John T. Callahan & Sons v. City of Malden, 430 Mass. 124 (1999) The Supreme Judicial Court ruled Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) may be used on Massachusetts public projects in limited circumstances. The Court upheld Malden's requirement that successful bidders, on a project involving the construction and renovation of multiple schools, sign a PLA with building trade unions as a condition of being awarded a contract. But the Court limited the use of such agreements to projects of extraordinary size, duration and complexity, where the goals of the competitive bidding statute could not otherwise be met. John W. Egan Co., Inc. v. Major Construction Corp., 46 Mass. App. Ct. 643 (1999) The Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled that the surety on a public payment bond under c. 149, §29 was obligated to pay a subcontractor all interest due on amounts owed by the general contractor even where the surety had no notice of the subcontractor's claim. The Court stated the purpose of the payment bond statute was "to assure speedy and compensatory relief for subcontractors who have done their work."
Brick Construction Corp. v. CEI Development Corp., 46 Mass. App. Ct. 837 (1999) The Appeals Court concluded that AIA contract provisions, affording subcontractors the benefit of all rights and remedies against the contractor which the contractor has against the owner, did not allow a subcontractor to recover its payments directly from the owner. The Court noted the general rule that a subcontractor can collect from the owner only when it has perfected a valid mechanic's lien.
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