Colich & Sons v. City of Norco
Published: Mar. 12, 1994 | Result Date: Feb. 23, 1994 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 220489 – $3,900,000
Judge
Court
Riverside Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Joseph A. Miller
(Monteleone & McCrory LLP)
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Joe A. Valverde
(technical)
George Ossman III
(technical)
James H. Creager
(technical)
Russell S. Padia
(technical)
Richard H. Wainer
(technical)
Fred Y.M. Chen
(technical)
Michael J. Miller
(technical)
Thomas M. Dawes
(technical)
Mark Butier
(technical)
Weston S. Pringle
(technical)
John Berton
(technical)
Defendant
Richard E. Tasker
(technical)
William D. Gardner
(technical)
Charlie F. Bowls
(technical)
Jon B. Sebba
(technical)
Facts
From October 1989 through October of 1990, the Defendant City of Norco allegedly breached the public works contract for the installation of a sewer system by disrupting and delaying the Plaintiff contractor's performance by refusing to recognize changed conditions and by forcing the contractor to do extra work. The Defendant city had hired a new engineer between the time of the bid and the start of the work. Plaintiff alleged this engineer severely misconstrued the construction specifications, resulting in the breach (disputed by Defendants). The contractor was Plaintiff Colich & Sons (JV). The contract price was $6,000,000; and the work was supposed to have been completed in one year. However, it allegedly cost the contractor nearly double the original bid and took almost 2 years to complete.
Settlement Discussions
Plaintiffs contend their initial demand was $10,000,000 and Defendants initially offered $200,000. Defendants contend Plaintiff's initial demand was in excess of $10,000,000.
Damages
Added costs for labor, services, equipment, and materials; additional supervision and jobsite overhead expense; unabsorbed home-office overhead expense; lost profits -- estimated at $4,000,000 (per Plaintiffs) -- plus prejudgment interest.
Other Information
Although it is our policy to maintain confidentiality of the case I.D. in settlement reporting, we have made an exception here due to media coverage since 1991.
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