Justice Saliann Scarpulla

Defendant, a construction company based on Houston, Texas, entered into a contract with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to provide home repairs as part of the New York City Rapid Repair Program (“RRP”). Plaintiffs, along with other members of the proposed class, were employed by a subcontractor to defendant. Plaintiffs alleged that, while working on the RRP projects, the subcontractor paid them “less than the prevailing rates of wages and supplements to which they were entitled.” Defendant argued that plaintiffs' claim must be dismissed because the contract expressly precludes recovery by third-party beneficiaries. Defendant further argued that plaintiffs may only recover as third-party beneficiaries of a contract between a municipality and their employer, and defendant is not their employer. In finding that plaintiffs may assert a breach of contract claim against defendant as third-party beneficiaries of the prime contract, the court declined to enforce the prime contract's negation clause, to eliminate plaintiff's common law right as third-party beneficiaries of the prime contract to enforce the prevailing wage requirement, as against strong New York public policy.