associates (“17 Vista”) entered into a sale agreement with defendant Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (“TIAA”), pursuant to which 17 Vista was to construct an office building at 17 State Street in Manhattan, and to sell it to TIAA upon completion. To obtain a certificate of occupancy for the building, the sales agreement required 17 Vista to perform several tasks, including construction of the building’s smoke purge system. 17 Vista retained Third-Party Defendant Jaros Baum & Bolles (“JB&B”), a mechanical engineer, to perform design services for the building.

Cates Constr., Inc. v. Talbot Partners et al.,
1999 Cal. LEXIS 4847 (Co. July 29, 1999)
In 1989, defendant Talbot Partners (“Talbot”) hired plaintiff Cates Construction, Inc. (“Cates”) to build a condominium project in Malibu, California. The construction contract required Cates to have the project ready for occupancy in eight months. The contract also required Cates to furnish a performance bond and a labor and materials bond, both of which were subsequently issued by Transamerica Insurance Company (“Transamerica”).

Ellett Constr. Co., Inc. v. United States,
93 F.3d 1537, U.S. App. LEXIS, August 26, 1996
A settlement proposal in response to a termination for the convenience of the Government is a non-routine claim subject to the jurisdiction of the courts pursuant to the Contracts Disputes Act, provided that the settlement proposal ripens into a claim after negotiations have reached an impasse.

Sokaogon Gaming Enterprise Corp. v. Tushie-Montgomery Assocs, Inc.,
86 F.3d 656, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 13399 (7th Cir. June 5, 1996)
District Court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Indian tribe on grounds of tribe’s sovereign immunity; by signing contract with explicit arbitration clause, tribe agreed that it could be sued.

Roberts & Schaefer Co. v. Merit Contracting, Inc.,
99 F.3d 248, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 28280 (U.S. Ct. of Appeals, 7th Cir.)
Contract between the parties contained an enforceable forum selection clause, even though the actual written agreement was signed by only one of the parties; therefore, suit brought in Illinois state court pursuant to the forum selection clause, was not removable to Federal Court.

Neal & Co., Inc. v. City of Dillingham and CH2M Hill Northwest, Inc.,
923 P.2d 89 (Alaska 1996)
In February of 1987, the City of Dillingham (“City”) solicited bids for the construction of a sewerage facility, which would include two lagoon ponds. CH2M Hill (“Hill”), the City’s engineer and on-site representative, had completed a geotechnical survey and data summary, which was provided to interested bidders. Neal & Company, Inc. (“NCI”) was declared the low bidder at $2,059,991 and began excavation on June 6, 1987.