Greg Opinski Construction, Inc. v. City of Oakdale

After a bench trial in this dispute between the City of Oakdale (city) and its general contractor on a building project, Greg Opinski Construction, Inc. (Opinski), the trial court awarded the city $54,000 in liquidated damages for late completion, $3,266 for repair of construction defects, prejudgment interest, and $97,775 in attorneys’ fees. The claims in a cross-complaint by Opinski and its performance bond surety, Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland, were rejected.

In its statement of decision, the trial court stated that it would not consider whether the late completion was caused by actions of the city. This was because the contract required any extension of time to be obtained through certain procedures, procedures Opinski did not use, so the question of fault for the delays did not arise. Opinski argues that, in so ruling, the trial court contravened the rule laid down by our Supreme Court in Peter Kiewit Sons’ Co. v. Pasadena City Junior College Dist. (1963) 59 Cal.2d 241 [ 28 Cal.Rptr. 714 , 379 P.2d 18 ] (Peter Kiewit). There the court held that an owner is not entitled to damages for late completion if the lateness was caused by the owner’s conduct, even…