J.J. Shane, Inc. v. Aetna Cas. & Surety Co.
Florida Third District Court of Appeal
723 So.2d 302 (1998)
J.J. Shane, Inc. (Shane) (plaintiff), a subcontractor on a public construction project for owner Metropolitan Dade County, worked under a subcontract with general contractor Recchi America, Inc. (Recchi) (defendant) stating that Shane's payment depended on the County's "financial responsibility" and that Recchi would pay Shane from funds Recchi received from the County. Shane performed its work, but Recchi withheld payment because the County had not paid Recchi; Shane sued Recchi for payment, a jury found for Recchi, and Shane appealed.
Whether payment by an owner to its contractor is a condition precedent to that contractor's payment to its subcontractor, where the subcontract clearly assigns the risk of the owner's nonpayment to the subcontractor and ties payment to funds received from the owner.