Cameron Painting, Inc. v. University of Massachusetts (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-034-13)

NOTICE:  All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.  If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02108-1750;  (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us       12‑P‑968                                        Appeals Court   CAMERON PAINTING, INC.  vs.  UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS.     No. 12‑P‑968. Hampshire.     January 7, 2013.  ‑  February 25, 2013. Present:  Grasso, Kafker, & Meade, JJ.   University of Massachusetts.  Contract, Performance and breach, Under seal, Implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.  Limitations, Statute of.  Practice, Civil, Statute of limitations.  Governmental Immunity.  Estoppel.       Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on November 21, 2011.   A motion to dismiss was heard by Mary‑Lou Rup, J.     Michael K. Callan for the plaintiff. Jean M. Kelley for the defendant.     MEADE, J.  Cameron Painting, Inc. (Cameron), appeals from a judgment dismissing its complaint for breach of contract[1] against the University of Massachusetts (University).  On appeal, Cameron claims it was error to dismiss the complaint based on the three-year statute of limitations in G. L. c. 260, § 3A, when the twenty-year statute of limitations in G. L. c. 260, § 1, applied.  Cameron also claims that even if the three-year period applied, the University should be estopped from asserting it.  We affirm, and hold that any action in which the Commonwealth has consented to be sued must be brought within the three-year limitations period provided by G. L. c. 260, § 3A. 1.  Background.  The facts are not in dispute.  On May 9, 2006, Cameron submitted a general bid to the University for a contract for painting services valued at $ 500,000.  The State contract was for “campus painting services” and labor at the University’s Amherst campus. On May 26, 2006, Cameron and the University entered into a one-year contract for the same project.  The contract estimated the volume of business would be $ 500,000, and guaranteed Cameron a minimum payment of $ 1,000 under the contract.  All work pursuant to this contract was to be completed on or before May 31, 2007.  The parties executed the contract as a sealed instrument. The terms of the contract required that prior to the commencement of a particular painting project, both Cameron and the University must reach an agreed-upon price for the particular project.  Over the course of the contract period, the parties could not agree upon any quotes submitted by Cameron for any painting projects at the University.  The University therefore authorized no work for Cameron under the contract terms, and notified Cameron on February 16, 2007, it would […]

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