Four New York State trade associations representing heavy-construction contractors are suing the state over Gov. David Paterson’s announcement in March that the New York Dept. of Transportation would halt payments on all capital construction projects not funded by federal stimulus dollars. Photo: NYSDOT Governor’s attempt to pressure lawmakers to settle budget triggers lawsuit from contractors, who demand pay for work.l The suit, filed on April 16 in state Supreme Court, alleges the state has violated construction contracts with hundreds of contractors on highway and bridge jobs by requiring them either to continue working without payment or to stop altogether. The
CityCenter, the country’s largest private development, is being sued by Perini Building Co., a unit of Tutor Perini Corp., Sylmar, Calif., over work disputes on the $8.5-billion, 18 million-sq-ft Las Vegas Strip complex of hotels, homes and entertainment. On March 25, Perini filed a lawsuit in Clark County Eighth Judicial District Court against several entities controlled by property owners—MGM Mirage Inc. and Infinity World Development Corp., both units of Dubai World, the investment arm of the Persian Gulf state—seeking $490 million for unpaid construction work on the hotel-casino. The 13-page complaint says the construction contract grew from $3.5 billion to
URS Corp., San Francisco, has settled a lawsuit by the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation on all claims by the state over the collapse of the I-35 bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis on Aug. 1, 2007. The settlement was for a reported $5 million. URS was hired by the state to inspect and recommend action on state bridges, including the I-35 bridge. The company denies any wrongdoing or fault in the matter and says the settlement lets it “avoid the cost and time of further litigation with the State.” It points out that the National Transportation Safety Board concluded
Forest City Ratner Cos., developer of a controversial arena in Brooklyn, N.Y., finally broke ground on the project after years of delay, legal battles by residents fighting New York City’s use of eminent domain, a change of architect—from Frank Gehry to Ellerbe Becket and SHoP Architects—and two redesigns. The Barclays Center complex is planned as the future home of the National Basketball Association’s New Jersey Nets and as the centerpiece of a planned 22-acre sports village, which includes office buildings and housing. Site work has been under way since last fall, with construction set for completion in 2012.
In a move observers say could have big implications for U.S. climate-change policy, five large electric utilities said on March 16 that they will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower-court ruling that subjects them to lawsuits claiming that their carbon-dioxide emissions cause health problems, coastal erosion and other climate-change impacts. The utilities—American Electric Power, Southern Co., Tennessee Valley Authority, Xcel Energy and Cinergy, a unit of Duke Energy—said in court papers obtained by Platt’s (like ENR, a unit of the McGrawHill Cos.) that the high court should hear their case because it presents “substantial constitutional and jurisprudential
Participants in some of New York City’s largest concrete construction projects are now trying to determine the potential impact of the Feb. 17 conviction of the city’s main concrete testing firm and its owner for filing false test reports. A state supreme court jury in Manhattan rules that Testwell Laboratories and its owner, V. Reddy Kancharla, were guilty of the flawed fillings related to concrete strength on more than 100 projects that used the firm’s services. They included the Freedom Tower at Ground Zero and the Second Avenue subway. The jury has yet to rule on other charges against Kancharla,
In a unanimous decision, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled February 11 that contractors are covered under their commercial general liability policies for subcontractor work later found to be defective, adding momentum to a national battle being fought state by state over whether insurers are actually providing coverage defined and paid for in those policies. Related Links: Mississippi Insurance Case Could Reshape Contractor Policies “It has implications for the rest of the country because the policies being written and enforced throughout the U.S. are identical to the policies the Mississippi court has addressed,” says Mike Kennedy, general counsel of the Associated
The owners of the Alabama landfill that is taking about 10,000 tons per day of coal-ash waste from a collapsed Tennessee Valley Authority storage site in Kingston, Tenn., have filed for bankruptcy. Perry Uniontown Ventures I LLC, which owns the Arrowhead Landfill in Perry County, filed papers in federal court in Mobile last month saying facility operators Phillips & Jordan and Phill-Con Services are withholding money they have received from TVA. The operators claim an “outstanding balance” owed them by the owners. A spokesman for the landfill owners says the site will continue to operate, and a TVA official says
The federal appeals court in New Orleans on Nov. 25 dismissed class-action lawsuits for Hurricane Katrina-related damages against 32 major dredging contractors. Two groups of plaintiffs sued companies that worked under federal contracts in the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), claiming that work damaged protected wetlands and caused an amplification of the storm surge in the New Orleans region during the 2005 hurricane. The 5th U.S. Court of Appeal Circuit in Ackerson v. Bean Dredging LLC, upholding a federal district court’s ruling, applied the principal that public-works contractors duly carrying out projects authorized by Congress have immunity from lawsuits for
Banks in New York state may have some new worries about lending to projects they think are having difficulties. A state appeals court has ordered Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corp. to resume funding on the $330-million Destiny USA project, near Syracuse. The court said the developer is entitled to a preliminary injunction in its breach-of contract suit against the bank because the project is “unique.” The $155-million Citigroup loan is one of three funding sources for the first phase of the project, which involves construction of an 800,000-sq-ft shopping center/tourist destination and related facilities. The other funding sources are Destiny