A subcontractor on a federal construction project must prove the following four elements in a Miller Act payment bond claim:
1. The subcontractor supplied labor and/or material per its subcontract;
2. The subcontractor is unpaid for the labor and/or material supplied per its subcontract;
3. The subcontractor had a good faith belief that the labor and/or material supplied was for purposes of the project (and the prime contractor’s contractual scope of work for the project); and
4. The subcontractor satisfied jurisdictional requirements in bringing the Miller Act payment bond lawsuit.
Notably, the subcontractor’s performance will be determined in reference to the subcontract. This includes reference to the scope of work and the payment terms contained in the subcontract.
Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.