Archive:September 2008

1
Insurer Granted Summary Judgment against General Contractor where Contract between Subcontractor and Injured Worker’s Firm Fails to Meet Indemnification Requirements
2
Inability to Determine Whether Owner Owed General Contractor when Subcontractor filed Lien Precludes Summary Judgment
3
Finding Surety Sufficiently Pled for Quia Timet, Court Denies Motion to Dismiss
4
The Class of One Theory of Equal Protection has No Application in the Public Hiring Context
5
Contractor Authorized by Condo Association to Work on Common Areas May Sue Association as Unit Owners’ Representative

Insurer Granted Summary Judgment against General Contractor where Contract between Subcontractor and Injured Worker’s Firm Fails to Meet Indemnification Requirements

Connolly Bros., Inc. v. Nat’l Fire & Marine Ins. Co., Civ. No. 06-11673-NG, 2008 WL 5423198 (D. Mass. Sept. 30, 2008)

In this case, the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment on a general contractor’s claim for indemnification and for unfair and deceptive practices under M.G.L. c. 93A, because the general contractor was not covered for the relevant incident by the insurer’s policy.

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Inability to Determine Whether Owner Owed General Contractor when Subcontractor filed Lien Precludes Summary Judgment

In Nitro Dynamics v. Petruzzi Bros., Inc., 2008 WL 4635884 (Mass. Super. Ct. Sept. 26, 2008)

In this case, a subcontractor sued three defendants – the owner, the general contractor, and a surety – asserting claims for breach of contract, quantum meruit, and for recovery on a mechanic’s lien dissolution bond.  The Superior Court granted the owner’s motion for judicial notice of a stipulation of dismissal in a related action, but denied the owner’s motion for summary judgment.

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Finding Surety Sufficiently Pled for Quia Timet, Court Denies Motion to Dismiss

Safeco Ins. Co. of America v. Tarragon Corp., 2008 WL 427969 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 16, 2008)

In Safeco, a third-party sued a general contractor and a surety in state court to recover against a Section 713.24 lien transfer bond.  Because the contractor refused to honor its obligations to the surety under their indemnity agreement, the surety then sued the contractor in federal court, asserting a claim quia timet, based on the future monies that the third-party was demanding on the bond.  Quia timet allows a person to seek equitable relief from future probable harm to a specific right.  Under Florida law, quia timet relief is not appropriate without proof that the surety realistically faces loss under the bond and is in jeopardy.

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The Class of One Theory of Equal Protection has No Application in the Public Hiring Context

Douglas Asphalt Co. v. Qore, Inc., 541 F.3d 1269 (11th Cir. Sept. 2, 2008)

In Douglas Asphalt, a highway paving contractor sued State Department of Transportation officials, in their individual capacity, under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983.  The contractor claimed that the Department wrongfully singled out the contractor and treated it differently than other paving contractors in violation of the equal protection clause.  The contractor argued that the officials were not shielded from liability by their qualified immunity defense because the contractor was alleging a “class of one” equal protection claim.

The Eleventh Circuit disagreed and held that the reasoning behind the U.S Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in Engquist v. Oregon, 128 S. Ct. 2146 (2008), a government-employee relationship case, applied in the government contractor context.  Specifically, there is a “crucial difference between the government exercising its power to regulate or license, as lawmaker, and the government acting as proprietor to manage its internal operation.”  Employment decision making, including the hiring of government contractors, is “often subjective and individualized, resting on a wide array of factors that are difficult to articulate and quantify.”  Thus, the class of one theory of equal protection has no application in the public hiring context—otherwise every government hiring decision would become a constitutional matter.

Contractor Authorized by Condo Association to Work on Common Areas May Sue Association as Unit Owners’ Representative

Trintec Constr., Inc. v. Countryside Village Condo. Assoc., 992 So. 2d 277 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2008)

This case addresses whether the term “owner” for the purpose of applying mechanic’s lien law to a condominium property and improvements to its common elements refers to:  (a) each and every unit owner in the condominium, or (b) the condominium association created by the declaration.  The association argued that lien law’s use of “owner” means each individual condominium owner such that those owners are indispensable parties.  The Court, analyzing the construction lien statute and Florida civil procedure rules as to condominium associations held that the unit owners are not indispensable parties and the roofing contractor could proceed against just the association.

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