Court Decisions Archives - EJCDC - Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee

0 General contractor’s responsibility for safety of subcontractor’s employee. Foley v. Builtech Construction, Inc. Appellate Court of Illinois (2019), by Hugh Anderson

Summary: John Foley was an employee of a subcontractor. He injured his back while pulling rebar from a tangled storage pile. Builtech was the general contractor. Foley sued Builtech, alleging negligence, failure to provide a safe workplace, and premises liability. Builtech moved for summary judgment, contending that it did not have actual or constructive notice […]

0 Issue: Impact of a pay-when-paid clause in the context of subcontractor’s payment bond claim. Crosno Construction, Inc. v. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America. Court of Appeal, California (2020), by Hugh Anderson

Summary: Clark Bros., Inc., was the general contractor on an arsenic removal water treatment plant project for the North Edwards Water District in Kern County, California. Clark furnished a payment bond issued by Travelers. Clark entered into a subcontract with Crosno Construction under which Crosno was to fabricate, erect, and coat two 250,000-gallon welded steel […]

0 Calculation of the deductible under a builder’s risk insurance policy. McDonnel Group, LLC v. Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Company, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (2020), by Hugh Anderson

Summary: The McDonnel Group was the general contractor for the renovation of the historic Jung Hotel in New Orleans. McDonnel purchased a builder’s risk policy, expressly including flood insurance. Two years into the project, on August 5, 2017, a heavy rain caused $3.2 million in damage to the work in progress. McDonnel made a claim […]

0 Construction contractor’s lien rights after sending owner multiple conflicting and unsubstantiated invoices. Olmstead Construction, Inc. v. Otter Creek Investments, Inc. Court of Appeals of Iowa (2019), by Hugh Anderson

Summary: Otter Creek Investments contracted with Olmstead for construction of a convenience store and gas station, on a cost-plus-fee basis. Eventually the project ran into budget problems, and there was confusion about the payment of some of the subcontractors. The contractor submitted conflicting invoices for the work, and failed to provide requested documentation and explanation. […]

0 Contractor’s entitlement to additional compensation for remedying defects that the Owner had ignored during initial performance of the work. Appeal of Buck Town Contractors & Co. Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (2019), by Hugh Anderson

Summary: The Corps of Engineers entered into a contract with Buck Town Contractors to rebuild a hurricane protection levee in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. The design documents included detailed requirements regarding the placement of the specified geotextile material at the base of the levee. One requirement was that the geotextile was to be installed in […]

0 Design-builder’s right to sue the owner’s consulting engineer for deficiencies in the bridging documents that engineer prepared, on a third-party beneficiary basis. Arco Ingenieros v. CDM International, Inc. United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (2019), by Hugh Anderson

Summary: In 2009 Tropical Storm Ida struck El Salvador, causing widespread damage. Two years later the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) embarked on a program to build several schools and a health clinic in El Salvador, to replace facilities that had been destroyed or damaged by the storm. USAID had a master contract […]

0 Contractor’s entitlement to interest and attorneys’ fees under a broad indemnification clause in a subcontract. Skanska USA Building, Inc. v. J.D. Long Masonry, Inc. United States District Court for the District of Maryland (2019), by Hugh Anderson

Summary: In 2004 Skanska was the general contractor on a National Institutes of Health research facility project in Baltimore. Skanska subcontracted the masonry façade work to Long Masonry. Years later, in 2013, the façade that Long had constructed collapsed as a result of Long’s failure to construct the façade according to the design or industry […]

0 Enforceability of a state statute barring cities from imposing residency requirements on contractors’ employees. City of Cleveland v. The State of Ohio. Supreme Court of Ohio (2019), by Hugh Anderson

Summary: In 2003 the City of Cleveland concluded that relatively few city residents were employed on public works projects funded by the city. Cleveland therefore passed an ordinance requiring that 20% of the total construction work hours on major municipal construction projects be performed by city residents. Public works contracts were required to specify penalties […]

0 Project architect’s duty of care to construction contractor. Uddin v. Singer Architects, Inc. District Court of Appeal, Florida (2019), by Hugh Anderson

Summary: Broward County, Florida, entered into a contract with an architectural firm for construction phase services on a project at the Fort Lauderdale Airport. The County also entered into a contract with a construction contractor. Both contracts contained routine provisions that are found in industry-standard contracts, such as those published by EJCDC, concerning the role […]

0 Insurance company’s duty to defend and indemnify contractor against owner’s breach of contract claim. Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Co. v. GHD Inc. United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (2019), by Hugh Anderson

Summary: DVO Inc. (formerly GHD) is in the business of designing and constructing anaerobic digesters, which use microorganisms to break down materials in the absence of oxygen. This creates biogas, which can be used to generate electricity. DVO entered into a contract with a private owner, WTE, to design and build such a digester in […]

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