A 2018 lawsuit filed against Perkins Eastman by the general contractor of The Wharf, a $2.5 billion mixed-use development located along a once-blighted stretch of industrial waterfront in southwest Washington, D.C., has been dismissed. Likewise, a countersuit filed against Clark Construction Group LLC by Perkins Eastman has also been dropped.
Clark Construction’s suit against Perkins Eastman, a major international architecture firm headquartered in New York City, was filed in March 2018. It sought $5 million in damages resulting from what Clark Construction alleged were significantly flawed design documents furnished by Perkins Eastman. Because of the alleged inaccuracies and omissions in the documents, which Clark Construction claimed resulted in everything from inoperable doors to misplaced structural columns, the Bethesda, Maryland-based contractor had to tweak and correct numerous defects which, in turn, caused the company to incur substantial financial damages. Phase one of The Wharf was completed and opened to the public in October 2017.
“The errors and omissions complained of herein did not arise and were not known, knowable, discovered, discoverable, appreciated, or appreciable until various points within the past three years,” claimed Clark Construction’s complaint, which alleged that Perkins Eastman had committed professional negligence, breach of written contract, and negligent misrepresentation. “It remains possible and likely that errors and omissions will continue to arise and become known, discovered, and appreciated in the future as discovery in this matter proceeds including, without limitation, expert discovery.”
Perkins Eastman issued a countersuit, alleging Clark Construction of withholding $500,000 in outstanding invoices in an act that, per the suit, amounted to breach of contract.
“Clark continues to exercise dominion and control over money and property that contractually and legally is property of PEDC [Perkins Eastman DC, PLCC] in a manner that is intentional, reckless, and in willful disregard of PEDC’s ownership rights,” read Perkins Eastman’s counterclaim.
But as Construction Dive recently reported, the dispute has worked itself out with both sides dropping their respective lawsuits. No financial settlements were noted in the Joint Stipulation of Dismissal, although as Construction Dive notes, both parties agreed to pay their own legal fees.
“While we cannot comment on specifics, Clark is pleased to have reached an amicable agreement on all outstanding project matters. We look forward to working together with Perkins Eastman on future projects,” a spokesperson for Clark Construction relayed to Construction Dive in a statement.
Speaking to AN, L. Bradford Perkins, founding partner of Perkins Eastman, noted: “We too, like Cark, are pleased to get this behind us.”
“We felt that the lawsuits were not the best way to resolve this issue,” Perkins said. “We’re both extremely proud of what we did together.”
“We both want to work together in the future,” Perkins added.
Phase two of The Wharf, also master-planned by Perkins Eastman, kicked off in March 2018 and will add an additional 1.5 million square feet of mixed-use space (heavier on residential this time around) to the sprawling project that, when fully complete in 2022, will encompass more than 24 acres of redeveloped land. Phase one of The Wharf includes, among other things, a pier-top office complex, multiple hotels, retail space, and apartments. The waterfront-reenergizing development has received a mostly warm welcome from Washingtonians and visitors despite some traffic congestion-related hiccups.
