On May 22, 2025, the New York Supreme Court issued a summary judgment decision allowing Weil client Bovis Lend Lease’s counterclaims to go forward in a decade-long contract litigation.

The plaintiff, The John Galt Corporation, subcontracted with Bovis in 2006 to perform abatement and deconstruction work at the former Deutsche Bank Building at 130 Liberty Street, which had been irreparably damaged by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In the course of that work, Galt caused a fatal fire that killed two firefighters and injured dozens more. Galt was later convicted of criminal negligence. Bovis terminated Galt for default, and incurred substantial costs to remedy the damage and complete the work. Galt filed an action seeking payment for work performed before its default, as well as lost profits caused by the termination. Bovis counterclaimed for damages.

Well over a decade later, Galt filed a motion for summary judgment seeking nearly $30 million plus interest and dismissal of Bovis’s counterclaims for damages from Galt’s default, which are expected to exceed $60 million plus interest. However, since the subcontracts required these amounts be offset, it was in fact Bovis who was entitled to payment from Galt—not the other way around. In a decisive win for Bovis, the court agreed that Bovis’s counterclaims would move forward and that Galt’s setoff would be limited to only around $18 million. Bovis now will have the opportunity to prove its damages.

Appeals and Strategic Counseling and Complex Commercial Litigation Co-Head Greg Silbert successfully argued the motion for Bovis. The broader Weil team also included Appeals and Strategic Counseling Co-Head Robert Niles-Weed, and associates Natalie Howard and Steve Mirsen.