Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation

G4S Tech. LLC v. Mass. Tech. Park Corp., 2018 Mass. Lexis 357 (June 13, 2018)

A state development agency (the “Agency”), received state and federal funding to build a 1,200-mile fiber optic network.  It contracted with G4S Technology LLC (“G4S”) for the project under a $45.5 million design-build agreement.  As a result of project delays – the cause of which the parties disputed – G4S achieved final completion of the work more than one year after the contractual deadline.  Shortly after completion, the Agency issued a notice of withholding, claiming a right to withhold $4 million from G4S to compensate the Agency for delays and expenses incurred as a result of G4S’s alleged failures to perform.

G4S sued the Agency in Massachusetts Superior Court, asserting claims for breach of contract and quantum meruit.  It sought release of the contract balance plus an equitable adjustment of the contract price and deadlines.  In discovery, the Agency learned that G4S had repeatedly submitted inaccurate progress payment applications during the project, which falsely represented that G4S had timely paid its subcontractors.  The Agency cited this evidence in support of a motion for summary judgment, arguing that G4S’s conduct barred its right to recover money owed to it under the contract and under a theory of quantum meruit.  The Superior Court granted the motion, and G4S appealed.
Continue Reading A Contractor That Intentionally and Materially Breaches Its Contract Is Not Precluded From Recovery Under Quantum Meruit; Massachusetts Supreme Court Overrules Century-Old Precedent Strictly Barring Such Relief