Quinlan ISD Settles Building Lawsuit For $1.3 Million

A $1.3 million settlement offer was accepted Thursday night, Sept. 24, by the Quinlan ISD School Board in a special executive meeting in its lawsuit over the construction of W.H. Ford High School.

"We’re reasonably pleased," Supt. Micheal French said of the settlement.

The suit was filed Oct. 5, 2007, in the 354th Judicial District Court of Hunt County and was styled Quinlan Independent School District v. Dalmac Construction Company v. B. Adair Construction, Inc., et al.

The suit claimed foundation movement occurred in the school district’s two-story 153,000 square-foot high school, completed in Aug. 1999.

QISD originally filed the lawsuit on Oct. 5, 2007, against its former general contractor, Dalmac Construction Company Inc. The suit alleged causes of action for breach of contract, negligence, breach of warranty, negligent misrepresentation and intentional misrepresentation and fraud related to the construction of the high school.

DalMac subsequently filed third-party claims against eight subcontractors and the SHW Group, architect of record on the project. In turn, the architect filed a third-party claim against the civil engineer, the MEP engineer on the project.

The district’s original petition states that a short time after it took possession of the building, "…the facility’s bathrooms flooded as a direct result of poor workmanship by Dalmac related to plumbing."

The lawsuit states, "In the spring and summer of 2000, the building began leaking in numerous locations including hallways, the cafeteria, office and electrical room. During the 2000-2001 school year, district personnel reported signs of building movement. Primarily, they observed doors that would not close properly and floor expansion joints that were offset.

"In the summer of 2002, during the construction of a sports complex adjacent to the school, the storm sewer serving the high school building was excavated. District personnel discovered that the line had collapsed, and the district was required to replace approximately 120 linear feet of line. Several months later, in 2003, excavation was continued adjacent to the high school in order to create an electrical connection to the high school. District personnel observed that the trench filed with water and was draining from beneath the high school."

The petition further claims, "In the following months, building movement continued. Interior cracks began showing in gypsum wallboard finishes and in concrete masonry units. Interior doors could not be closed because of racking of door frames. The district had to adjust several doors, door frames and lock mechanisms.

Other claims in the petition included the appearance of exterior cracks in the brick veneer and concrete masonry unit walls.

"During the 2005-06 school year, sewer gas odors became so strong that the district was forced to close certain portions of the building," the petition states. "Inspections and evaluation revealed that the visible interior and exterior distress to the building indicate that foundation heave is the primary distress mechanism. Specifically, because plumbing leaks have created a significant source of moisture beneath the surface of the building, expansive soils have been activated causing foundation movement."

French said the school district would prepare a priority list of what it could repair and fix. Heading the list, the superintendent said, would be to stabilize the foundation as well as fix the roof leaks and resolve the drain and plumbing issues. After that, French said cosmetics of the building would be addressed.

He expected the funds to be made available soon to the district. He had received a call this week from attorneys who wanted the district’s bank information.

The settlement offer was made jointly by all defendants following nonbinding mediation before Dean M. Kilgore. QISD was represented by Powell & Leon, LLP of Austin and Dan Perkins of Watson and Perkins of Greenville. The district acknowledged the work and assistance of former Supt. Larry Johnson in obtaining the settlement.