Johnson v. State

46 Misc. 2d 303, 259 N.Y.S.2d 685, 1963 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1328
CourtNew York Court of Claims
DecidedDecember 3, 1963
DocketClaim No. 36525
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 46 Misc. 2d 303 (Johnson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. State, 46 Misc. 2d 303, 259 N.Y.S.2d 685, 1963 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1328 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1963).

Opinion

Alexander Del Giorno, J.

This is a claim to recover damages for breach of a highway contract known as Contract No. PIP 56-1, RC 56-6, entered into between Johnson, Drake & Piper, Incorporated (hereinafter referred to as J. D. P.) and the State of New York. The contract, dated March 8, 1956, was for the [305]*305construction of a portion of the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Rockland County in accordance with certain plans of the Department of Public Works dated January 2, 1951. The original completion date of the contract was September 1, 1957. The contract provided for the construction of 3.40 miles of roadway, and about 2 miles of intersecting and access roads, in addition to seven bridge structures.

Subsequent to the award of the contract, claimant J. D. P. entered into a subcontract with claimant Smith Construction Company of New Rochelle and Pelham, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Smith) under the terms of which Smith agreed to perform all of the Item 2BX unclassified excavation and Item 7 trimming, in addition to furnishing water equipment and applying water. The State approved of Smith as a subcontractor on May 4, 1956.

J. D. P. and Smith, on December 1, 1958, entered into a “liquidating agreement ”, whereby J. D. P. admitted liability to Smith for certain claims for additional costs incurred under the subcontract, and both agreed that any liability of J. D. P. to Smith would be liquidated by the presentation of Smith’s claim to the court.

On or about March 10, 1956, claimant J. D. P. entered upon the performance of the contract. The original completion date of September 1, 1957 was extended by the State to October 15, 1957 without the imposition of engineering charges and further extended to December 19, 1957 with the imposition of engineering charges incurred after October 15, 1957. The contract was completed on December 17, 1957, three and one-half months after the date originally set for completion, and was formally accepted by the State on January 13, 1958. Thereafter the Department of Public Works submitted to J. D.P. a final estimate and agreement, certifying payment of the total amount of $2,413,479.81, less payments on account in the sum of $2,310,454.78 leaving a balance due and owing of $103,025.03. On December 19, 1958, J. D. P. returned the final estimate and agreement, together with its verified statement of claim. By letter dated January 28, 1959, the State submitted a Revised Final Agreement certifying for payment the total amount of $2,413,479.90 less payments on account of $2,310,454.78, leaving a balance due and OAving of $103,025.12. On January 29, 1959 J. D. P. returned the Revised Final Estimate and Agreement, together with its verified statement of claim.

. On April 2, 1959, the Comptroller forwarded a check in the sum of $99,396.29, representing the admitted balance under the [306]*306contract less the sum of $3,628.-83 deducted by the State for engineering charges. This check was returned to the Comptroller immediately.

On April 9, 1959 the within claim was filed, and on April 14, 1959, J. D. P. moved for a severance. An order of severance was entered, and the severed portion was tried. Judgment was entered in the sum of $99,396.29, which was paid on May 25,1959.

The items of damage of J. D. P. and the bases thereof will be considered herein separately.

J. D. P. claims it is entitled to recover the amount of $67,329.28 which it alleges is the increased cost and expense incurred by it because of the prolongation of the contract from September 1, 1957 to December 17, 1957, due to the acts and interferences of the State, with interest from January 17, 1968; engineering charges, with interest from January 17, 1958; 5% overhead and profit on amounts recovered by'Smith with interest from January 17,1958; interest on severance judgment from January 17, 1958 to May 25, 1959; interest on amount of interest on severance judgment from May 25, 1959.

J. D. P. contends that when the contract was entered into, it anticipated the construction by its own force of seven bridge structures and miscellaneous items, and by Smith of general excavation or trimming work. 'Smith was to perform work in connection with the building of detour roads and all excavation work necessary to facilitate the construction of the bridges by J. D. P. J. D. P. estimated that, allowing for a cushion” for contingencies such as strikes or bad weather, all of its contract work would have been completed two and one-half months prior to the contract completion date of September 1, 1957. A proposed progress schedule was prepared by J. D. P. on May 2, 1956, upon which it based its bid. The completion date of all work and all structures is shown as of June 30, 1957.

On June 26, 1957, all of the bridge structures had been completed. On September 1, 1957, which was the original completion date, the items of work which remained unperformed were the removal of earthwork at Marycrest Road and at the Erie Railroad detour, the completion of the borrow at the south end of the project and some miscellaneous clean-up items which were dependent upon the completion of the removal of Mary-crest Road and the Erie Railroad detour. At that time, no work remained to be done by J. D. P’s. own work force except the miscellaneous items which depended on the clean-up by subcontractor Smith. All of the work remaining to be performed was to be performed by Smith.

[307]*307Claimants contend that if they had been able to excavate Marycrest Road, the Sickletown detour road and the Erie Railroad detour without the interference of the State, the contract would have been completed by September 1, 1957; that because of those problems and the delay in being granted permission to obtain the necessary borrow in the south end of the job, it was impossible to complete the work prior to December 17, 1957.

In July, 1957, claimants requested permission to borrow material from an off-site borrow pit in the southern end of the job. The use of this borrow pit was granted orally by Mr. Rauer, a District Engineer, and in writing on July 10,1957. Mr. Bain, Resident Engineer, reversed this order and refused permission to use this borrow pit. Marycrest Road and the Erie detour were turned over to claimants on September 20, 1957. On November 1, 1957, Mr. Bain finally gave permission to claimants to go into the borrow pit. Claimants then borrowed 7,000 cubic yards of material and placed it in the Convent Road area. The removal was completed on November 9, 1957. Claimants contend that they were unable therefore to complete the contract even in November.

The Marycrest Road situation concerned an existing unpaved dirt road which crossed the proposed highway at approximately station 412. Marycrest Road was not indicated on the contract plans, except that on Sheet 3 thereof appear two lines crossing the highway at this station, between which lines appears the designation “ R.O.W. ’ ’ When claimants made a site investigation, they saw a dirt road leading to houses in the Marycrest area, and that this road crossed the highway right of way and went down to Sickletown Road.

The contract provided that a “Marginal Road ” be constructed, which apparently was to tie into Marycrest Road running in a north-south direction from Townline Road, west of the highway to be built. The plans set forth certain specifications as to the marginal road. Although Marycrest Road did not appear on the drawings, it was apparent that the existing Marycrest Road was the sole means of access to Marycrest homeowners.

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46 Misc. 2d 303, 259 N.Y.S.2d 685, 1963 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1328, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-state-nyclaimsct-1963.