Coghlin Electrical Contractors, Inc. v. Gilbane Building Company, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-149-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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 SJC-11778 COGHLIN ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS, INC. vs. GILBANE BUILDING COMPANY & another;[1] DIVISION OF CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE, third-party defendant. Worcester. March 2, 2015. – September 2, 2015. Present: Gants, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Duffly, Lenk, & Hines, JJ. Contract, Public works, Construction contract, Delivery, Warranty, Indemnity. Warranty. Indemnity. Public Works, Construction management at risk. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on July 17, 2013. A motion to dismiss a third-party complaint was heard by Brian A. Davis, J. The Supreme Judicial Court granted an application for direct appellate review. John W. DiNicola, II (Michael Brangwynne with him) for Gilbane Building Company. James A. Sweeney, Assistant Attorney General, for Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance. The following submitted briefs for amici curiae: David J. Hatem, Cheryl A. Waterhouse, & Amanda E. Mathieu for American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts & another. Shannon A. Reilly for Construction Industries of Massachusetts. Joel Lewin, Robert V. Lizza, Jonathan T. Elder, & Robert T. Ferguson, Jr., for Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts, Inc. Hugh J. Gorman, III, & Jeffrey J. Pyle for Columbia Construction Company. GANTS, C.J. This case requires us to resolve three issues regarding a public construction contract that implements the construction management at risk delivery method, pursuant to G. L. c. 149A: (1) Does the owner who furnishes the plans and specifications in a public construction management at risk project give an implied warranty of their sufficiency for the purpose intended, as the owner does under our common law in traditional design-bid-build construction projects? (2) If so, did the parties to the construction management at risk contract in this case disclaim the implied warranty? (3) If they did not, did the indemnification provision in the contract prohibit the construction manager at risk (CMAR) from filing a third-party complaint against the owner in a case brought by a subcontractor seeking reimbursement of additional costs, thus requiring the CMAR to file a separate complaint against the owner to recover the additional costs caused by an insufficient or defective design under the implied warranty? We conclude: (1) under our common law, a public owner of a construction management at risk project gives an implied warranty regarding the designer’s plans and specifications, but the scope of liability arising from that implied […]