The Hardaway Company, Plaintiff-Counter-Defendant-Appellant v. Amwest Surety Insurance Company, Defendant-Counter-Claimant-Appellee

In this construction case involving the bonded performance of a now defunct subcontractor, B & F Contractors, Inc. (“B & F”), the plaintiff prime contractor, Hardaway Company (“Hardaway”), appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendant surety company, Amwest Surety Insurance Company (“Amwest”). The district court found that Hardaway’s release of its claims against B & F terminated Harda-way’s rights against Amwest as a matter of state law, despite the explicit reservation of those rights in the release agreement between Hardaway and B & F.

The district court determined…