Goetz Platzer’s Construction Group successfully fended off a claim on behalf of a developer client where a contractor asserted a claim for nearly $2million, even though the contractor was terminated for cause. As the Construction Group regularly represents contractors, subcontractors, and owners/developers, Gerard Strain, a partner in the Goetz Platzer Construction Group, methodically broke down the contractor’s claims by first getting the Notice of Pendency cancelled by the Court because the subject Mechanic’s Lien was bonded, then in a separate motion obtained an Order from the Court which vacated the Mechanic’s Lien because the lienor failed to adhere to certain statutory timing requirements, then ultimately prevailed in getting each of the several causes of action dismissed because the contractor failed to allege it maintained the requisite license to perform the subject work or otherwise failed to make prima fascia statutory and common law claims.
The decisions rendered by the Court which adopted the arguments made by Goetz Platzer are a lesson for developers, contractors, and subcontractors about the pitfalls of failure to adhere to statutory requirements necessary to allege and maintain claims for breach of contract, quasi-contract, and claims under the Lien Law and Debtor Creditor Law in New York.
The Construction Group at Goetz Platzer is well-versed and well-prepared to assist each of its clients through the complexities of construction projects and the claims which may emanate from the intricate contracts, statutes, and common law which govern the parties’ rights, obligations, and remedies.
The decisions in the two cases described above can be found here:
- https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=CzHGAgx7_PLUS_Zsc0dHaRyTozA==;
- https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=CWkkqEme4CwvEKbd_PLUS_e4uWA==; and
- https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=8x3BtcyGs58aPr3c3a1vpg==
