The firm represented the Town of Northumberland (the “Town”) in a breach of contract action with important implications for other municipalities in New York who must follow the state’s public bidding process to obtain municipal goods and services. The Town sued a paving contractor for breach of contract after the contractor placed a bid to complete paving work within the Town, and then failed to complete the work under its contract at the agreed-upon price. The Town sued for damages calculated as the difference in cost between the Defendant-contractor’s agreed-upon price and the price the Town paid to replacement contractors.
The Saratoga County Supreme Court, Hon. Richard E. Sise, granted the Town’s cross-motion for summary judgment, finding that the Defendant, Del Signore Blacktop Paving had breached its contract with the Town. The Court found that the contractor’s formal submission of a bid, followed by the Town Board’s resolution awarding the contract to the defendant, constituted contract formation, noting that “nothing else was necessary to create an enforceable contract.” The question of damages remains to be resolved.