John Girolametti, Jr. v. Michael Horton Associates, Inc. John Girolametti, Jr. v. Vp Buildings…

Summary

The court held that, absent clear evidence of contrary intent, subcontractors are presumptively in privity with a general contractor for res judicata purposes when the owner and general contractor resolve construction disputes through binding, unrestricted arbitration. Because the owners could have presented their existing claims concerning the subcontractors' work in the arbitration and the record did not rebut the presumption, the arbitration precluded the subsequent claims against the subcontractors. The court therefore affirmed the Appellate Court's reversal of the trial court's denial of summary judgment.