Litigation has been called the sport of kings. In my opinion, it is a bad way to solve problems or to answer questions.
A recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case involving a dispute between a sitework sub and a GC started with the typical mutual accusations – the sub claimed the GC got in its way and held it up, the GC claimed the sub failed to man the project adequately. The entire sitework contact was $900,000.
Five years after the sub walked off the job and the GC declared it in default, a jury found the GC should pay >$1M. The appeal found that GCs cannot require subs to waive claims against bonds. The court trimmed the verdict to uphold the waiver of consequential damages provision in the contract but as the looser, the GC had to pay attorney’s fees for appeal.
The case is Costa v Brait Builders Corporation 463 Mass 65 (2012). The lesson of the case is that court cases are risky and expensive.