SUNNYVALE PREVAILS IN COURT CASE

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – A two-week court case centered on construction of the Sunnyvale Senior Center has ended with a unanimous jury verdict favoring the City of Sunnyvale.

Thompson Pacific Construction, the San Rafael-based construction company that built the senior center, was paid $9.6 million of the $10 million project costs. The City withheld a final amount because of construction deficiencies and delays.

After construction was nearly completed, Thompson claimed the City owed it another million dollars for cost overruns and filed suit in Santa Clara Superior Court in 2004. Sunnyvale city attorneys defended the City in court. After three and a half days of deliberations, the jury unanimously rejected all Thompson's claims against the City. Instead, the jury awarded Sunnyvale more than $120,000 in damages, finding that Thompson had filed false claims for payment and had violated state laws regulating use of subcontractors on public construction projects. The jury also affirmed $280,000 in deductions that Sunnyvale had taken for substandard and uncompleted work, and for failure to complete the senior center on time.

“When construction was completed, we found there were a number of deficiencies,” said Sunnyvale Assistant Public Works Director Barbara Keegan. “In addition to cosmetic problems like failing to use colored concrete where it was specified, there were more serious issues, such as a failure to install handrails, a failure to install fireproof glass where specified, and emergency exit doors that did not operate smoothly.” Keegan also commented that one of the most expensive failings of Thompson Pacific Construction was that landscaping sod was not laid where required, resulting in a considerable additional expense for the City.

“We are very pleased with the jury’s verdict,” said Keegan. “As City employees, we have a public trust to ensure public money is spent properly and that good value is received. We had an obligation to produce a complete, safe, fully-functioning senior center, which we did, but only after the City stepped in to complete the job ourselves.”