Clark and Perkins Eastman Settle Lawsuit Over Big Washington, D.C. Project | 2020-03-10

Clark and Perkins Eastman Settle Lawsuit Over $1.2B D.C. Project

Project’s first phase had design errors needing fixes, says contractor suit.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PERKINS EASTMAN

Clark Construction Group and design firm Perkins Eastman have ended their court fight over the $1.2-billion first phase of a mixed-use project in Washington, D.C., with each side agreeing to pay its own attorneys costs and expenses.

Contested in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia since 2018, the matter was closed ina joint stipulation of dismissallate last month. Each side agreed to pay its own attorneys costs and expenses.

Terms were not disclosed.

Clark had a fixed-price, design-build contract with developer PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette for the 1.4-million-sq-ft first phase of The Wharf located in Washington's southwest waterfront area.

The Clark contract was $457 million, the firm said. Perkins Eastman served as the overall project’s master planner and master architect.

Clarkhad filed a professional negligence and breach-of-contract lawsuitagainst the Washington, D.C., office of Perkins Eastman, related to its first-phase design.

In the lawsuit, the contractor originally sought $5 million for claimed design errors in columns and beams, rebar, foundation piles and the tolerances needed for a theater and concert hall's acoustics.

In a statement , Clark said the company was "pleased to have reached an amicable agreement" and looks forward to working with Perkins Eastman again.

Deputy Editor Richard Korman helps run ENR's business and legal news and investigations, selects ENR's commentary and op-ed viewpoint submissions and oversees editorial content on ENR.com. He has been a fellow on drone safety with the McGraw Center for Business Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. In 2015 he won the Timothy White Award from American Business Media for investigations of individual surety fraud and workplace bullying. A member of Investigative Reporters and Editors, Richard's freelance writing has appeared in the Seattle Times, the New York Times, Business Week and the websites of The Atlantic and Salon.com. He admires construction projects that finish on time and budget, pay before the earth completes its annual orbit of the sun and record zero fatalities or serious injuries.

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