DGS v. Pittsburgh Building Co.
2007 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 160 (Pa. Commw. Ct. April 5, 2007)
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court held that a contractor was entitled to recover penalty interest and attorney fees under the Pennsylvania Prompt Payment Act from the Department of General Services (“DGS”) when DGS had engaged in arbitrary and vexatious conduct by withholding payment for costs associated with a five-month suspension and unsuitable soil conditions when DGS was aware of, yet failed to disclose, problematic soil conditions.

Fletcher-Harlee Corp. v. Pote Concrete Contractors, Inc.
2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 7808 (3d Cir., Apr. 5, 2007 )
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that, despite the commercial practice to the contrary, a subcontractor was not bound by the qualified bid it submitted to a general contractor. The subcontractor’s bid plainly stated that the price was for information purposes only and should not be relied on by the recipient.
General Contractor Fletcher-Harlee solicited subcontract bids for concrete work. As is an industry custom, Fletcher-Harlee stated in its solicitation letter that bids must be held open for a minimum of 60 days and also that the subcontractor must agree to be accountable for the prices and proposals submitted. Pote Concrete Contractors submitted a written bid. However, Pote included a disclaimer in its submission. In the bid, Pote stated that the price quote was for informational purposes only, was not a firm offer, should not be relied on and that Pote did not agree to be held liable for any of the terms that it submitted.

Titan Stone, Tile & Masonry v. Hunt Construction Group, Inc.
Civ. No. 05-3362, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19489 (D.N.J. March 19, 2007)
The Court decided several motions for summary judgment filed by a prime contractor to claims of a subcontractor. Among the motions decided, the Court addressed the duty of good faith and fair dealing attendant to an obligation to evaluate payment applications, the breadth of a “pay-if-paid” clause, whether a monthly release executed with a payment application barred claims for extra work performed after the pay period in the attendant payment application and whether the plaintiff adequately plead its claim for violation of the New Jersey Trust Fund Act.

Lexicon, Inc. v. Safeco Insurance Co. of America
No. 04-6086, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 3113 (6th Cir. Feb. 9, 2006)
Icon, Inc. served as a subcontractor on a steel plant expansion project in Kentucky. Pursuant to its subcontract, Icon secured a payment bond, with Safeco Insurance Company of America as surety. Lexicon, Inc. performed work on the project as a subcontractor to Icon. Lexicon incurred additional costs on the project as a result of delays for which it was not at fault. Lexicon brought a claim for these “delay and impact” costs against Safeco, as surety for Icon.

Harborview Office Ctr., LLC v. Camosy Inc.
2006 Wisc. App. LEXIS 149 (Wis. Ct. App. Feb. 15, 2006)
Project owner Harborview entered into a contract for the construction of a three-story office building. After discovering significant water infiltration problems, Harborview filed suit against the parties who had provided services in its construction: the general contractor, the architectural firm, the installer of aluminum windows, and the installer of the Exterior Insulation and Finishing System (EIFS). Harborview alleged negligence and breach of contract against each and claimed that in order to resolve the water infiltration problem it would be necessary to remove and replace all of the building’s windows. Harborview hired an expert, who was an architect and engineer, to identify the causes of the problem, evaluate a correction process, and ultimately oversee the remediation process.

Carolina Casualty Insurance Company, et al. v. R.L. Brown & Associates, Inc., et al.
No. 1:04-CV-3537-GET, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5261 (N.D. Ga. January 25, 2006)
In Carolina Casualty Insurance Company, et al. v. R.L. Brown & Associates, Inc., et al., No. 1:04-CV-3537-GET, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5261 (N.D. Ga. January 25, 2006), a dispute arose between a surety that had provided a performance bond on a public works project and the project’s program manager. After the owner declared the general contractor in default for defective work, the surety finished the underlying contract under the terms of the performance bond. The owner sought additional damages from the surety. In an agreement settling those claims for additional damages, the owner assigned to the surety all of its own claims against third parties arising out of the defective construction and supervision of the project.

MidAmerica Construction Management, Inc. v. MasTec North America, Inc., et al.
2006 U.S. App. Lexis 3022 (10th Cir. 2006)
In MidAmerica Construction Management, Inc. v. MasTec North America, Inc., et al., 2006 U.S. App. Lexis 3022 (10th Cir. 2006), the Court held that a subcontract agreement contained a “pay-if-paid” clause, and that the clause in question was enforceable under both Texas and New Mexico law. As a result, general contractors did not need to pay the subcontractor for the work that the subcontractor performed under the contract, because the general contractors had not been paid by the project owner for that work.

Matrix Construction, LLC v. Barton Malow and Schoolcraft College
2006 Mich. App. LEXIS 429, No. 265156 (February 21, 2006)
In Matrix Construction, LLC v. Barton Malow and Schoolcraft College, 2006 Mich. App. LEXIS 429, No. 265156 (February 21, 2006), the Court held that a contractor could not maintain a suit against a construction manager for negligence where the alleged duty arose under the construction manager’s contract with the owner.
Contractor, Matrix Construction, LLC entered into a contract with Owner, Schoolcraft College to furnish and install numerous items for a construction project. Owner also contracted with Construction Manager, Barton Malow to manage and supervise Contractor’s work on the project. Contractor filed suit against Construction Manager alleging that Construction Manager negligently managed the project by failing to properly “supervise, coordinate, plan and schedule the work performed on the project.”

RDP Royal Palm Hotel, L.P. v. Clark Construction Group
Nos. 04-16203 and 05-11713, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 3815 (11th Cir. Feb. 17, 2006)
RDP Royal Palm Hotel, L.P. v. Clark Construction Group, Nos. 04-16203 and 05-11713, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 3815 (11th Cir. Feb. 17, 2006) held that an Owner could not enforce the substantial completion date where the Owner continued to issue change orders and construction change directives after this date had passed. As a result of this waiver, the court further held that the Owner could not hold the Contractor liable for any damages incurred by the Owner as a result of the failure to achieve substantial completion by the substantial completion date.

El Dorado Irrigation Dist. v. Traylor Bros., Inc.
No. 03-949, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1354 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 4, 2006)
In El Dorado Irrigation Dist. v. Traylor Bros., Inc., No. 03-949, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1354 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 4, 2006), the court construed the effect of a liquidated damages clause on plaintiff’s ability to recover other categories of actual damages. The plaintiff sued the defendant contractor, seeking recovery of liquidated damages, loss of power sales, loss of public grant funds, and other damages related to the late completion of the project. The contract contained a liquidated damages clause, which defined the “damages for Contractor delay” at $500 per calendar day.