Settlement on the Courthouse Steps for State of New Jersey

Defended the State of New Jersey in a lawsuit brought against the State by a major international contractor on a large Superfund remediation project. The engineering firm which designed the project was also made a defendant and cross-defendant. The contractor sought more than $60 million from the State and the State counterclaimed for millions of dollars of liquidated damages due to late completion of the project. Thorough discovery led to effective motions for partial summary judgments which were rendered on the eve of trial forcing the contractor to settle "on the courthouse steps." The contractor's numerous claims involved both civil construction work, as well as vertical construction and complex water purification equipment mechanical work. By utilizing the testimony of an expert in estimating costs for this type of environmental remediation project, we showed that the contractor had underbid the job by millions of dollars. With that expert testimony, we also showed that the contractor's claims for alleged extra costs were, in fact, costs that should have been anticipated and included in the lump sum bid.