DILLARD CONSTRUCTION, INC. v. HAVRON CONTRACTING CORP. ET AL. (Tenn. Ct. App. November 23, 2010)
The only parties left litigating in what started out as a complex construction dispute are, on one side, Dillard Construction, Inc , and, on the other, Dillard's demolition subcontractor, Havron Contracting Corp. After a bench trial and several post-trial motions, the court held that:
(1) Dillard, while not having a contract with Havron, was required by quantum meruit to pay Havron $91,100 for work performed by Havron's subcontractors;
(2) Dillard was not entitled to an offset against that judgment for damage done to electrical equipment by Havron's subcontractor;
(3) Havron was entitled to recover from Dillard, under a "passthrough" indemnity theory, the attorney's fees awarded against Havron and in favor of its subcontractor; and
(4) Havron was not entitled to recover the attorney's fees that it, Havron, incurred in defending against the claims of its subcontractor.
Dillard appeals challenging both the quantum meruit award and the denial of an offset. Havron challenges the trial court's denial of indemnification for attorney's fees Havron incurred in defending the claims of its subcontractor. We affirm.
Opinion may be found at:
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2010/dillardconstruction_112310.pdf
