Rival legal teams have reached a critical juncture as they consider a settlement in mediation in one of two major lawsuits pending between a design-build contracting team and the New York State Transit Authority over construction of the $3.1 billion Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in New York.
Design and construction contractors are seeking about $930 million in unpaid costs from the TAuthority of the route. The authority says it faces tens of millions in costs in replacing cable anchors that were faulty installed on the bridge.
The bridge, which crosses the Hudson River 15 miles north of New York City, replaced the 50-year-old Tappan Zee Bridge.
The design and construction team, known as Tappan Zee Constructors, is composed of Fluor Corp., Granite Construction Inc., Traylor Bros. Inc. and American Bridge Co. All are named as co-defendants in the lawsuit along with their co-guarantors.
Both sides have asked a state court judge in Albany for more time to consider the contours of a settlement that could end one half of a legal doubleheader being played out in separate courtrooms in the state Supreme Court and the state Court of Claims.
In-person settlement talks in the state Supreme Court case took place April 22 and 23 with mediator Andrew Ness. The two sides exchanged term sheets that would serve as the basis for a settlement, Timothy Froessel of the law firm Holland & Knight, which represents the transit authority, wrote in a letter to the court. Judge Richard Platkin gave the parties until June 1 to report on the status of the mediation and whether there had been progress toward a settlement.
Ongoing conflicts
The 3.1-mile bridge, which opened in 2018, carries 140,000 vehicles a day and has helped ease traffic congestion and improve driving safety.
The first court battles over the bridge project began when the design and construction team sued for the thruway authority to review records the contracting team requested. Then, in February 2021, the consortium filed a new lawsuit in the state Court of Claims seeking more than $923 million in unapproved and disputed changes and delays attributed to the New York State Power Authority, plus another $30.1 million for approved changes.
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In August 2024, the transit authority launched a new legal counterattack.
The complaint alleged that the design-build consortium refused to fulfill its obligation to retrofit the edge beam anchor pipes for 61 of the 192 guy wires that an independent safety review commissioned by the agency found did not meet material requirements.
That lawsuit occurred three years later Thruway Authority rejected all $28 million of the design-build team’s $930 million claim of additional construction costs.
Tension over work-related documents and contractor’s allegations that the transit authority was slow-moving prompted requests for release of documents—have been a feature of the conflict since 2019.
As recently as last January, Paul Monte of attorneys Peckar & Abramson, who represents the design and construction team, had complained to Platkin that the transit authority was slow to deliver requested documents.
Although it would have no bearing on the case before the state Court of Claims, legal sources say, inoverturning a full trial in the state court case would save tens of millions of dollars in attorney fees and expert consultants and document production. “Both sides are motivated to settle,” said one lawyer.
