Dive Brief:
- A Philadelphia courthouse hit Tutor Perini with an additional $42.4 million sentence for his actions during the construction of the dual-branded W and Element hotels in the city, according to a court filing.
- The Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County awarded the sum on July 1 to Clayco subsidiary Ventana DBS, which specializes in window and curtain wall systems and worked as a subcontractor on the project.
- The court found that “Ventana was forced to navigate numerous obstructions and obstacles, arising from Tutor Perini’s widespread material breaches of the contract,” the ruling said. That included failing to clean up debris left by other subcontractors so Ventana could transport window wall components and failing to properly supervise concrete pours, which caused Ventana to hit rebar during window installation, the ruling said.
Diving knowledge:
The order follows an April ruling on the same project that was awarded Chestle Development approximately $174.6 million in damages from Tutor Perini for delays resulting from defective concrete work during construction.
Tutor Perini was awarded with a $239 million contract to build the hotel in 2015. The 51-story, 755-room building was slated to open in 2021 after Chestle claimed it faced more than 890 days of delays.
In the July 1 ruling, the court also found that Tutor Perini concealed his knowledge of specific defects in bad faith, and then sought to blame Ventana for the resulting delays.
A spokesperson for Tutor Perini told Construction Dive via email: “We strongly disagree with the court’s latest decision in this matter and believe it does not reflect the merits of the case. As we indicated last April, we intend to appeal and will continue to pursue all appropriate legal remedies.”
Bob Clark, executive chairman of Clayco, said the ruling vindicated his subsidiary.
“This ruling is an important affirmation of the facts and principles governing the successful execution of the project,” Clark wrote in an email to Construction Dive. “We are pleased that the Court awarded Ventana $42 million in damages and recognized that Tutor Perini failed to properly coordinate its subcontractors while acting in bad faith by concealing its knowledge of material material defects.”
Damages in the award included nearly $7.5 million in unpaid subcontract balance, as well as approximately $12.7 million in interest and penalties. The court also awarded Venata attorney’s fees and costs of litigation.
