A subcontractor sued a prime contractor's surety bond for unpaid work on a VA project. The prime contractor tried to block the lawsuit by pointing to a subcontract clause requiring the subcontractor to wait for the prime contractor's dispute resolution process with the government to finish first. The court ruled that this clause does not override Miller Act rights and refused to delay the subcontractor's lawsuit. Subcontractors cannot be forced to wait for their prime contractor's government disputes before collecting payment they're owed.
Subcontract clauses requiring you to wait for your prime contractor's CDA (government) dispute process do not waive your Miller Act rights to sue the surety bond.
You can pursue a Miller Act claim against the surety bond independently—you don't have to wait for the prime contractor to resolve its own government disputes first.
Any waiver of Miller Act rights is void unless you signed it after you already furnished labor or materials. Waivers in the original subcontract don't count.