The City of Hartford Stadium Authority Has Terminated the Developer of Dunkin Donuts Park — Here’s What Comes Next

If you are a trade contractor or supplier working on Dunkin Donuts Park in Hartford, Connecticut, you have undoubtedly heard that the City of Hartford Stadium Authority (Authority) has terminated the developer and made claim against its insurer. Although the news reports are referring to the situation as an “insurance claim,” those reports are inaccurate. The Authority has submitted a bond claim. If your work is currently in limbo because of the Authority’s termination, your next steps depend upon how the surety that posted the subject bonds intends to respond.

As more fully explained below, there are different types of bonds that were most likely posted by the developer.

[T]here are important differences between performance bonds and commercial general liability contracts… The purpose of a performance bond is to guarantee the completion of the contract upon default by the contractor. Accordingly, suretyship is properly viewed as a form of credit enhancement in which premiums are charged in consideration of the fundamental underwriting assumption that the surety will be protected against loss by the principal.

Capstone Bldg. Corp. v. Am. Motorists Ins. Co., 308 Conn. 760, 791-792 (Conn. 2013). In other words, unlike an insurance claim that will be paid if based upon a covered loss,