Latin Electric Workforce, Inc. v. First American Electric, Inc., 1:20-cv-00339

Background:

Project: Latin Electric supplied labor for electrical work at The One Ten Apartments (Mobile, AL). Owner ZP contracted West River as GC; ASCT (later First American) handled electrical services.
Contracts: Latin Electric signed a Labor Supply Agreement with ASCT/First American and a separate Management Agreement purportedly with Weldon Smith; a Joint Check Guarantee form referencing West River/ZP was also executed.
Payments: Latin Electric received $145,950 but invoiced $179,450 unpaid (plus $12,000 for wire). Several joint checks were issued through May 2017; payments ceased thereafter and Latin Electric left the site in June/July 2017.
Disputes: First American alleged Latin Electric abandoned work; Latin Electric filed a mechanics lien and sued for breach of contract, quantum meruit, and fees. First American asserted counterclaims including breach and Prompt Pay Act violations.
Procedural posture: Cross-motions for summary judgment by Latin Electric, West River, and First American; First American’s motion to strike portions of an affidavit was treated as objections. Court denied Latin Electric’s and First American’s MSJs, granted West River’s MSJ, and overruled First American’s objections.

Issues:

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of portions of Felix Torres affidavit	Torres has personal knowledge and may testify about site visits and contract understanding	First American: certain statements lack personal knowledge and are hearsay/conclusory	Court allowed Latin Electric to supplement affidavit; objections overruled (affiant has personal knowledge)
Existence/parties to Management Agreement (Smith v. First American/ASCT)	Agreement was with Weldon Smith personally; Latin Electric paid Smith	First American/Smith: Smith acted for ASCT/First American, not individually; payments and practice show corporate party	Genuine fact dispute; cannot decide on summary judgment
Breach by Latin Electric (walk-off) and amount owed under Labor Supply Agreement	Latin Electric performed through July and is owed $179,450 (plus wire)	First American: Latin walked off earlier and failed to complete work; damages for finishing work	Genuine factual dispute whether Latin walked off and amount owed; summary judgment denied to both sides on breach claims
Liability of West River under Joint Check Guarantee/privity	West River guaranteed payment via joint check and is liable for unpaid balance	West River: no privity with Latin; Joint Check form incomplete/not signed by guarantor; payments flowed through Rushing/ZP	No enforceable contract or privity; summary judgment for West River granted
Quantum meruit / Prompt Pay Act / attorney's fees	Latin seeks quantum meruit and fees against Defendants; Prompt Pay remedies	Defendants: express contract controls; only contractually obligated party can be sued under APPA; statute of limitations may bar some claims	Quantum meruit and APPA claims against West River barred (no contract); claims against First American remain factual and not resolved on summary judgment; statute of limitations timing is a factual question

Key Cases Cited

Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242 (U.S. 1986) (summary judgment/genuine-issue standard)
Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (U.S. 1986) (movant’s initial burden at summary judgment)
Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574 (U.S. 1986) (nonmovant must show more than metaphysical doubt)
Morton v. Kirkwood, 707 F.3d 1276 (11th Cir. 2013) (dueling factual accounts do not automatically discredit a party’s evidence)
Shaffer v. Regions Financial Corp., 29 So. 3d 872 (Ala. 2009) (elements of breach of contract under Alabama law)
Steiger v. Huntsville City Bd. of Educ., 653 So. 2d 975 (Ala. 1995) (contract formation requires mutual assent to essential terms)
Mantiply v. Mantiply, 951 So. 2d 638 (Ala. 2006) (quantum meruit requires reasonable expectation of compensation)