Andrew R. Mancini Associates, Inc. v. Mary Imogene Bassett Hosp.

• Decision Date: 13 January 2011
• Citation: 914 N.Y.S.2d 449,80 A.D.3d 933
• Parties: ANDREW R. MANCINI ASSOCIATES, INC., Appellant, v. MARY IMOGENE BASSETT HOSPITAL, Respondent, et al., Defendant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

914 N.Y.S.2d 449

80 A.D.3d 933

ANDREW R. MANCINI ASSOCIATES, INC., Appellant,

v.MARY IMOGENE BASSETT HOSPITAL, Respondent, et al., Defendant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, New York.

Jan. 13, 2011.

Hinman, Howard & Kattell, L.L.P., Binghamton (Harvey D. Mervis of counsel), for appellant.

Persun & Heim, P.C., Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (Matthew E. Hamlin of counsel), for respondent.

Before: CARDONA, P.J., SPAIN, KAVANAGH, McCARTHY and EGAN JR., JJ.

EGAN JR., J.

Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court (Dowd, J.), entered January 11, 2010 in Otsego County, which granted defendants' motions for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

In July 2002, defendant McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.contracted with defendant Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital (hereinafter Bassett) to be the generalcontractor with respect to an expansion project at Bassett's hospital located in the Village of Cooperstown, Otsego County. That same month, McCarthy, in turn, retained plaintiff to perform certain work on the project for the sum of $1,360,971. Thereafter, in August 2002, prior to the execution of a written subcontract, plaintiff commenced work on the project on a "time and materials" basis, whereupon plaintiff would submit invoices for payment for work done. Between September and October 2002, plaintiff submitted three such invoices, bearing numbers 4393, 4430 and 4431.¹ All three invoices referenced job No. 4102-the job number assigned by plaintiff to the subcontract. Also in September and October 2002, plaintiff submitted to McCarthy two documents entitled "Subcontractor's Application and Certificate for Pay," requesting payment for amounts corresponding to those three invoices. The applications deducted those invoice amounts from the subcontract price of $1,360,971. Thereafter, in November 2002, McCarthy presented plaintiff with a written subcontract, which was executed in January 2003. Also in November 2002, plaintiff, through its president, began periodically executing partial lien and claim waivers and affidavits, culminating in the execution of a final lien and claim waiver and affidavit in June 2004, signed by plaintiff's project manager.

In 2005, plaintiff instituted this action claiming breach of contract, unjust enrichment, quantum meruit and account stated seeking $445,537.77 in damages. The crux of plaintiff's claim is that it performed work for Bassett outside the scope of its subcontract with McCarthy, on a "time and materials" basis, submitted invoices for that work, and has not been paid. Defendants each moved for summary judgment dismissing all claims by plaintiff, among other relief. Supreme Court granted the motions, and plaintiff now appeals.²

Subcontractors cannot maintain actions for breach of contract against parties with whom they are not in privity ( see IMS Engrs.-Architects, P.C. v. State of New York, 51 A.D.3d 1355, 1357, 858 N.Y.S.2d 486 [2008], lv. denied 11 N.Y.3d 706, 866 N.Y.S.2d 609, 896 N.E.2d 95 [2008]; Robert H. Finke & Sons v. Sears Oil Co., 256 A.D.2d 868, 869, 681 N.Y.S.2d 829 [1998]; Barry, Bette & Led Duke v. State of New York, 240 A.D.2d 54, 56, 669 N.Y.S.2d 741 [1998], lv. denied 92 N.Y.2d 804, 677 N.Y.S.2d 779, 700 N.E.2d 318 [1998]; Bubonia Holding Corp. v. Jeckel, 189 A.D.2d 957, 958, 592 N.Y.S.2d 499 [1993] ). Thus, plaintiff cannot maintain a breach of contract action against Bassett for its work under the subcontract with McCarthy, and its breach of contract action against Bassett can only be sustained, if at all, on allegations of work performed for Bassett that was outside the scope of, and in addition to, the subject matter of its contract with McCarthy ( see IMS Engrs.-Architects, P.C. v. State of New York, 51 A.D.3d at 1357, 858 N.Y.S.2d 486; Robert H. Finke & Sons v. Sears Oil Co., 256 A.D.2d at 869, 681 N.Y.S.2d 829;Graystone Materials v. Pyramid Champlain Co., 198 A.D.2d 740, 741, 604 N.Y.S.2d 295 [1993] ).

"The proponent of a summary judgment motion must make a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, tendering sufficient evidence to demonstrate the absence of any material issues of fact, and the evidence produced by the movant must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmovant, affording the nonmovant every favorable inference" ( Rought v. Price Chopper Operating Co., Inc., 73 A.D.3d 1414, 1414, 901 N.Y.S.2d 418 [2010] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted]; see Winegrad v. New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 N.Y.2d 851, 853, 487 N.Y.S.2d 316, 476 N.E.2d 642 [1985]; Zuckerman v. City of New York, 49 N.Y.2d 557, 562, 427 N.Y.S.2d 595, 404 N.E.2d 718 [1980] ). Here, Bassett established its prima facie entitlement to summary judgment dismissing plaintiff's claim based on evidence, through the testimony of McCarthy's vice-president of operations, that the three invoices identified by plaintiff as representing the extra work performed had all been paid. Bassett also pointed to waivers signifying receipt of payment that were signed by plaintiff's president ( see MCK Bldg. Assoc., Inc. v. St. Lawrence Univ., 301 A.D.2d 726, 728, 754 N.Y.S.2d 397 [2003], lv dismissed 99 N.Y.2d 651, 760 N.Y.S.2d 104, 790 N.E.2d 278 [2003] ).

In opposition, plaintiff failed to present sufficient evidence to create a question of fact ( see Zuckerman v. City of New York, 49 N.Y.2d at 562, 427 N.Y.S.2d 595, 404 N.E.2d 718). While plaintiff's chief executive officer asserted that plaintiff was not paid for "time and materials" work alleged to be performed for Bassett outside the scope of the subcontract with McCarthy, he conceded in his deposition that all such "time and materials" work was billed in invoice Nos. 4393, 4430 and 4431, and that there were no other invoices incorporating any other "time and materials" work. The chief executive officer, plaintiff's president and plaintiff's secretary/treasurer all acknowledged that these three invoices were paid. As plaintiff failed to contradict Bassett's evidence that plaintiffwas...