Miller Schirger attorneys Steve Miller and Toby Hausner obtained an $883,465 award on behalf of Berkel & Company Contractors, Inc. against Phillips Hardy, Inc., following a one-week arbitration hearing.

Berkel, a specialty deep foundations, shoring, and ground improvement subcontractor, installed sheeting and shoring on two highway projects for Phillips Hardy, a regional general contractor. Phillips Hardy refused to pay Berkel in full, claiming Berkel delayed the projects.

The arbitrator rejected Phillips Hardy’s claims and awarded Berkel its full contract balances, its additional delay damages, plus attorney fees, costs, and interest.

“We are thrilled to have obtained such a complete victory for our client, who was finally made whole,” said Miller.

Greg Righter, Berkel’s President, was ecstatic. “We are obviously very pleased with the outcome.  We attribute such a convincing award to Miller Schirger’s extraordinary preparation and attention to detail.”

“The business realities of the construction industry often make it difficult for subcontractors to take a stand against hard-nosed, stronghanded tactics intended to force subcontractors to walk away from amounts they are entitled to,” Hausner added. “In this case, our client’s courage and perseverance were rewarded.”