Subcontractors in Tennessee who don’t receive payment for extra work not documented in change orders will have to argue again for their right to be paid, as a general contractor in the state has filed an appeal in a lawsuit that forced it to pay $1.2 million to one of its subs. Amprite Electric recently succeeded in suing the Tennessee Construction Group for refusing to pay for work on the Adelphia Coliseum project that it requested but was never accompanied by written change orders.
The American Subcontractors Association (ASA) has come to the defense of Amprite in the appeal, filing as an amicus curiae, or friend of the court. The association believes that change order provisions have been “used as a weapon by general contractors to deny or delay payment to subcontractors who do the work, but in the interest of teamwork and job progress, do not obtain written change orders before doing the work.”
By filing as an amicus curiae, the ASA is not a party to the case, but it believes the outcome of the trial will have an impact on its interests.
