In New York, “piggybacking” refers to a procurement method authorized by General Municipal Law §103(16), which allows a municipality or school district to purchase goods or services through another governmental entity’s contract without conducting its own bidding process, if certain conditions are met. The original contract must have been awarded through competitive bidding or a process that satisfies the legal equivalent under New York law, and it must permit other public entities to make purchases from it. While intended to promote efficiency and cost savings, piggybacking is strictly limited in scope and is not a blanket exemption from public bidding requirements.
On February 13, 2025, the Supreme Court of New York, Broome County, issued decision in Daniel J. Lynch, Inc. v. Board of Ed. of the Maine-Endwell Central School Dist., addressing the limits of “piggybacking” under General Municipal Law (GML) §103(16) in the context of public construction contracts.
The case arose from a capital improvement project for which the School District awarded a sitework contract to Smith Site Development, LLC. Several contractors, including plaintiff, challenged the award, arguing that the District improperly relied on a piggybacking arrangement to avoid traditional competitive bidding procedures. Specifically, the District piggybacked on a municipal contract that had not been awarded through sealed bidding as required by GML §103.
The Court held that the District’s use of piggybacking was impermissible. The Court found that GML §103(16) only authorizes piggybacking when the original contract was awarded through a process compliant with GML §103’s requirements – namely, public advertisement and sealed competitive bidding. Furthermore, the Court interpreted the statutory term “vendor” as applying only to suppliers of apparatus, materials, equipment, or related services, and not to contractors performing construction or alteration of buildings. Because the original contract did not meet these criteria, the piggybacking arrangement was invalid.
This decision cautions that piggybacking under GML §103(16) is restricted to eligible vendor contracts and cannot be used to bypass competitive bidding rules for construction projects. The ruling provides a clear precedent for challenging awards made through improper reliance on piggybacking.
Jose A. Aquino (@JoseAquinoEsq on X) is a special counsel at Duane Morris LLP’s New York office, where he is a member of both the Construction Group and of the Cuba Business Group, specializing in construction law, lien law, and government procurement law.
This blog is prepared and published for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Duane Morris LLP or its individual attorneys.