Appeal of the State

Summary

The New Hampshire Supreme Court reviewed a Transportation Appeals Board decision awarding H.E. Sargent, Inc. compensation for disposing of surplus excavation material from a Route 101 construction project. The court held that the contract, read as a whole, was unambiguous and required disposal costs for additional surplus soil to be included in the Common Excavation unit price. The court reversed the board's decision.

Holdings

1. The contract was not ambiguous when read as a whole, and the cost of disposing of surplus excavation not covered by Items 203.6 and 203.61 remained included in the Item 203.1 excavation unit price.
2. The board's interpretation was unreasonable because it relied on selected portions of the special attention provision and failed to consider the contract as a whole, including incorporated specifications and the quantity estimates.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Route 101 construction contract was ambiguous concerning responsibility and payment for disposal of surplus excavation material not placed in the embankment or four designated off-site areas.
2. Whether the Transportation Appeals Board erred by interpreting the contract based on selected language rather than reading the contract as a whole.
3. Whether the board's award of additional compensation to Sargent should be reversed.

Disposition

reversed