Battle heats up between CA county, Turner Construction with new lawsuit

Dive Brief:

The Turner Construction and Santa Clara County, CA, saga continues, as the county filed a lawsuit Thursday against the contracting giant for breach of contract and negligence regarding Turner's work on the delayed Valley Medical Center campus expansion project.
The county's lawsuit asks for what officials say is "tens of millions of dollars" in damages due to Turner's delays on the project and alleged workmanship problems.
The suit came just a few days after Santa Clara County announced the removal of Turner from the campus expansion project after the county was unhappy with the contractor's action plan for the $380 million contract. The county also gave Turner its official termination notice Thursday.

Dive Insight:

Santa Clara officials have said they are in preliminary talks with replacement contractors for the project.

Controversy over the hospital expansion project arose in late August, when Santa Clara County issued a formal notification to Turner that it was in "default" by $300 million on its contract.

County officials alleged the contractor had not given enough time and attention to the project, resulting in significant work delays that cost Santa Clara County $36 million annually in lost revenue plus $30 million for each year that work continues past the initial completion date. The building was initially scheduled to open Sept. 19, but NBC Bay Area reported the complex is nowhere close to completion.

After being accused of breach of contract, Turner spokesman Larry Kamer said that it's "wrong" to blame all the delays on the construction company. He said hundreds of the county's unexpected change orders and thousands of requests for design changes and clarifications added time to the project.

Meanwhile, Turner has been lauded for completing a stadium for the San Francisco 49ers on time and under budget. The hospital and the stadium were under construction at the same time. Officials have accused Turner of prioritizing the stadium project over the hospital, but Turner denies the stadium had any impact on the hospital's progress.