The Severin doctrine (Severin v.
United States Court of Claims
The Court of Claims was a federal court that heard claims against the United States government. It was established in 1855, renamed in 1948 to the United States Court of Claims (), and abolished in 1982. Then, its jurisdiction was assumed by the n ...
, 1943. 99 Ct.Cl. 435) states that a
general contractor
A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...
cannot sue the US Government on behalf of one of its
subcontractors to recover monies due to the subcontractor unless the general contractor is itself liable to the subcontractor.
Plaintiffs therefore had the burden of proving, not that someone suffered actual damages from the defendant's breach of contract, but that they, plaintiffs, suffered actual damages. [Severin v. United States Court of Claims, 1943. 99 Ct.Cl. 435]
See also
*
United States v. Spearin
''United States v. Spearin'', 248 U.S. 132 (1918), also referred to as the Spearin doctrine, is a 1918 United States Supreme Court decision. It remains one of the landmark construction law cases. The owner impliedly warrants the information, p ...
References
United States contract case law
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