Opinion ID: 2470
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Precision's Lawsuit

Text: Fuller ultimately refused to pay Precision for a portion of the work that Precision had completed. On December 17, 2004, therefore, Precision initiated this action for payment pursuant to the terms of the bond by filing a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York asserting federal diversity jurisdiction. Compl. ¶ 4. The complaint, naming the Sureties as defendants, seeks the allegedly unpaid balance on that portion of the contract that Precision performed  some $142,131.69 with pre-judgment interest and costs. Id. ¶ 12. In its answer of January 13, 2005, the Sureties asserted, as affirmative defenses, that the complaint was untimely and that Precision had otherwise failed to comply with the terms of the bond. Answer ¶¶ 8 & 9, Precision Stone, Inc. v. Arch Ins. Co., No. 04 Civ. 09996 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 25, 2005) (Doc. No. 6). The Sureties alleged that Fuller ceased work on the contract for which the Bond was issued prior to October 27, 2003, which is also the date the plaza and fountain [were] opened to the public. Id. ¶ 9. Because Fuller allegedly ceased work on the contract more than one year prior to the filing of Precision's complaint, the Sureties asserted, the complaint was barred by the bond limitations provision. Id. Yet as of December 17, 2003, one year prior to the initiation of the complaint, punch list work had yet to be completed. See Precision Stone I, 472 F.Supp.2d at 581. Punch list work, in the parlance of the construction industry, is work called for by the original contract (or subcontract) which the contractor (or subcontractor) has not satisfactorily completed. Aniero Concrete Co. v. New York City Constr. Auth., 308 F.Supp.2d 164, 192 (S.D.N.Y.2003); accord American Heritage Dictionary of Business Terms 420 (2009) (defining punch list to mean [a]n inventory of things to do or that need to be corrected); Oxford English Dictionary Online, http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/ 50192448/ 50192448se13?single=1 & query_type=word & queryword =punch+list & first= 1 & max_to_show=10 & hilite=50192448se13 (last visited July 27, 2009) (defining punch list to mean a list of items such as small repairs, unfinished work, etc., that must be completed in order to fulfil a construction contract, typically created at the end of a project). Revised punch lists were issued on January 9, 2004, and March 8, 2004.