By: Derek Hawkins//August 24, 2020//
By: Derek Hawkins//August 24, 2020//
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: A&C Construction & Installation, Co., WLL, v. Zurich American Insurance Company, et al.,
Case No.: 19-3325
Officials: FLAUM, SCUDDER, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.
Focus: Miller Act Violation – Subcontractors – Federal Government Construction
The Miller Act, 40 U.S.C. § 3131 et seq., seeks to protect subcontractors against nonpayment for work performed on federal government construction projects by requiring the prime contractor to provide a payment bond on which the subcontractor can then make a claim for payment. A&C Construction & Installation, Co. WLL was a subcontractor on an air base project in Qatar and claims that it was not paid approximately $8.5 million for work it performed on the project, so it filed this action against the prime contractor’s two sureties, Zurich American Insurance Company and The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania. As strict preconditions to payment, however, the Miller Act requires that subcontractors provide a notice of nonpayment within ninety days after the last day of work performed and then file suit within one year of the last date of work. The district court found that A&C missed both deadlines and granted summary judgment in favor of the sureties. Because A&C did not meet the Miller Act’s notice requirement, we affirm the judgment.
Affirmed