Appeals court hears challenge to Worcester's bid rejection and $3M damages award in Rivoli Construction case

A three‑judge panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, led by Chief Justice Amy Blake, heard oral argument in Rivoli Construction Co. Inc. v. City of Worcester, docket no. 24P1215, over whether a trial jury properly found the city acted in bad faith when it rejected Rivoli’s bid for the Route 20 sewer extension project and whether the jury’s $3,000,000 lost‑profits award should be set aside.

The city, represented at argument by attorney Neil Peterson with co‑counsel Steven Ryan, urged the court to reverse two rulings by the trial court: (1) the refusal to instruct the jury that the awarding authority is entitled to a presumption of good faith when it rejects a bidder, and (2) denial of a new trial on damages after the jury returned $3,000,000 in lost profits. Peterson told the panel the trial court erred in concluding the presumption did not apply and argued that, had the presumption been given, “the jury would have found for the defendant.”

Why the appeal matters: the case tests the scope of municipal discretion under Massachusetts public bid law and the circumstances in which a jury may infer bad faith from an awarding authority’s investigatory process. Municipalities and bidders alike face legal uncertainty on how investigatory steps, reputational…