Mold Fix Puts Expensive End To School District Legal Battle 7/7/03
Along legal struggle between contractors and a school district near Fresno, Calif., has come to a costly end as an extensive mold abatement project begins this summer at a 10-year-old high school complex. The work follows discovery of the mold in 2000 and an $8.2-million settlement last fall that roughly doubled the value of a defects claim against the contractors, according to sources involved with the case. The insurers for 13 contractors and suppliers subsequently decided to settle.
The fighting started after the $30-million Buchanan High School complex opened in 1993. The project's general contractor, Lewis C. Nelson & Sons, Selma, filed an acceleration claim against the Clovis Unified School District in Merced County Superior Court in 1995. After a jury trial in 1998, the court entered a $1.02-million judgment against the district. Another $645,000 covered fees and costs.