Pizzarotti, LLC v. X-Treme Concrete Inc., 205 A.D.3d 487 (N.Y. App. Div. 2022)

A New York appellate court recently affirmed the dismissal of a subcontractor’s counterclaims for delay damages and for unpaid amounts because they were barred by the parties’ no-damage-for-delay provision and executed lien waivers, respectively.

Constructural Dynamics, Inc. v. Thomas P. Carney, Inc., No. 1104 EDA 2021, 2022 Pa. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1500 (Pa. Super. July 1, 2022), reargument denied (Sept. 8, 2022).

Like many prompt payment acts, Pennsylvania’s Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act (CASPA) permits owners and contractors to withhold payment for good faith claims — but not forever. Owners and contractors who wait too long could find themselves litigating prompt payment claims and paying the penalties those acts impose on procrastinating payors. A recent decision by the Pennsylvania Superior Court provides some guidance on how long is “too long” to withhold.

Town of New Milford v. Std. Demolition Srvcs., Inc., 212 Conn. App. 30 (2022)

The case involved cleanup and environmental remediation of a vacant factory contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls and asbestos. The town of New Milford (Town) contracted with Standard Demolition Services, Inc. (Contractor) to perform the third phase of this cleanup and remediation. Following a series of disputes and project delays, the Town terminated the Contractor. At the time of termination, the Contractor had performed less than 10% of its scope of work. The Town then rebid the remaining work and hired a third-party to complete the project.

Accreditation: An extract from GAR’s Construction Arbitration Know-how. The whole publication is available at https://globalarbitrationreview.com/insight/know-how/construction-arbitration.

Troutman Pepper Partners Albert Bates and Zachary Torres-Fowler are published in GAR Insight with their article, “GAR Know How Construction Arbitration: USA (September 2022).” This chapter summarizes issues commonly raised during international construction arbitrations…

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…

Tocci Bldg. Corp. v. IRIV Partners, LLC, 101 Mass. App. Ct. 133 (2022)

For the first time, the Appeals Court of Massachusetts has construed the Massachusetts Prompt Payment Act (the statute), requiring strict compliance on the part of owners and contractors who wish to withhold payments from contractors or subcontractors.

The U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) new “enhanced” debriefing rule is intended to provide bidders more transparency and increase the efficiency of the DOD’s bidding system. Effective March 18, the rule is mandatory for contracts and orders worth more than $100 million, while also impacting those worth between $10 million to $99 million to a lesser extent. The DOD believes that sharing more information and providing the ability to ask questions will reduce the number of protests.

Bank of America, N.A. v. ASD Gem Realty LLC, 205 A.D.3d 1, 164 N.Y.S.3d 566 (2022).

ASD Gem Realty LLC and ASD Diamond, Inc. (together, ASD or Owner) contracted Sweet Construction Corp. (Sweet) to renovate a commercial space in Manhattan’s Diamond District (the Project). ASD solicited proposals for the supply and installation of partitions in the space (the Work) and ultimately directed Sweet to hire Arenson Office Furnishings, Inc. (Arenson). Arenson subsequently entered into a subcontract with Sweet to complete the Work (the Subcontract).

DonRob Invs., L. P. v. 360 Residential, LLC, 870 S.E.2d 874 (Ga. Ct. App. 2022)

This case arose from a failed real estate transaction. DonRob Investments LP and Donald Robinson Investments, Inc. (collectively DonRob) agreed to sell, and 360 Residential LLC, 360 Sugar Hill LLC, and 360 Capital Company LLC, (collectively 360) agreed to purchase 12 acres (Site) of a 37-acre parcel of property in Sugar Hill, GA (the Agreement). The Site was in the middle of the parcel and flanked by two sections over which DonRob was to retain ownership. 360 planned to build apartments on the Site. DonRob planned to develop the other two sections into townhomes and commercial units.