In the latest twist in a long controversy, an Indiana circuit court jury on April 15 cleared structural engineer Thornton-Tomasetti Inc., New York City, of fraud charges brought by the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, related to the troubled renovation and expansion of the city’s central library.
The library project originally was budgeted at $103 million but was completed two years late, in December 2007, and as much as $50 million over budget. Other project contractors previously settled with the library for a total of $21.5 million, including its construction manager, a joint venture of Turner Construction Co., Trotter Construction Co. Inc. and Shiel Sexton Co. Inc. But the jury declined to award the library $24.5 million from Thornton-Tomasetti after a five-week trial. It also awarded the firm $712,000 sought in a countersuit. “In 30 years of practicing engineering, including forensic engineering, I’ve never heard a case like that,” says firm CEO Daniel Cuoco.