Legal
Marine Contractor Sues Seattle Over Ongoing Waterfront Pier Project
Pier 58, seen here at right by the barge-mounted crane, is part of a larger redevelopment of the Seattle waterfront that includes a new aquarium.
Photo by C.J. Schexnayder/ENR
Seattle’s waterfront is undergoing a $806-million upgrade that includes a new aquarium, but not every element of the project is moving smoothly. The rebuilding of Pier 58 remains a sticking point and an Aug. 28 lawsuit filed by project contractor Pacific Pile & Marine in King County Superior Court against the city of Seattle alleges the city has failed to pay for a request to speed up work on the pier.
Pacific Pile & Marine (PPM) won the $34.5 million contract to rebuild the pier in April 2022 and started work in October 2022. After work began, PPM writes in the lawsuit that the city changed the geometry of four pile caps and failed to provide accurate information necessary to tie into the adjacent Pier 57, requiring a time extension and compensation related to the delays.
Then, in June 2023, the city directed PPM to accelerate its work, offering to issue a change order. PPM writes that the work was accelerated and since that time the parties have not reached a final agreement on a change order.
“To date, no substantive response has been provided by the city nor has any change order been issued,” the lawsuit states. “Without an approved change order, PPM has no ability to bill and be paid for this work. The failure of the city to address the change order and issue payment for the changed work undisputedly performed by PPM is causing PPM irreparable damage.”
The lawsuit notes that Washington law requires a public entity to provide a change order within 30 days of the changed work being performed by a contractor. If that change order is not provided, the law allows for a penalty of 1% interest per month.
The lawsuit is seeking the state-allowed interest in the amount of 1% per month from the date the change order was due, plus attorney’s fees and costs.
This isn’t the first dispute related to Pier 58, which was decaying into the Puget Sound prior to the rehabilitation project. During demolition of the pier in 2020, several workers fell into the water along with slabs of concrete and heavy machinery. The workers avoided serious injury but sued the city for negligence in the maintenance of the structure.
The new 48,000-sq-ft pier will be a triangular park alongside the waterfront with a children’s playground, a shaded tree grove and an elevated lawn along with a plaza and event space. Part of the contract included demolition of nearby Pier 63, which was closed in 2017. PPM has fully removed 894 timber piles and nearly 50,000 sq ft of decking. Pier 58 is scheduled for completion in early 2025.
The city of Seattle has said it does not comment on ongoing litigation, and PPM provided no additional comment beyond the lawsuit.
