DC judge dismisses Marriott Marquis lawsuit, cites statute of limitations

Dive Brief:

A federal judge has dismissed Hensel Phelps Construction Co.'s design-flaw lawsuit against Cooper Carry, the architect for the Marriott Marquis project in Washington, DC, because the contractor's legal action did not comply with prescribed time limits, according to the Washington Business Journal.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon ruled that, despite Hensel Phelps' claims that the Cooper Carry–provided construction documents were not produced according to "proper standards" and resulted in $8.5 million in budget overruns, the general contractor did not file the lawsuit in time to meet the three-year statute of limitations.
Cooper Carry began designing the hotel in 2008 and completed its obligations in April 2014. Hensel Phelps broke ground in 2010 — after which it allegedly found 18 design flaws — but did not file its lawsuit against the architecture firm until November 2015.

Dive Insight:

When problems arise related to the work on construction projects, architects are often drawn into disputes, even if the problems are primarily related to installation rather than design.

Earlier this year, the joint venture of Skanska USA and Trident Construction sued three architects who provided design services for the Gaillard Center renovation and expansion in Charleston, SC. Skanska–Trident 's multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the designers and project management company centers around the claim that they were negligent and breached the warranty of plans and specifications for the project. Skanska–Trident is suing for $20 million for each of its three causes of action.

Skanska-Trident had a maximum-price contract, which the joint venture said was exceeded due to inadequate plans and specifications. Charleston representatives said the project cost $6 million more than Skanska–Trident's $110 million contract amount. During a three-year period, Skanska claims that the lack of specificity in the documents necessitated 1,440 requests for information, 1,065 drawing sheet revisions, 37 architectural supplemental instructions and 154 construction change directives.

In California, Hunt Construction, SOSH Architects and a group of subcontractors settled with the Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians back in June over alleged construction defects in their casino hotel and two restaurants. Even though SOSH was part of the settlement, it said the quality of Hunt's work is what caused the defects and that they would pursue reimbursement from the contractor.