{"id":1723,"date":"2013-06-15T06:51:44","date_gmt":"2013-06-15T12:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=1723"},"modified":"2013-06-11T16:51:59","modified_gmt":"2013-06-11T22:51:59","slug":"dont-threaten-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/dont-threaten-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t threaten me!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Karl Oles – June 4, 2013<\/p>\n

A 2013 decision from New York reminds us that threats can be costly.\u00a0In Mometal Structures, Inc. v. T.A. Ahern Contractors Corp., from the Eastern District of New York, Mometal was hired by Ahern as structural steel subcontractor.\u00a0The project was delayed for reasons that were not Mometal\u2019s fault.\u00a0Mometal tried to get the information and approvals it needed; Ahern responded slowly or not at all.<\/p>\n

After more than six months, Mometal told Ahern that it would not commit to a steel erection start date unless Ahern issued a change order to cover past delays.\u00a0Ahern gave notice of default but Mometal didn\u2019t back down.\u00a0Ahern then terminated Mometal\u2019s subcontract.\u00a0Mometal and Ahern then sued each other for breach.\u00a0Ahern won. The court held that, even though Mometal had been exposed to months of frustrating delays (for which it would presumably have been entitled to compensation), Mometal\u2019s demand for a change order was a breach of the contract.<\/p>\n

The legal principle involved is called \u201canticipatory repudiation.\u201d\u00a0When a party to a contract says \u201cI am not going to perform,\u201d the other party can treat this as a breach.\u00a0Under the contract with Ahern, Mometal had a duty to continue work even though it had pending claims.\u00a0Telling Ahern that it would not perform without a change order was an anticipatory repudiation by Mometal.<\/p>\n

Washington follows the same rule.\u00a0In CKP, Inc. v. GRS Construction Co., 63 Wn. App. 601 (1991), the prime contractor threatened to withhold payment from a sub unless the sub agreed to a change order.\u00a0The court held this was an anticipatory repudiation because the prime had a duty to continue making payments despite a change order dispute.<\/p>\n

If your project goes off course and you want to stir the other party into action, remember the doctrine of anticipatory repudiation.\u00a0Don\u2019t make threats that are not backed up by the contract terms or you might turn a frustrating situation into a disaster.<\/p>\n

via Don’t threaten me! – Lexology<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Karl Oles – June 4, 2013 A 2013 decision from New York reminds us that threats can be costly.\u00a0In Mometal Structures, Inc. v. T.A. Ahern Contractors Corp., from the Eastern District of New York, Mometal was hired by Ahern as structural steel subcontractor.\u00a0The project was delayed for reasons that were not Mometal\u2019s fault.\u00a0Mometal tried to… Continue reading Don’t threaten me!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,172],"tags":[158,358,27],"class_list":["post-1723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-contracts","category-construction-law-2","tag-breach-of-contract","tag-change-order","tag-construction-law","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nDon't threaten me! - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/dont-threaten-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don't threaten me! - Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Karl Oles – June 4, 2013 A 2013 decision from New York reminds us that threats can be costly.\u00a0In Mometal Structures, Inc. v. 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