Are Contractors and Subcontractors Allowed to Rob Peter to Pay Paul When it Comes to Paying Subcontractors and Suppliers?

One of the main problems most contractors (and subcontractors) face is cashflow. When the economy is going well, most contractors still find their payments lagging 60 to 90 days behind the 30 days required by most construction contracts. When an owner fails to make timely payment, general contractors end up in arrears with their subcontractors, who end up in the arrears with their subcontractors (i.e. sub-subcontractors) and suppliers. Often well intended contractors (and subcontractors) may end up using monies received from one project to pay subcontractors (and/or sub-subcontractors) on another. The reasons for paying subcontractors from one project with funds received from another may be because the subcontractors on the second job have gone longer without payment and/or are more in need. The question is whether that is legal.

In Connecticut, it has recently become riskier for contractors to pay their subcontractors (and for their subcontractors to pay their sub-subcontractors and suppliers) with funds received from another project. Connecticut has long had prompt payment statutes which require contractors to pay subcontractors “not later than twenty-five days after the date the contractor receives payment from the owner” on private projects and “within thirty days after payment to the contractor by the state or a municipality” on public projects.

UNDERSTANDING HOW THE COURTS WILL INTERPRET YOUR CONTRACT

A well drafted, written contract expresses the intent of the parties in clear language without any ambiguity. For that reason, when a court interprets a written contract, it seeks “to determine the intent of the parties from the language used interpreted in the light of the situation of the parties and the circumstances connected with the transaction.” MJM Indus. v. Henley Co., 2020 Conn. Super. LEXIS 427, *6. In fact, according to the “parol evidence rule,” if the written contract contains the full expression of the parties’ agreement, a court is generally not allowed to look beyond the language of the written agreement itself. The prior negotiations between the parties will be considered irrelevant. Anything that may have been said verbally or in writing during the parties’ contract negotiations that was not made part of the final written contract is typically not enforceable by either party.

A contract that contains the full agreement of the parties is referred to as a fully integrated agreement. Again, “[i]n order to determine whether a written agreement is integrated, a court must look to the intention of the parties.” Giorgio v. Nukem, Inc., 31 Conn. App.

How to Successfully Deal with OSHA

At the outset, I want to stipulate that it is important to protect worker health and safety. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to have everyone go home safe and sound. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) is an administrative agency charged with promoting the health and safety of workers across many industries. While I do not want to belittle OSHA’s mission, there is no question that government regulation can be detrimental to business, and it could be argued that OSHA is unnecessary.

Without question, there is not a single employer who wants anything to happen to its workers. While there might be an occasional employer who does not fully value its employees, even the most callous individual would recognize that employee injuries and/or deaths are detrimental to productivity and profits. Therefore, the last thing anyone wants is for there to be any accidents.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, OSHA is not going to be going way any time soon. Thus, if you are working in the construction industry, it is important to know your rights and to know how to handle both a routine inspection and/or an accident situation.

Connecticut is one of four states that has both federal and state OSHA.

When the Breach of a Construction Contract is not a Breach

The doctrine of substantial performance holds that a contractor’s breach of a construction contract does not entitle the owner to damages because the contractor’s performance was close enough to that which the contract required. “Technical violations are excused not because compliance [is] impossible, but because actual performance is so similar to the required performance that any breach that may have been committed is immaterial. Substantial performance occurs when, although the conditions of the contract have been deviated from in trifling particulars not materially detracting from the benefit the other party would derive from a literal performance, [the other party] has received substantially the benefit [it] expected, and is, therefore, bound to perform.” United Concrete Prod., Inc. v. NJR Constr., LLC, No. CV176011932S, 2018 WL 5733720, at *4 (Conn. Super. Ct. Oct. 17, 2018). The classic example of this doctrine is a situation where the contract specifies a product manufactured by Company A but the contractor provides the same product manufactured by Company B. Because the contract expressly stated that the product shall be manufactured by Company A, the installation of the same product manufactured by a different company is a breach of the contract. However, because the products are identical other than the name of the manufacturer,

Connecticut’s Procedure for Substituting a Bond for a Mechanic’s Lien Needs to be Changed

The purpose of a mechanic’s lien is to provide collateral for a contract debt. If you perform work on a project and are not paid, then the mechanic’s lien laws allow you to attach the property where the work was performed. In other words, a mechanic’s lien provides you with a property right you can foreclose in the same manner a bank can foreclose a mortgage. However, before you can force a sale of the property to collect your money, you have to prove you are entitled to the payment you claim. Therefore, a mechanic’s lien could be in place a long time.

