{"id":888972,"date":"2016-05-25T11:33:14","date_gmt":"2016-05-25T17:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=888972"},"modified":"2016-05-25T11:33:14","modified_gmt":"2016-05-25T17:33:14","slug":"subcontractor-not-entitled-to-payment-after-refusal-to-perform-disputed-extra-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/subcontractor-not-entitled-to-payment-after-refusal-to-perform-disputed-extra-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Subcontractor Not Entitled to Payment After Refusal to Perform Disputed Extra Work"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Elizabeth Wright | Robinson Cole | May 20, 2016<\/p>\n<p>In the hustle and bustle of completing a construction project it can be easy to overlook the importance of the contract.\u00a0 However, when a dispute arises the contract generally dictates the outcome of that dispute.\u00a0 A recent unpublished Massachusetts Appeals Court decision serves as a reminder of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-construction-contract-coordination\/\" target=\"_blank\">importance of the contract<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In <em>ACME Abatement Contractor, Inc. v. S&amp;R Corp.<\/em>, 88 Mass. App. Ct. 1102 (2015), the plaintiff subcontractor entered into a contract to perform asbestos removal for a contractor on a public project.\u00a0 During the course of the project, the contractor directed the subcontractor to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/subcontractor-not-entitled-to-payment-after-it-refused-to-perform-disputed-work\/\" target=\"_blank\">remove paint at the project<\/a>.\u00a0 The subcontractor refused to perform the work claiming that because the paint did not contain asbestos it did not have an obligation to perform the extra work.\u00a0 The contractor ultimately hired another contractor to perform the work and refused to pay the subcontractor the balance of its contract price.\u00a0 As a result, the subcontractor filed suit against the contractor seeking payment for its unpaid contract balance.\u00a0 In response the contractor filed a summary judgment motion seeking to dismiss the claim.\u00a0 The contractor argued that the subcontractor\u2019s refusal to perform the work constituted a material breach of the contract precluding the subcontractor\u2019s recovery of its contract balance.\u00a0 The appeals court agreed and affirmed the trial court\u2019s decision dismissing the subcontractor\u2019s claim.<\/p>\n<p>In support of its decision, the court relied solely upon the terms of the contract.\u00a0 Specifically, the court noted that the contract required the subcontractor to proceed with work or extra work <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/ma-appeals-court-ruling-contractor-justified-not-paying-subcontractor-that-refused-to-perform-work\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>even in the event of a dispute<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 The contract further provided that the failure of the subcontractor to perform such work \u201cshall constitute a material breach of [the] agreement\u2026\u201d\u00a0 As a result, the court held that the subcontractor\u2019s failure to perform the disputed extra work constituted a material breach of the contract precluding recovery of its contract balance.\u00a0 The court further held that the subcontractor\u2019s failure to perform the extra work also precluded its recovery under the equitable theory of quantum meruit.\u00a0 In support of its conclusion the court noted that in order to recover under quantum meruit, the subcontractor must demonstrate that \u201cthere is an honest intention to go by the contract, and a substantive execution of it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The language contained in the subcontract in this case is not uncommon.\u00a0 In fact, paragraph 15.1.3 of the AIA A201 contains a similar requirement for the contractor to continue with performance of the work pending resolution of a claim.\u00a0 Notably the AIA A201 does not state that failure to comply with the provision is a material breach of the contract, however this decision could be seen as persuasive authority to reach a similar conclusion involving a project using the AIA A201 contract form.\u00a0 Therefore&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructionlawzone.com\/2016\/05\/subcontractor-not-entitled-to-payment-after-refusal-to-perform-disputed-extra-work\/\" target=\"_blank\">To finish reading this article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elizabeth Wright | Robinson Cole | May 20, 2016 In the hustle and bustle of completing a construction project it can be easy to overlook the importance of the contract.\u00a0 However, when a dispute arises the contract generally dictates the outcome of that dispute.\u00a0 A recent unpublished Massachusetts Appeals Court decision serves as a reminder&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/subcontractor-not-entitled-to-payment-after-refusal-to-perform-disputed-extra-work\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Subcontractor Not Entitled to Payment After Refusal to Perform Disputed Extra Work<\/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],"tags":[224],"class_list":["post-888972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-contracts","tag-construction-contract","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Subcontractor Not Entitled to Payment After Refusal to Perform Disputed Extra Work - Advise &amp; 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