Annual survey of fidelity and surety law, 2002, part II

A roundup of recent cases that covers public and private construction bonds and financial institution bonds is presented. In American Sheet Metal v. Travelers Insurance Co. (2002), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that the parties to a subcontract had expressed their intention to exclude Miller Act claims from arbitration. In Tri-State Employment Services Inc. v. Mountbatten Surety Co. (2002), an opinion applying New York law after a choice-of-law analysis, the Second Circuit overruled the decision of the lower court granting summary judgment for the surety and certified to the New York Court of Appeals the question of whether Tri-State Employment Services Inc., a professional provider of employee leasing services, was a proper claimant under labor and materials surety bonds.