Robert Blitz and Chris Bauman helped a national design-build firm and a surety bond issuer quickly resolve a dispute with a subcontractor. The design-build firm had contracted with the United States for multi-million dollar construction projects in two states. A subcontractor on both projects sued for breach of contract and a Miller Act claim against the projects’ surety bonds. The subcontract included an arbitration provision for claims arising out of the project, but the surety company was not a party to the subcontract. Representing both the design-build firm and the surety, BB&D filed motions in United States District Courts in two states to stay the lawsuits because of the arbitration agreement, including the claims against the surety. Both Courts independently granted the motions and stayed the lawsuits. The subcontractor dismissed both lawsuits shortly thereafter.
