A $24.9 million payment bond is at the center of a dispute between Advance Concrete, Ameresco, and two major insurers over a federal construction project.
Advance Concrete, LLC has filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina against Ameresco, Inc., Western Surety Company, and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. The complaint, dated September 23, 2025, details allegations of contract deviations, withheld payments, and the invocation of federal law protecting subcontractors on government projects.
According to the complaint, Advance Concrete entered into a contract with Ameresco on or around July 6, 2021, to perform concrete work for Building 1016 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, for the Department of the Navy. Ameresco, as principal, and Western Surety and Liberty Mutual, as sureties, executed a payment bond on Aug. 4, 2020, in the amount of $24,919,154.00 to secure payment for all labor, equipment, materials, services, and supplies furnished to the project.
Advance alleges that Ameresco directed it to deviate from the project’s design and specifications, including omitting the vapor retarder under the concrete slab, omitting fine granular material, and making changes to specifications for reinforced concrete joints. The complaint states that these modifications, confirmed by Ameresco’s inspections, increased the probability of out-of-joint cracking in the concrete slab.
In or around October 2022, Ameresco gave written notice to Advance to remove and replace the South Loading Dock slab due to out-of-joint cracking. Advance disputed the need for removal, referencing a third-party engineer’s report that removal was not necessary. Despite this, Ameresco directed Advance to perform the replacement, which Advance claims was additional work outside the original contract.
Advance alleges that Ameresco withheld payments owed for both the original and additional work. The complaint specifies at least $402,200.17 in “Initial Withholding” and at least $489,332.80 in “Continued Withholding.” Advance claims total damages of at least $963,321.60 plus an amount in excess of $75,000 for continued withholding, to be proven at trial.
The complaint asserts three claims for relief: breach of contract, an alternative claim for implied contract/quantum meruit, and a claim under the Miller Act. The Miller Act allows subcontractors to bring civil actions on payment bonds for unpaid labor or materials on federal projects if not paid within 90 days of furnishing the last labor or materials. Advance claims it has fully performed its obligations under the contract and payment bond, and that Ameresco, Western Surety, and Liberty Mutual have failed to pay amounts due.
No specific insurance policy clauses are cited in the complaint. The dispute centers on the obligations and enforcement of the payment bond issued by Western Surety and Liberty Mutual.
At the complaint stage, all statements are allegations and have not been proven. No final decision has been made.
