Dabico Inc. v. Great American Insurance Company, et al.
Published: Mar. 23, 2002 | Result Date: Nov. 13, 2001 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: RCV33937 Verdict – $1,339,080
Facts
This action arose as an action by the plaintiff, a supplier to a fuel line subcontractor, SF Construction, for the
recovery of monies owed for materials supplied on the renovation of the Ontario International Airport Airside
Improvements.
Great American, the defendant, was the surety on the payment and the performance bonds placed by SF
Construction. The general contractor with whom SF contracted was Kiewit Pacific whose surety was Travelers.
The owner of the project is the City of Los Angeles. SF had a substantial portion of its work but not completed
all of its work as it declared bankruptcy. The jury found that SF failed to perform $114,295 of its work. The
$23 million project was completed on time and the city paid Kiewit all monies due. However, Kiewit had only
paid SF about $100,000 of its $1.2 million subcontract, claiming back charges of approximately $1.7 million,
including over $1 million in delay damages.
Prior to any payments becoming due to SF, SF Construction filed bankruptcy and Great American paid those
claims against the bond, except for the plaintiffÆs claim due to allegations by SF that if Kiewit suffered a delay,
the delay was caused by Dabico Inc.
After completion of discovery, the defendant resolved the plaintiffÆs claims and its claims were dismissed. The
defendant was assigned SFÆs rights against Kiewit and Travelers and pursued those claims in its cross-
complaint.
Since Dabico had settled before trial, the defendantÆs cross-complaint was treated as the complaint at trial. The
defendant contended that it was entitled to recover the balance owed on SFÆs contract, less KiewitÆs costs to
complete SFÆs remaining work with a net owed of approximately $1,130,000, plus interest at 10 percent per
annum, amounting to approximately $396,000 plus $983,000 in claimed statutory penalties for withholding
payment from SF for a total claim of almost $2.5 million.
Great American claimed that since the project was completed on time, among other things, that KiewitÆs back
charges were largely fictional.
Kiewit contended that SF delayed the project and, as a result, cost Kiewit approximately
$1 million in delay damages alone. Kiewit claimed that, but for SFÆs actions, the project would
have been completed three months earlier. With other claimed back charges, Kiewit claimed a
total back charge of approximately $1.7 million, which was subsequently reduced to
approximately $1,450,000 at trial.
Settlement Discussions
The parties had been unsuccessful in attempts at mediation. Great American and Dabico had settled DabicoÆs claim two years prior to trial.
Other Information
The motion for a new trial by cross-defendants Kiewit Pacific and Travelers Insurance was denied. Great AmericanÆs motion for attorney fees was granted, awarding Great American fees in the amount of $305,000 of roughly $307,000 sought prior to the granting of KiewitÆs motion to tax costs. The court excluded all expert witness fees sought by Great American. Kiewit PacificÆs Motion to tax costs was granted in part with the costs awarded totaling $25,000. The jury found Great American was entitled to the contract amount of $1,097,518 plus interest less offsets to Kiewit for $114,295, for a net judgment of $1,339,000 inclusive of interest, plus costs and attorneys fees totaling $331,000. The trial court granted KiewitÆs nonsuit motion on the sanctions claim dismissing Great AmericanÆs claim in excess of $983,000 in statutory penalties. The matter has been appealed by both parties.
Deliberation
three days
Length
16 days
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