"Construction Was Delayed": Construction Firm That Claimed 30 Million Won in Damages Loses... Court Says "Not the Subcontractor's Responsibility"

Court recognizes force majeure such as cold wave and worker injury
The claim of leaving the site was also "a transfer of construction by agreement"

A construction firm that filed a lawsuit against a subcontractor demanding compensation for damages from construction delays and unauthorized abandonment of the site has lost. The court judged that the main cause of the construction delay lay in poor weather and worker injuries, and that leaving the site was also by agreement between the parties.

According to the legal community on the 6th, the Incheon District Court ruled against the plaintiff in a damages claim lawsuit filed in May by ordering party Company B against subcontractor Company A.

The dispute began when Company B concluded two subcontracting contracts with Company A for the installation of circular steel-frame staircases from late 2023 to early 2024.

Company B claimed that Company A was responsible for completing the first construction beyond the agreed period, and demanded compensation of about 20 million won for damages such as equipment rental fees and corporate card usage incurred after the contract period.

In addition, in the second construction, it claimed that Company A left the site without authorization after receiving holiday labor costs, causing disruption to the construction, and filed a damages lawsuit totaling about 30 million won for the two projects.

In response, Company A rebutted that the first construction was delayed due to poor weather such as a cold wave and worker injuries, and that in the second construction it did not leave the site without authorization but transferred the remaining construction to another worker by agreement between the parties.

Regarding the corporate card usage, it also argued that the worker who took over the construction had used it normally for expenses necessary to carry out the construction, such as fuel costs and material purchases.

The court accepted Company A's argument.

The court ruled, "Considering that external construction is inevitably greatly affected by weather and that worker injuries also occurred, it is difficult to attribute the main cause of the construction delay to the defendant's responsibility."

Regarding the second construction, it stated, "As long as the worker who took over the remaining construction agreed to provide labor until actually completing the construction and to be paid the construction cost directly, this cannot be seen as unauthorized interruption or abandonment of the site."

Shin Yong-hoon, attorney of Daeryun LLC representing Company A, said, "For civil damages liability to be recognized, clear grounds for attribution such as the subcontractor's intent or negligence must be proven," adding, "We explained the force majeure circumstances of poor weather and worker injuries, and proved that the remaining construction was also a lawful transfer of rights and obligations by agreement, thereby having all of the plaintiff's claims dismissed."

Reporter Heo Na-woo rightnow@kyeonggi.com

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"Construction Was Delayed": Construction Firm That Claimed 30 Million Won in Damages Loses... Court Says "Not the Subcontractor's Responsibility" (Go to link)