PLEASANT HILLS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC. v. Public Auditorium Auth.
| Decision Date | 10 August 2001 |
| Citation | 782 A.2d 68 |
| Parties | PLEASANT HILLS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC. and Gary C. Hartman, v. PUBLIC AUDITORIUM AUTHORITY OF PITTSBURGH and Allegheny County Limbach Company, Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club and Dick Corporation/Barton Malow Company. Appeal of Public Auditorium Authority of Pittsburgh. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court |
Arnd N. von Waldow, Pittsburgh, for appellant.
Gerard J. Cipriani, Pittsburgh, for appellant.
Charles B. Gibbons, Pittsburgh, for amicus curiae, Pittsburg Steelers Sports, Inc.
Before DOYLE, President Judge, COLINS, J., SMITH, J., PELLEGRINI, J., and FRIEDMAN, J. DOYLE, President Judge.
The Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh (SEA) (formerly the Public Auditorium Authority of Pittsburgh & Allegheny County) appeals from an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, which granted in part the request for preliminary injunctive relief sought by Pleasant Hills Construction Company and Gary C. Hartman. The Court preliminarily enjoined SEA from entering into any future contracts for any construction projects not in compliance with the bidding requirements of what is commonly known as the Separations Act1, and certain provisions of the Public Auditorium Authorities Law (the Law).2
This appeal involves a dispute over a plumbing contract for SEA's PNC Park Construction Project (the Stadium Project), which will be the new sports stadium for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. The Stadium Project is being developed as a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Project, financed by both public and private monies.3 In order to understand the facts underlying this dispute, it is important to understand the various bidding statutes involved in this matter.
Section 11 of the Law, 53 P.S. § 23851(A), establishes the basic principle that an authority's construction project "shall be done only under contract or contracts to be entered into by the Authority with the lowest responsible bidder...." This statute is amplified by Section 1 of the Separations Act, which provides that, with regard to the construction of any public building:
it shall be the duty of the architect[,] engineer or any other person ... to prepare specifications for the plumbing, heating, ventilating, and electrical work; and it shall be the duty of the person or persons authorized to enter into such contracts ... to receive separate bids upon each of the said branches of work and to award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder for each of said branches.
53 P.S. § 1003.
In 1999, the General Assembly passed two acts which are central to this appeal (1) the Capital Facilities Debt Enabling Act (Act 1), Act of February 9, 1999, P.L. 1, 72 P.S. §§ 3919.101-3919.5102;4 and (2) the Capital Budget Project Itemization Act for 1999-20005, Act No. 35, approved by the Governor on June 25, 1999 (Act 35). (Act 1 and Act 35 are collectively referred to as the 1999 Legislation.)
Act 1 is designed to provide for state funding of redevelopment assistance capital projects, including sports stadiums. With regard to bidding on such projects, Section 318(f) of Act 1, 72 P.S. § 3919.318(f), created the following requirement:
(f) Bids.—The solicitation of a minimum of three written bids is required for all general contracted work in redevelopment assistance capital projects.
Furthermore, in Section 22 of Act 35, the General Assembly pertinently provided:
The facts and procedural history of this case are summarized as follows. SEA solicited bids for plumbing and HVAC on the Stadium Project. The bidding process included a procedure to pre-qualify potential contractors, and the bid package specifically provided that the contracts for the Stadium Project would be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. Pleasant Hills Construction Co., Inc., a business located in Allegheny County that constructs plumbing systems, participated in the pre-qualification process and was deemed qualified to bid on the Stadium Project as a prime contractor.
Two relevant addenda to the bid package were subsequently issued by SEA. The first addendum, issued on July 9, 1999, asked pre-qualified contractors to submit separate bids for the plumbing and HVAC contract, and a joint bid for plumbing and HVAC work. Another addendum to the bid package was issued on July 19, 1999,6 which provided:
The procedures to be used to competitively bid construction work on the PNC Park project under the provisions of Act One of 1999 [Act 1] and Senate Bill 572 [Act 35], as adopted by the Owner, are made a part of this bid package.
(Addendum No. 4, Exhibit C to the Second Amended Complaint.) The July 19th addendum also stated:
On August 5, 1999, Pleasant Hills submitted a bid for the plumbing project in the amount of $6,154,700.00. This was the lowest plumbing bid submitted for the Stadium Project. Pleasant Hills did not submit a bid for HVAC work.
