Leder v. Imburgia Construction Services, Inc.
Homeowners sued their contractor after a change-order dispute led to alleged abandonment of the job; the trial court dismissed the amended complaint because the AIA-style contract designated arbitration as the binding dispute resolution method. The Third DCA reversed, holding that because neither party submitted a claim to the contractually designated Initial Decision Maker — a condition precedent to mediation, which in turn was a condition precedent to arbitration — both parties waived the contractual right to arbitrate, and the trial court was directed to require the contractor to answer the amended complaint.
Key facts
- Homeowners sued their contractor for breach of contract after a change-order dispute allegedly led to abandonment of the construction job.
- The contractor moved to dismiss the homeowners' amended complaint based on an arbitration clause in the AIA-style contract.
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Why it matters
A useful decision for construction practitioners litigating AIA-form contracts: it treats the Initial Decision Maker/mediation sequence as true conditions precedent whose non-use waives arbitration for both sides, not… — full analysis with a trial
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