Board of Education of Worcester County v. BEKA Industries, Inc.
N/AOUTCOME: Court agreed with position advanced by ASA.
The American Subcontractors Association, the American Subcontractors Association of Baltimore and the D.C. Metropolitan Subcontractors Association, through the Subcontractor's Legal Defense Fund, filed ... an amicus brief in the Board of Education of Worcester County v. BEKA Industries, Inc. appeal. Among the numerous issues raised in this appeal, the ASA was concerned with the defense of sovereign immunity, which the Board of Education of Worcester County raised in an attempt to prevent a contractor from recovering damages for additional costs incurred while building a school for the school board. While the State of Maryland waived sovereign immunity with respect to contracts entered into with the State, the Board of Education argued that it was not a state entity for purposes of the waiver and, as such, the contractor’s claims against it were barred. The Court of Special Appeals agreed with the position advanced by the ASA and the contractor, and ruled that county boards of education are state entities for purposes of sovereign immunity and the State waiver of sovereign immunity applied to county boards of education. This decision is important because the ability of a county board of education to raise the defense of sovereign immunity in contract claims would effectively cause virtually all significant school construction and renovation to grind to a halt, harming both the construction industry and the schools.
