Monthly Archives: July 2018

Issue: Property damage insurance and waiver of subrogation. Ritacca Laser Center v. Brydges. Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District (2018)., by Hugh Anderson

Summary: A medical facility, Ritacca Laser Center, entered into a design-build contract to remodel a basement space into a surgical suite. The design-build contractor retained O’Hare Engineering for design and installation of the building’s HVAC system. A few days after the new facility’s grand opening, a fire caused extensive damage. The cause of the fire […]

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Issue: Termination of construction contract three years after completion. S.J. Louis v. City of Austin. Texas (2018). by Hugh Anderson

Summary: This is a pending case that has not yet reached the appellate stage, but bears monitoring. The case arises from a $161 million flood control tunnel project. The contractor allegedly used shoddy concrete and failed to install a tunnel liner or rebar in some places. Repairs were made and the city may or may […]

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Issue: May a public owner terminate a contract for convenience, solely to obtain a better price from another supplier? A.L. Prime Energy Consultant, Inc. v. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (2018). by Hugh Anderson

Summary: The MBTA entered into a contract with Prime Energy for the supply of diesel fuel. After the contract was under way, MBTA learned that another Massachusetts state agency had entered into a statewide diesel fuel supply contract with a different supplier, at a substantially lower unit price. MBTA was eligible to obtain fuel under […]

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