By: Matt Fair

Ed Seglias is quoted in the Law360 article, “$17M Philly Sewer Project Blocked Over Contract Dispute,” in regard to the firm’s representation of C. Abbonizio Contractors Inc. in a bidding dispute on a city of Philadelphia sewer project.

A Pennsylvania appeals court agreed on Friday to force a contractor to halt its work on a $17 million sewer project for the city of Philadelphia, after ruling that a rival bidder had raised valid concerns over whether the contractor was entitled to preference as a local business entity.

The state’s Commonwealth Court said that a trial judge had ruled improperly that C. Abbonizio Contractors Inc. was unlikely to succeed on claims that Thomas P. Carney Inc. wasn’t entitled to credit as a so-called local business entity, or LBE, under city procurement law because Carney had failed to submit required certifications along with its bid for the project.

In agreeing to grant Abbonizio’s bid for a preliminary injunction in the contracting dispute, the appeals court rejected arguments that city law does not require Carney to submit the certifications along with its bid, but that the company could submit them at a later date.