Hard Hat Workforce Solutions, LLC v. Mechanical HVAC Services, Inc.

In Hard Hat Workforce Solutions, LLC v. Mechanical HVAC Services, Inc., Henry P. Wall successfully obtained a reversal of the grant of summary judgment against Hard Hat Workforce Solutions in the Supreme Court of South Carolina. The case involved the primary subcontractor’s payment bond for a school construction project, and the resulting lack of payment to Hard Hat for the skilled labor it had provided on the project.  Wall persuaded the court that the bond at issue was a common-law bond, rather than a statutory bond, and thus the bond had to be enforced according to its terms and not in compliance with section 29-5-440’s notice provisions. Common-law bonds afford subcontractors greater protection by permitting the notice requirements to be less restrictive, allowing subcontractors to secure payment for labor and materials provided during construction projects.  Further, Wall was able to successfully argue that regardless of the determination that the bond at issue fell under common-law, there was a genuine issue of material fact relating to adequate notice, and thus summary judgment was improper. (Legislature has since amended section 29-5-440 to clarify the law)

Hard Hat Workforce Solutions, LLC v. Mech. HVAC Servs., Inc., 406 S.C. 294, 750 S.E.2d 921 (2013)