The beneficiaries of a union’s employee benefits trust fund will not be able to pursue a mechanic’s lien claim against the developer of a project that the beneficiaries worked on, the state Supreme Court has ruled.
In the combined cases of Bricklayers of Western Pennsylvania Combined Funds v. Scott’s Development and Laborers’ Combined Funds of Western Pennsylvania v. Scott’s Development, the high court unanimously reversed a state Superior Court decision. The Superior Court had held that an implied contract existed between the trustees and the contractor, and, due to a liberal interpretation of “subcontractor” in the Mechanics’ Lien Law of 1963, a mechanic’s lien claim was actionable.
