Petrucci Construction Co. v. Leepson, No. 23 26 48 (Sep. 13, 1990)

1990 Conn. Super. Ct. 1772
CourtConnecticut Superior Court
DecidedSeptember 13, 1990
DocketNo. 23 26 48
StatusUnpublished

This text of 1990 Conn. Super. Ct. 1772 (Petrucci Construction Co. v. Leepson, No. 23 26 48 (Sep. 13, 1990)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Petrucci Construction Co. v. Leepson, No. 23 26 48 (Sep. 13, 1990), 1990 Conn. Super. Ct. 1772 (Colo. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This case is unpublished as indicated by the issuing court.] MEMORANDUM OF DECISION The plaintiff has brought suit against the defendants in a complaint containing nine counts. In the first count it alleges: that it is a corporation engaged in general contracting, and that the defendant is a limited partnership of which the named defendant Peter Leepson was the general partner, agent and employee; that the parties entered into a CT Page 1773 contract included revisions and change orders; that the plaintiff completed all the work; and that after demand, the defendants Peter Leepson and the partnership refused to pay the plaintiff the balance due of $85,432.00 for all work completed and therefore they have breached the contract. Count two repeats the allegations of the first count and alleges that Peter Leepson refused to pay the balance due and had breached the contract. Count three repeats the allegations of count one and alleges that under the contract the defendants agreed to pay utility costs incurred as of the date of substantial completion in the amount of $12,561.14, which they now refuse to do, constituting a breach of contract. Count four repeats the allegations of count three against the defendant Leepson. Counts five and six allege unjust enrichment against the respective defendants Leepson and North Morningside Associates Limited Partnership, by reason of their failure to pay the balance due on the contract. Counts seven and eight allege unjust enrichment of the respective defendants by reason of their failure to pay the utility costs. Count nine alleges a fraudulent conveyance by Peter Leepson to his wife Anne of premises known as 37 Green Acre Lane, Westport, Connecticut and also premises known as 1 Nutmeg Lane, Westport, Connecticut. The defendants' answer is a general denial of all nine counts.

The facts are found as follows: the parties did enter into a contract dated June 8, 1984 for the construct on of an office complex known as "Number One Morningside Office Complex" located at Post Road East, Westport, Connecticut. Attached to the contract were the specifications containing general and special conditions, and the designs prepared by the defendants' architect. The contract is the "American Institute of Architects Standard Form of Agreement."

In issue are eight charges for extras as follows. Change Order No. 5 for: (1) services for 1 surveyor for restaking building lines $3,312.00; (2) furnish concrete forms and reinforcing for proper alignment of garage wall $6,032.00; (3) additional layout was required because of discovery of dimension and layout differences $12,600.00; (4) cost of deceleration caused by dimension and layout differences slowing the fast track system of construction, $15,000.00, making a total of $36,944.00. Change Order No. 12: (1) additional costs to coordinate varying depths of pier column footings and pad walls $3,588.00, pier footings $507.00; rear west wall Building C $3,110.00, together with contractors overhead and fees $1080.00, a total of $8,285.00. Change Order No. 21, new trusses, a total of $448.00 Change Order No. 27 for furring and removal of furring in Building "A" for firehose cabinets and installation of fire stops, and furring on Building "B", including contractor's fee of 12%, a total of $7,975.00. CT Page 1774 Change Order No. 30: for revisions to structural steel for an Atrium, a total of $4,602.00. Change Order No. 32 for additional work for the installation of a smoke detector, a total of $1,128.00. Change Order No. 33: for extension of a wall behind Behind Building "A" $3,394.00; extra work in the elevator and elevator shaft $3,861.00; six additional metal doors and frames $2,277.00;.handrail at stream $4,194.00; ten new trusses $506.00; revision to truss design and additional trusses $8,074.00 and revisions to storm sewers because of conflicting elevations $2,744.00, making a total of $25,050.00. Lastly, a charge for electrical power after a Certificate of Substantial Completion was delivered to the plaintiff, in the sum of $12,561.14. The eight items total $85,432.00, which the plaintiff seeks to recover with interest. The defendants' answer is a general denial of the allegations of the nine counts of the complaint, as hereinbefore stated.

The evidence discloses that all of the work and supply of materials contained in the eight items were furnished to the project and accepted by authorized personnel of the defendant. However, the defendant claims that the eight items were not extras and were required to be performed and installed by the contract, plans and specifications. The project consisted of three buildings and a garage. The plaintiff had his superintendent Shenowerth on the job at all times as did the defendant, who also kept his superintendent Tiburzi there at all times. The items were charged at their lump price of cost plus unit price, together with an overhead charge of 15% and a profit charge of 12%, which the contract provided for. Section 12.01 of the specifications provides that bills for extras will be allowed where the work is ordered in writing, however, it goes on to provide that verbal orders will be considered when accompanied by a written order from the architect, countersigned by the authorized agent of the owner. Section 12.3.1 of the "General Conditions of the Contract" provides that the additional costs shall be submitted to the architect in writing within twenty days of the occurrence of the event, giving rise to the claim, and before proceeding with the work and requires an authorized change order. As previously stated, there are change orders executed by the owner's agent and the architect, however, their dates do not always meet the requirements of the two aforementioned paragraphs of the contract. The defendant's project manager, Tiburzi never saw the standard ATA change order form on this project. The layouts and site work were done by John Braun, the plaintiff's employee. He worked off the base line established by the defendant's surveyor of the project, whom the plaintiff hired to lay out the base line from which Braun made all his layout measurements for the buildings. The defendant's agent Spizzo subsequently discovered that the east wall of the garage was CT Page 1775 within the mandated set-back line of fifteen feet after approximately twenty percent of the wall had been poured. In =fact the parties, in the interest of completing the project speedily and efficiently, developed a procedure, participated in by Tiburzi for the defendant, Shenowerth for the plaintiff and Parisot for the Architect, all duly authorized, whereby, when a event occurred giving rise to an extra they would orally agree on the work to be done that it should commence immediately and the paper work would be subsequently completed in accordance with the requirements of the contract and specifications. Thirty-three such charges requiring extra work were handled using that procedure and seven such changes are the only ones in issue. The other twenty-six have been accepted by the defendant and architect and are paid. The eighth claim herein is not a change order, but is a claim under the contract for electricity furnished after the issue of a "Certificate of Completion."

The first issue to be decided is whether the failure to follow the requirements of the specifications 12.01 and 12.3.1 of the "General Conditions of the Contract" are fatal to the plaintiff's demands for the seven claims for extras. The defendant claims that the extras are not recoverable under the contract since they were rejected by the architect whose decision is binding upon the parties.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1990 Conn. Super. Ct. 1772, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/petrucci-construction-co-v-leepson-no-23-26-48-sep-13-1990-connsuperct-1990.