Facts

On Nov. 3, 2003, plaintiff EICON Inc. and defendant/cross-complainant Soka Gakkai International USA entered into contracts in which plaintiff agreed to supply all labor and materials to construct improvements to disabled access improvements required by the owner's settlement with the city to two buildings owned by SGI in San Francisco in exchange for $50,000 for the Ikeda Auditorium and $249,988 for the San Francisco Culture Center. The contracts required that the work be completed by Eicon by a certain date or Eicon would be liable to SGI for liquidated damages. The work was not completed until 2006, after Eicon had abandoned the project.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff alleged that over $70,091 was due to plaintiff under the Ikeda Auditorium contract and over $174,367 was due to plaintiff under the San Francisco Culture Center contract. The plaintiff alleged breach of contract and sought to foreclose on a mechanics' lien.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The defendant/cross-complainant SGI filed a cross-claim and alleged it was required to perform the project in order to bring its properties into compliance with building code and ordinances of the city of San Francisco. In an earlier settlement with the city, defendant agreed to finish the project within 120 days and agreed to pay $500 per day for delays. Under that same settlement, plaintiff agreed to pay $1,000 per day for delays. The defendant alleged plaintiff abandoned the job before it was completed.

Damages

The plaintiff sought $70,091 for breach of contract for Ikeda Auditorium; $174,367 for breach of contract for San Francisco Culture Center. The defendant/cross-complainant SGI claimed $1 million breach of contract including $1,000 per day liquidated damages.

Result

The judge found against plaintiff EICON and awarded defendant/cross-complainant SGI judgment against EICON for $1,660,863 in general, consequential, and actual damages plus $450,000 for attorney fees and $375 in costs.

Other Information

FILING DATE: May 3, 2006.