Let’s assume you are a first- or second-tier subcontractor on a public project and you’ve been stiffed by the prime contractor. You qualify as a claimant under the Pa. Public Works Contractors Bond Law of 1967, but, without a copy of the prime contractor’s payment bond, you cannot proceed with a claim against the surety. The prime refuses to cough up a copy of the bond. How do you get a copy of the bond?
The Bond Law provides an answer. A subcontractor on a public project has an absolute right to obtain a certified copy of a payment bond upon submission of an affidavit to the public owner. The affidavit must state that (a) the subcontractor has furnished material or performed labor for completion of the work provided for in the contract, and (b) it has not been fully paid for such labor or material. The public owner is permitted to charge the subcontractor a fee to cover the actual cost of the preparation of such copy.
Here’s a trick: if you request a copy of a payment bond with the required statements, and add that the statements are also made “subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904 (relating to unsworn falsification to authorities),” then the request will double as the required affidavit.
If you need assistance with this issue, call or email me for a no-cost consultation. I’ll be happy to assist in anyway possible.
Christopher I. McCabe, Esq.