Because the lien laws are intended to provide security for a debt, but are not intended to prevent the property from being transacted, most states, including Connecticut, have a procedure by which a surety bond can be substituted for a mechanic’s lien. The problem with Connecticut’s procedure is that it is too long and cumbersome.

While a mechanic’s lien is in place, a property cannot be refinanced, or sold – at least not without addressing the mechanic’s lien to a lender’s and/or buyer’s satisfaction. It is possible that the property might be refinanced or sold if the owner places the lien amount in escrow,

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE NOT BEING PAID

The most common issue I confront as a construction attorney is what to do when my client is not being paid. The standard approaches include sending a demand letter, making a demand for disputed funds to be placed in escrow in accordance with the prompt payment statute, and, of course, filing mechanic’s liens and/or bond claims. The larger issue becomes what to do when my client can no longer to perform its work without payment.

As a general rule, a contractor is better off completing its work, and then fighting about the monies due, as opposed to walking off the job. While it is true that there are Connecticut cases which hold that a contractor is excused from finishing its work if progress payments are not made when due, but reliance on such cases is fraught with potential problems.

If you ever forced to litigate, you want to be viewed as the one wearing the white hat. You want to be the injured party that is as pure as the driven snow. If at all possible, you do not want to give the other side any arguments to raise. Thus, if you walk off the job for nonpayment,

Remedial Work Does Not Extend the Deadline to Commence an Action on a Payment Bond

As most contractors are aware, if they are not paid for their labor, materials, and/or services, they can strengthen their position prior to filing a lawsuit by filing a mechanic’s lien, or by making a claim against the project’s bond claim. Of course, both options are not generally available. Typically, the choice is based upon whether the project is private or public. On private projects, a contractor (or supplier) is allowed to gain a security interest in the property by filing a mechanic’s lien. On public projects, federal and local governments passed laws requiring the general contractor on public projects to post “payment bonds,” which guarantee the payment of those who supply labor, materials, and/or services to the property. In other words, because governments were not willing to let public lands be subject to foreclosure, on public projects, statutorily required payment bonds were created to take the place of mechanic’s liens. Of course, private owners may require general contractors to post payment bonds on private projects as well, but this post only addresses the statutory payment bonds required on public projects.

The law that requires payment bonds on federal projects is known as the Miller Act. The various state laws that require payment bonds on state projects are often referred to as “Little Miller Acts.” The requirements are the Miller Act and the various Little Miller Acts are generally similar.

The Importance of Determining the Amount to Which You May Be Entitled After the Breach of a Construction Contract

Litigation is expensive. Before pursuing any particular claim, you need to determine if pursuing the claim makes economic sense. Standing on principle sounds good initially but often starts to seem like less of a good idea as the litigation costs mount.

The value of a claim is referred to as the “measure of damages.” In every lawsuit, the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant did something wrong that injured the plaintiff, i.e. establish the defendant’s “liability”; and the plaintiff has to prove the amount of money to which it is entitled to receive as a result of the defendant’s wrongful conduct to a reasonable certainty, i.e. establish the plaintiff’s “damages.”

Proving damages is just as important as proving liability. The failure of a plaintiff to prove its damages will result in the claims against the defendant being dismissed. See e.g. Shoreline Care Ltd. P’Ship v. Jansen & Rogan Consulting Eng’rs, P.C., 2002 Conn. Super. LEXIS 3715, *15, (Conn. Super. Ct. Nov. 15, 2002). In Shoreline Care Ltd. P’Ship, the project was constructed in phases but, because of the procedural history of the case,

A Mechanic’s Lien: Something Simple That’s Been Made Complicated

One of the first things I was ever taught about mechanic’s liens is that the legislation’s original intent was for a contractor to be able to perfect a mechanic’s lien without the aid of an attorney. If that’s true, the system is not working as intended. Of course, that is not surprising given the complicated legislation and its arguably inconsistent interpretation.

A mechanic’s lien is unique insofar as it allows a contractor to obtain an interest in real property without requiring any kind of hearing or notice. As long as the lien documents are properly prepared, recorded, and served, the lien is in place. In addition, the fact that mechanic’s liens have priority dates that relate back to the first day that the contractor performs work and/or supplies materials, mechanic’s liens that did not exist when a mortgage was given or the property was sold can appear on the land records after such transactions and take priority over an earlier filed mortgage and/or encumber property owned by someone who was not the property owner at the time the work was performed, materials were supplied and/or services were rendered.

Of course, reading the statutes is not sufficient to completely understand mechanic’s liens.