City Defended by Patterson Buchanan Wins Construction Contract Dispute

Patterson Buchanan has won the dismissal of a high-stakes construction contract lawsuit against the City of Vancouver, Washington, in Clark County Superior Court.

The dispute centered on a $2.2 million contract the City awarded to a general contractor to construct improvements to a park along the Columbia River waterfront. Almost immediately after the City gave notice to proceed in January 2005, the contractor began taking issue with the sufficiency of the City’s design documents and seeking compensation over and above the contract amount. The contractor also claimed the City breached the contract by failing to timely obtain a key permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The City denied that it breached the contract.

After the contractor failed to comply with the City’s directives, the City terminated the contractor. The contractor eventually filed a lawsuit in December 2008, making various contract law claims and seeking at least $1.5 million.

Patterson Buchanan attorney Dan Lloyd, then still serving as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Vancouver before joining the firm, obtained a partial summary judgment in the case that dismissed the contractor’s wrongful termination claim and all consequential damages. After joining Patterson Buchanan, Mr. Lloyd moved again for partial summary judgment, arguing that the contractor (1) had released the City from all damages other than those asserted in two pre-lawsuit claims, and (2) had failed to substantiate all but approximately $60,000 of the damages from those two claims, as was required by the contract.

The Honorable Roger Bennett granted the City’s new motion in full, capping the City’s potential liability at just over $60,000. Because of the procedural posture of the case at this point, this meant that the contractor now faced having to pay for the City’s legal costs and attorney fees, in addition to facing a counterclaim by the City. After the court denied the contractor’s motion to the court to reconsider the summary judgment ruling, the contractor agreed to dismiss all claims and waive all right to appeal in exchange for the City waiving its right to recover fees and pursue its counterclaim. The court’s order dismissing the case was entered on July 21, 2011.

The case is ACI v. City of Vancouver.