Huie Secures Favorable Decision for Birmingham, Alabama Based Construction Company

Huie, Fernambucq & Stewart, LLP is pleased to announce that attorneys Bob Girardeau and Michelle Pieroni successfully defended a general contractor in an arbitration proceeding pending before the American Arbitration Association’s construction industry tribunal.

In 2012, the claimant hired the contractor to build an expansion of its metal fabricating plant.  As part of the job, the contractor installed metal pits which were used in the claimant’s metal forming process and which had been designed and manufactured by the claimant.  The pits collapsed following the contractor’s completion of the job, and the claimant alleged that this was due to the contractor’s negligent installation of the pits.  The claimant also asserted claims of breach of contract and breach of warranty and sought $543,000 in damages.  After a four day evidentiary hearing and submission of post-hearing briefs, the arbitrator found in favor of the contractor and declined to award any money to the claimant.  Specifically, in the decision dated December 9, 2013, the arbitrator noted that the failure of the pits was “not only beyond the control of the (contractor), but was the fault of the claimant.”