Midwest Structural Drafting, Inc. v. Pierini Iron Works, Inc.
Sep 02, 2009OUTCOME: Judgment for the plaintiff for almost everything.
The plainitff prepared shop drawings for the defendant in connection with a number of construction projects in Illinois, including Trump Internation Tower, either for as flat fee or at an agreed hourly ... rate. The defendant failed to either pay or object to a number of the plaintiff's invoices, and the plaintiff continued working on the assumption he would get paid eventually. The arrearage continued to grow, and the plaintiff began insisting on payment. In response, the defendant fired the plaintiff and refused to pay the vast majority of the oustanding balance, claiming that projects billed hourly were either supposed to be flat or capped fees, and further alleging numerous errors in the plaintiff's work. The plaintiff sued, and after a bench trial in February 2009, the court awarded the plaintiff virtually all of its claimed fees, finding that there was no real cap on the largest project and that the mistakes alleged by the defendant were not proven.
