Aggregate Industries – Northeast Region, Inc. v. Hugo Key and Sons, Inc., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-114-16)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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 15-P-916 Appeals Court AGGREGATE INDUSTRIES – NORTHEAST REGION, INC. vs. HUGO KEY AND SONS, INC., & another.[1] No. 15-P-916. Essex. April 13, 2016. – September 1, 2016. Present: Wolohojian, Kinder, & Neyman, JJ. Contract, Construction contract, Offer and acceptance, Performance and breach, Public works. Damages, Quantum meruit, Public Works Contract. Bond, Public works. Public Works, Payment bond. Consumer Protection Act, Businessman’s claim, Unfair or deceptive act. Practice, Civil, Attorney’s fees. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on October 31, 2011. The case was heard by Timothy Q. Feeley, J., and a motion for a new trial was considered by him. Cole M. Young for the plaintiffs. William T. Harrington for the defendants. WOLOHOJIAN, J. The plaintiff subcontractor, Aggregate Industries – Northeast Region, Inc. (Aggregate), contracted with the defendant general contractor, Hugo Key and Sons, Inc. (Hugo Key), for the supply of material and labor for a public works construction project in Salem. A dispute arose about payment, and Aggregate filed a complaint in the Superior Court asserting contract and quantum meruit claims under G. L. c. 149, § 29, the Commonwealth’s bond statute for publicly funded construction projects, and violations of G. L. c. 93A (c. 93A). Following a jury-waived trial, judgment entered in favor of Hugo Key on all counts of the complaint, with the exception of a discreet quantum meruit award, not under the bond statute, in favor of Aggregate. Judgment also entered in favor of Hugo Key on a c. 93A counterclaim. Aggregate appeals, claiming the judge erred in his application of contract principles and in his analysis of the statutes at issue. We affirm in part, and reverse in part. Background. We summarize the facts as found by the judge, supplemented by undisputed information from the record. In 2011, Hugo Key and Salem entered into a contract for the construction of the Salem Wharf project. The contract was secured by a payment bond in the amount of $ 1,336,925, furnished by the defendant Argonaut Insurance Company (Argonaut). Hugo Key, in turn, solicited bids from subcontractors for the portion of the project that required bituminous concrete pavement work. On or about January 14, 2011, Aggregate submitted an estimate for the pavement work, which included two provisions relevant to the present dispute. The first stated: “Grader Service: $ 400.00/HR.” The […]
‘Rough Days Ahead’ as Region, Nation Grieve Officer Sean Collier
Thursday night was the final shift for Sean Collier. But the waning moments of the 26-year-old’s life will never be forgotten. “His life was short,” said Somerville Deputy Police Chief Paul Upton. “But his impact was great.” The Somerville resident and Wilmington native was identified on Friday as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer shot and killed on Thursday in his police car. His death led to the manhunt for two Boston Marathon bombing suspects, one who was killed and a second who was captured hiding in a boat behind a Watertown home. But his death also united communities from throughout Massachusetts and far beyond as residents remember a man who heroically lost his life during a week of horror following Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings. A Dream Nearly Fulfilled Everything Collier did in his professional life was with one goal in mind – to protect and serve. “His dream was to become a police officer,” said Upton, who supervised Collier in Somerville. “He wanted to be out there helping community, enforcing the law and serving the people. That was his mission and he absolutely loved it.” Collier worked as an auxiliary police officer for the Somerville Police Department from 2006 until 2009. He volunteered hundreds of hours monitoring playgrounds, schools and special events. While serving in that role, Collier also applied for and was chosen for a job in the department as a records clerk. Quickly, his colleagues realized his talent for working with computers. Collier was selected to create the Somerville Police Department’s website, which is still used today. He also got the department’s Facebook and Twitter pages up and running and assisted the Information Technology officer with computer related issues. But that wasn’t enough for Collier. He also asked to self-sponsor himself in the Police Academy so that when a job opening came up in law enforcement, he could be selected without having to then complete academy training. The department backed him in his request, and Collier scored near the top of his class. In January 2012, Collier was offered the position at MIT and developed a sparkling reputation within his new department. But he remained on the radar within the Somerville Police Department. In June of this year, Upton said the town planned to offer Collier a full-time position as a Somerville police officer. Heroic in Death When Collier suited up for duty on Thursday night, it was impossible for him to know that it would be his final patrol. Sean Collier was ambushed in his police cruiser by two men who were the center of a manhunt that terrorized […]