S. T. Grand, Inc. v. City of New York
New York Court of Appeals
298 N.E.2d 105 (1973)
Relevant factsFree
New York City (defendant) hired S. T. Grand, Inc. (plaintiff) to clean a reservoir without competitive bidding, using a public-emergency exception arranged by city commissioner James Marcus; a federal court later convicted Grand of bribery for paying Marcus a kickback to secure the contract. Grand sued the city for roughly $150,000 still owed on the contract; the city counterclaimed for the roughly $700,000 it had already paid, arguing Grand's bribery made the entire contract illegal. The appellate court sided with the city, and Grand appealed.
IssueFree
Whether, if a vendor illegally obtains a municipal contract, the vendor is entitled to full payment for work performed under the illegal contract.