Meagher + Geer is proud to announce that following a six-day jury trial in Hennepin County, Minnesota, a jury has returned a verdict in favor of our client, a brick masonry contractor. This complex construction defect case involved allegations of negligence and breach of contract.

Plaintiff owned an industrial brick building in Northeast Minneapolis with a wall that had become deteriorated and was in a state of severe disrepair. In late 2018, Plaintiff hired an engineering firm to provide recommendations for repairing this 100-year-old building’s dilapidated wall. Following the engineering firm’s report with repair recommendations, Plaintiff solicited bids for the work from multiple companies. A general contractor was selected to perform the repairs.

Plaintiff and the general contractor entered into a written contract, which also incorporated the engineering firm’s report and the contractor’s proposal. The general contractor retained a subcontractor to perform the masonry work, which in turn retained a sub-subcontractor to lay the brick, Meagher + Geer’s client. The defendants completed their work in early January 2020. After receiving the final invoice for the project, Plaintiff refused to pay. When the general contractor’s counsel sent a letter to Plaintiff demanding payment of the final invoice, Plaintiff initiated the lawsuit, claiming that the general contractor did not fulfill the terms of the engineering firm’s report and the masonry work fell below the standard of care. In the course of litigation, the project’s subcontractor and sub-subcontractor were brought in as parties to the lawsuit. Plaintiff sought approximately $600K in damages, while the general contractor pursued a counterclaim for the unpaid final invoice, approximately $60K. After a six-day jury trial, the jury found, after only two hours of deliberation, that none of the contractors had breached their contractual obligations to Plaintiff and there was no negligence on the part of Meagher + Geer’s client. Moreover, the jury determined that Plaintiff was required to pay the outstanding invoice of $60K plus interest.

The Meagher + Geer team was led by partner Mark Bloomquist, and included attorneys Louise Behrendt and Ryan Paukert.