As has been said a “few” times here at Construction Law Musings, the courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia strictly interpret the actual terms of a construction contract.  A recent case in the Circuit Court for the City of Richmond provides yet another example of this fact.

In Fixture Specialists Inc. v. MGT Construction Mgmt. Inc., the Court looked at whether a waiver clause in the prime contract between the owner, Cedar Street Genesis, and the general contractor, MGT Construction Management, Inc. (“MGT”) can be extended to protect a plumbing subcontractor and acknowledged third party beneficiary of the all risk insurance policy carried by the owner.  In this case, MGT withheld approximately $130,000.00, an amount over and above any insurance coverage, from Fixture Specialists to cover damages incurred due to a water leak alleged to have been caused by Fixture Specialist’s negligent performance of its scope of work.  Continue Reading