Southern Painting Company of Tennessee v. United States ex rel. Silver

Silver (plaintiff), a subcontractor hired by Southern Painting Company (defendant) to furnish labor and materials for two construction projects in exchange for a $10,000 lump sum plus a profit share on additional work, completed over 90% of the required work before Southern refused to let him finish, having already paid him only $7,000; Silver sued for breach of contract, seeking $72,000 under a quantum meruit theory for the reasonable value of his completed work, supported by an experienced plumbing contractor's expert valuation testimony. The district court found Southern breached the contract and awarded Silver $13,000 plus interest, and Southern appealed.