The plaintiff subcontractor entered into a fixed-price contract with the defendant general contractor to install high-pressure concrete watermains at a pumping station.
The installed pipes repeatedly failed pressure tests.
The plaintiff stopped work, claiming non-payment of invoices, and the defendant subsequently terminated the contract.
In this first phase of a bifurcated trial to determine liability, the court found that the plaintiff failed to prove the pipes failed due to the defendant's failure to provide a stable subgrade or install a concrete beam.
The court also found the plaintiff was not owed the claimed funds under the contract's payment terms when it stopped work.
Consequently, the court concluded the plaintiff breached the contract by abandoning the project.
