June 2015

NYU Hosps. Ctr. v. HRH Constr. LLC, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31967 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 12, 2015)

NYU Hospitals Center (“NYU”) hired HRH Construction LLC (“HRH”) to renovate NYU’s radiology center. HRH entered into subcontracts with various trades to complete the work. The renovation project was to proceed in several phases, and the contract between NYU and HRH called for HRH to submit monthly payment requisitions for costs and expenses incurred during the preceding month.Continue Reading US District Court in New York Holds Owner’s Interference Bars Claim that Contractor Breached By Abandoning Project

Clipper Pipe & Service, Inc. v. The Ohio Cas. Ins. Co., 2015 Pa. LEXIS 1275 (PA  June 15, 2015)

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that CASPA, 73 P.S. §§501-516, “does not apply to a construction project where the owner is a governmental entity.”  The decision once and for all resolved the issue of whether the Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act (“CASPA”) applies to payment disputes between prime contractors and subcontractors on public works projects,  either instead of, or in addition to, the prompt payment provisions of the Commonwealth Procurement Code, 62 Pa.C.S. §§ 3931-3939 (commonly referred to as “the Prompt Payment Act”).Continue Reading Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Holds Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act (“CASPA”) Inapplicable to Public Works Projects

East Coast Paving & Sealcoating, Inc. v. N. Allegheny Sch. Dist., 111 A.3d 220 (Pa. Commw. Mar. 6, 2015).

North Allegheny School District (“Owner”) hired East Coast Paving & Sealcoating, Inc. (“Contractor”) to pave several large areas.  Shortly after Contractor began its paving work, Owner’s architect found “soft spots” in the areas to be paved.  Contractor’s scope of work under the contract did not include soft spot repair work, in which soft ground is replaced with compacted stone before paving, but Contractor and Owner’s Director of Facilities, who had the authority to authorize additional work, agreed that Contractor would do the repair work.  Owner’s architect’s finding of soft spots and Owner’s Director of Facilities’ agreement with Contractor were documented in a report to Owner.  A second report to Owner documented Contractor’s commencement of the repair work.Continue Reading Pennsylvania Appeals Court Finds Public Owner Waived Written Change Order Requirement By Conduct

State v. Perini Corp., 2015 N.J. LEXIS 388 (N.J. April 30, 2015)

The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that for an improvement supplying critical utilities to multiple buildings constructed as part of a multi-phase construction project, the ten year statute of repose (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1.1(a)) begins to run from that time when the final buildings comprising the project are substantially complete and the improvement is hooked up to all of the buildings it is designed to serve.Continue Reading Supreme Court of New Jersey Determines When Statute of Repose Begins to Run for a Mechanical System Serving a Project Completed in Phases