Philadelphia repeatedly failed to submit required prison planning documents under a court-ordered consent decree. The city was hit with stipulated penalties (predetermined damages) for each violation. The appeals court upheld these penalties and rejected the city's attempt to modify the agreement, ruling the pattern of non-compliance constituted contempt of court. For subcontractors, this shows courts will enforce financial penalties when parties repeatedly miss contractual deadlines.
Stipulated penalties in contracts are enforceable even when a party claims hardship—courts won't let you out of them just because compliance is difficult