Limbach Company also submitted a bid for the plumbing contract, as well as a bid for a combined plumbing/HVAC contract. Limbach's bid for the plumbing contract was $8,100,000.00, substantially more than Pleasant Hills' bid for the same work, and Limbach's combined plumbing/HVAC contract bid was $15,400,000.00.
On August 16, 1999, SEA awarded the plumbing and HVAC contracts to Limbach for the amount of its combined bid. Approximately four weeks later, on September 17, 1999, Pleasant Hills and its President, Gary C. Hartman (who is also a taxpayer and Allegheny County resident), brought an equity action in the Common Pleas Court seeking to have the award to Limbach set aside.
Pleasant Hills and Hartman moved for a preliminary injunction asking the Common Pleas Court to enjoin SEA from contracting with any other entity for the plumbing work. They argued, inter alia, that SEA was required to award the plumbing to the lowest responsible bidder, as required by the Law, and that the Separations Act mandates that SEA enter into separate contracts for plumbing and heating work. In response, SEA argued that (1) the award of the contract was sanctioned by the 1999 Legislation, (2) Pleasant Hills and Hartman lacked standing to sue, and (3) they were estopped from seeking injunctive relief because they had notice of changes to the bid procedures on July 19, 1999, and did not diligently file suit.
A hearing on the preliminary injunction motion was conducted on November 19, 1999, and, thereafter, the Common Pleas Court entered an order granting in part and denying in part the motion. The order provides, in pertinent part:
(Common Pleas Courts order, dated December 8, 1999.) (Emphasis added.) The Court's decision to grant injunctive relief was based on its conclusion that Act 1 and Act 35 were not intended to exempt SEA from the bidding requirements of the Law or the Separations Act. This appeal followed
On appeal to this Court, SEA raises the following contentions: (1) Act 1 and Act 35 exempt the Stadium Project from the Separations Act and the Law; (2) Pleasant Hills and Hartman are estopped from seeking injunctive relief; (3) Hartman did not have standing to challenge the award of the contract to Limbach; (4) all the elements required for a preliminary injunction were not established; (5) the Common Pleas Court granted relief that was not demanded by Hartman; (6) the Court granted the motion without allowing the co-defendant, Dick Corporation, an opportunity to be heard; and (7) the Court erred in requiring a nominal bond.
The standard of review for this Court reviewing either the grant or refusal of a preliminary injunction requires consideration only of whether there were any apparently reasonable grounds for the action of the lower court. Wilkes-Barre Independent Company v. Newspaper Guild, Local No. 120, 455 Pa. 287, 314 A.2d 251 (1974).
Because they impact on the right of Pleasant Hills and Hartman to seek relief in the first instance, we will first consider SEA's estoppel and standing arguments.
Regarding estoppel, SEA contends that on July 19, 1999, it issued an addendum...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Wheels Mech. Contracting & Supplier, Inc. v. W. Jefferson Hills Sch. Dist.
...proposals were revealed and less than two weeks after contract was awarded to other bidder); Pleasant Hills Construction Co., Inc. v. Public Auditorium Authority of Pittsburgh , 782 A.2d 68, 76 (Pa. Cmwlth.), rev'd on other grounds , 567 Pa. 38, 784 A.2d 1277 (2001) (a one-month delay in fi......
-
In re Milton Hershey School Trust
...legal questions are raised that must be resolved to determine the ultimate rights of the parties. See Pleasant Hills Constr. Co. v. Public Auditorium Auth., 782 A.2d 68 (Pa.Cmwlth.2001) (rev. on other grounds, 567 Pa. 38, 784 A.2d 1277 (2001)); Chmura v. Deegan, 398 Pa.Super. 532, 581 A.2d ......
-
Crowe v. School Dist. of Pittsburgh
...express provision of a statute is per se irreparable harm for purposes of a preliminary injunction." Pleasant Hills Constr. Co. Inc. v. Pub. Auditorium Auth. of Pittsburgh, 782 A.2d 68, 79 (Pa.Cmwlth.2001), rev'd on other grounds,567 Pa. 38, 784 A.2d 1277 (2001) (citing Council 13, Am. Fed'......
-
PLEASANT HILLS CONST. CO. v. PUBLIC AUDITORIUM AUTH.
...obligated to comply with the bidding requirements in the Separations Act and the Public Auditorium Law. Pleasant Hills Constr. Co. v. Public Auditorium Auth. of Pittsburgh, 782 A.2d 68 (Pa.Cmwlth.2001). In reaching this conclusion, the Commonwealth Court cited the definition of "bid" in Bla......