"Mismatching" Third-Party Claims In Construction Litigation

When asserting or defending third-party claims in the context of construction litigation, the underlying plaintiff's choice of legal theories can often dictate the available remedies for defendant(s) to pass through liability to other parties involved in the project. The interplay between contractual relationships and potential theories of liability can leave certain defendants on the hook for the entirety of the claim despite allegations that other parties may be responsible for some or all of the alleged damage.

In a recent case decided by the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (U.S.D.C. E.D. Pa.), the owner of a newly-constructed warehouse facility ("Owner") pursued a claim against its general contractor ("GC") when the pavement surrounding the facility began to fail prematurely. The GC had a contract with the pavement subcontractor ("Sub") to perform work related to the pavement. After the Owner settled with the GC, Owner