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Cleveland Public Library Loses Suit over Construction ProjectCleveland Public Library has lost a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over the construction of its main building’s Louis Stokes Wing. Judge Solomon Oliver of U.S. District Court dismissed the library system’s case March 24 after a jury took just two hours to rule in favor of Hartford Insurance Midwest, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported March 26. Water and soil that poured into the pit that was excavated for the Stokes Wing apparently undermined the adjacent original 1925 building, forcing major repairs. The library had asked for $5 million in construction damages and an unspecified sum for fraud and misrepresentation. The jury ruled the library waited too long—13 months after the first crack appeared—before filing a damage claim. However, library attorney Frederick R. Nance argued that the library had informed Hartford of the problems from the beginning and could not claim full damages until they ended three years later. Nance said the library paid the company over $2 million in premiums to cover the project. Library Director Andrew Venable told the newspaper he couldn’t comment on the case until he discussed it with his trustees, who could ask Oliver to overrule the jury or could appeal the verdict. The 10-story Stokes Wing, which opened in 1999, was part of a $90-million project that also renovated the original building and redesigned the Eastman Reading Garden. Posted March 26, 2004. |
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