A Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the subcontractor in an unpublished decision in the April 2015 case of Macomb Mechanical, Inc. v LaSalle Group, Inc., -et al. Subcontractor Macomb Mechanical claims it encountered unforeseen and different site conditions than at the time the job was bid which led to Macomb's work extending from six months to 15 months. Macomb also claimed the project scope changed after executing the subcontract which caused Macomb additional costs.
Macomb sued LaSalle for breach of contract and LaSalle's surety for payment under the surety bond. The lower court ruled neither LaSalle nor its surety had any liability to Macomb. However, the appeals court reversed the ruling claiming that "a 'No Damages for Delay' provision does not apply where the parties to the contract did not contemplate extensive delay at the time of contracting; and a 'Pay-if-Paid' provision in a subcontract may not apply to compensation for additional work where no change order was issued and the additional work never became part of the subcontract."
