New England Carpenters Central Collection Agency & others v. Arch Insurance Company

Summary

The Massachusetts Appeals Court considers whether employee benefit funds represented by the New England Carpenters Central Collection Agency had a "contractual relationship" with a public-project general contractor under G. L. c. 149, § 29. The court held that the funds were intended third-party beneficiaries of a collective bargaining agreement and therefore had a contractual relationship with the general contractor, making the statute's sixty-five-day notice requirement inapplicable. The court vacated summary judgment for the surety and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. The plaintiffs were intended third-party beneficiaries of the collective bargaining agreement, rather than merely incidental beneficiaries, because the agreement conferred directly enforceable benefits on NECCCA and the funds it represented.
2. An intended third-party beneficiary of the collective bargaining agreement has a contractual relationship with the general contractor within the meaning of G. L. c. 149, § 29.
3. The plaintiffs were not required to comply with the notice procedure applicable to claimants having a contractual relationship only with subcontractors, and their premature notices therefore did not invalidate their bond claims. Filing the Superior Court action within § 29's one-year period was sufficient.

Questions Presented

1. Whether employee benefit funds and their collection agency, as intended third-party beneficiaries of a collective bargaining agreement between the general contractor, subcontractors, and union, had a contractual relationship with the general contractor under G. L. c. 149, § 29.
2. Whether the plaintiffs were required to comply with the sixty-five-day written-notice requirement applicable to claimants having a contractual relationship only with a subcontractor.
3. Whether premature written notices invalidated the plaintiffs' claims against the payment bond.

Disposition

vacated