Scungio Borst & Assocs. v. 410 Shurs Lane Developers, LLC et al., 2014 Pa. Super. LEXIS 4527 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2014)

On reconsideration of an earlier panel decision of the Pennsylvania Superior Court, the Court en banc rejected a contractor’s contention that Pennsylvania’s Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act (“CASPA”) extends liability for non-payment beyond the actual contracting parties.

This action arose out of the construction of a condominium project in Philadelphia’s Manayunk neighborhood (the “Project”).  The owner, 410 Shurs Lane Developers, LLC (the “Owner”), entered into a written contract with Scungio Borst & Associates (the “Contractor”) for the construction of the Project.  The Contractor performed the contracted-for construction services, as well as $2.6 million in additional work at the direction of the Owner and the Owner’s President and fifty percent shareholder, Robert DeBolt.  When the Contractor was not paid approximately $1.5 million incurred due to the additional work, it filed suit against the Owner and Mr. DeBolt individually, alleging, inter alia, breach of contract and violation of CASPA.

Frontier Contr. Inc. v. Allen Eng’g Contr., Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136474 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 2014)

Frontier Contracting Inc. (Frontier) entered into a teaming agreement with Allen Engineering Contractor, Inc. (Allen) to complete two U.S. Federal Highway projects in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.  During the course of the projects, disputes arose and Allen refused to issue full payments to Frontier.  Frontier then filed a complaint against Allen alleging, in part, a Miller Act claim.

Spectro Alloys Corp. v. Fire Brick Eng’rs Co., Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140817 (D. Minn. Oct. 3, 2014)

Spectro Alloys Corporation (“Spectro”) operates a smelter, and it hired Fire Brick Engineers (“FBE”) to install refractory lining to two furnaces in Spectro’s plant.  When that refractory lining failed prematurely, Spectro sued FBE for breach of express and implied warranties and for breach of contract.  Spectro sought recovery of repair costs and profits lost while its plant was shut down for repairs.

C. Szabo Contracting, Inc. v. Lorig Construction Co., 2014 IL App (2d) 131328; 2014 Ill. App. LEXIS 699 (Sept. 29, 2014)

In May of 2006, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (“Highway Authority”) retained Defendant Lorig Construction Company (“Lorig”) as general contractor on a construction project for improvements to Interstate 355. The Highway Authority required that Lorig subcontract a portion of its work to a “Disadvantaged Business Enterprise” (“DBE”), and that the project be performed with union labor.

Milton Reg’l Sewer Auth. v. Travelers Casualty & Surety Co., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155419 (M.D. Pa. Nov. 3, 2014)

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled that multiple instances of incomplete and/or defective performance by a contractor did not amount to a material breach so as to excuse the owner from providing notice and an opportunity to cure prior to termination.

Travelers Indem. Co. v. Crown Corr, Inc., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 21101 (9th Cir. 2014)

This action arose out of the construction of the University of Phoenix Stadium (the “Stadium”), home of the Arizona Cardinals.  Tourism and Sports Authority (the “Owner”) entered into a Design/Build Agreement with the Arizona Cardinals and Hunt Construction Group (the “Contractor”) for the design and construction of the Stadium (the “Prime Contract”).  The Contractor then entered into a subcontract with Crown Corr, Inc. (the “Subcontractor”) for the design of the Stadium’s exterior enclosure system (the “Subcontract”).

The Pennsylvania Mechanics Lien Law of 1963, after remaining essentially unchanged for 40 years, has been amended four times since 2006.  For a Pennsylvania Bar Institute Program held on November 6, 10, and 17, Kenneth I. Levin spoke concerning the impact of the amendments on the rights and remedies of…

When responding to document requests or a subpoena duces tecum, litigants in New York traditionally have been faced with the onerous privilege log requirements set forth in Section 3122 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules.  Section 3122 requires a litigant who withholds any responsive documents to provide to the requesting party a privilege log containing a separate entry for each withheld document.  Each entry must disclose the legal grounds on which the document is withheld, in addition to certain identifying information including the type of document, the general subject matter of the document, and the date of the document.  N.Y. CPLR § 3122(b).  In complex construction disputes, there is often a large volume of privileged documents, and thus preparing a privilege log that meets the requirements of Section 3122 can be time consuming and expensive.

Branch Banking & Trust Co. v. Construction Supervision Services Inc. (In re Construction Supervision Services Inc.), 753 F.3d 124 (4th Cir. 2014)

Our sister publication, Bankruptcy-Real Estate-Insights.com, recently discussed the unique issues relating to the perfection of mechanics liens after the filing of a bankruptcy petition as resolved…

Pending House Bill 473 seeks to amend the current lien law by creating a centralized construction notices registry in Pennsylvania known as the State Construction Notices Directory (“Directory”), which would provide owners and general contractors with access to a database listing all potential lien claimants on a registered project.

An owner would have the option of registering a project by filing a notice of commencement on the Directory and posting a copy at the site of the project prior to the start of physical construction.