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Wednesday, September 10 • 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
Troutman Pepper Locke’s Washington DC office is excited to host a morning workshop, sponsored by the Society for Construction Law North America, focusing on domestic and international construction arbitration practices and procedures. We warmly invite you to join us for this event, where you can engage with industry leaders and colleagues to discuss pivotal issues shaping the domestic and international construction sectors.
On May 22, the Supreme Court in Kousisis, et al., v. United States,[1] affirmed the convictions of a painting subcontractor and its owner (defendants) under the federal wire fraud statute for conspiring to defraud the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) by exploiting the DOT’s disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) program in connection with two Philadelphia construction projects.[2] As explained below, the Court resolved a divide among the circuits over the validity of a federal fraud conviction where the defendant did not seek to cause the victim net pecuniary loss. The Court held that where a fraudster seeks to induce the government into a transfer of its money or property, that loss is sufficient to sustain a fraud conviction, regardless of whether the government has suffered pecuniary loss.
Michael Schwartz, Kristin Jones, and John Gazzola were published in the August 2023 Pratt’s Government Contracting Law Report article, “Suppliers Beware: U.S. Government Continues Prosecution of Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Fraud Cases Involving Supplies Passed Through Disadvantaged Business Enterprises.”
SDSP, LLC v. Attias, 2023 Pa. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1518
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania vacated a multimillion-dollar award to subcontractors arising from a payment dispute, and remanded the matter to the trial court for an attorney’s fees award to the developer who prevailed on appeal. This is a strong reminder to all tiers of the construction chain that Pennsylvania’s Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act (CASPA) allows substantially prevailing parties — whether owners, contractors, or subcontractors — to recover fees incurred in proceedings involving payment claims.
This article summarizes statutory remedies available to contractors, subcontractors and material suppliers when upstream parties fail or refuse to release payments on public and private construction projects. Entities furnishing work or materials have several statutory means to enforce their rights to payment, including mechanic’s liens, payment bond claims, and/or claims
Bean Sprouts LLC v. LifeCycle Construction Servs. LLC, No. 001268-CV-2021 (Pa. Super. Feb. 17, 2022)
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently raised the bar for state courts to assert jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants in actions brought by residents arising from out-of-state projects.
Dolan v. Hurd Millwork Co., No. 2951 EDA 2015, 2019 BL 229344 (Pa. Super. Ct. June 21, 2019)
This cases arises out of defective windows installed in a residential construction project. In 1999, Leo J. Dolan purchased a custom home from Bentley Homes, Ltd. and its affiliates (“Bentley Homes”). Hurd Millwork Company, Inc. provided many of the home’s windows. Dolan almost immediately observed issues in the home’s construction, including air and water leaks around the windows. Bentley Homes, however, led him to believe the issues had been fixed.
Matter of Red Hook 160 LLC v. Borough Constr. Grp. LLC, No. 524909/18, 2019 BL 122210 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Mar. 19, 2019)
This cases arises out of a project owner’s request for further itemization of amounts claimed in a construction manager’s mechanic’s lien. Red Hook 160 LLC (“Red Hook”), the owner of the property sought to be liened, demanded a revised itemized statement of the mechanics’ lien filed by Borough Construction Group, LLC (“BCG”), the construction manager hired in connection with the construction and renovation of a six story building located at 160 Imlay Street in Kings County, New York.
Hagen Constr. Inc. v. Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., No. JKB-18-1201, 2019 BL 36862 (D. Md. Feb. 04, 2019)
This case arises out of the construction of a pediatric outpatient center in southern New Jersey. Plaintiff subcontractor Hagen Construction, Inc. (“Hagen”) filed suit in New Jersey state Court against defendant general contractor Whiting-Turner Construction Co. (“W-T”), seeking reimbursement for labor inefficiency costs incurred as a result of W-T’s alleged project mismanagement. Hagen claimed it incurred additional costs to repeat work and remobilize to multiple areas because it was not afforded unimpeded access or timely supply of necessary materials and information. Once the case was removed and transferred to Maryland federal Court, W-T moved for partial summary judgment on the portion of Hagen’s breach of contract claim reflecting labor inefficiency costs.
