D.A. NOLT, INC. v. THE PHILADELPHIA MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 21, 2021
Docket2:18-cv-04997
StatusUnknown

This text of D.A. NOLT, INC. v. THE PHILADELPHIA MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY (D.A. NOLT, INC. v. THE PHILADELPHIA MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
D.A. NOLT, INC. v. THE PHILADELPHIA MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY, (E.D. Pa. 2021).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA NOLT INC.,, : Plaintiff, : CIVIL ACTION . : THE PHILADELPHIA MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY et ai, : No. 18-4997 Defendants : FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS PRATTER, J. DECEMBER A , 2021 The City of Philadelphia engaged D.A. Nolt Inc. to perform roof and roof-related renovation and construction work on a project planned for a relocated City police headquarters. Nolt contends that the City breached the parties’ contract to Nolt’s economic loss, and the City counterclaims with allegations that Nolt was the breaching party. After Nolt filed suit in November 2018, the parties engaged in a lengthy period of discovery. The Court presided over a non-jury trial between June 14 and July 14, 2021. The parties submitted their respective proposed findings and conclusions. The Court has reviewed the parties’ submissions and the transcript of the trial. The Court’s Findings, Conclusions, and Order follow.! FINDINGS OF FACT I. The Project and the City’s Award of the Contract to Nolt 1. In early 2012, the City publicly announced its decision to relocate the police headquarters from 750 Race Street in Philadelphia to a building located at 4601 Market Street in Philadelphia (“Property”) after renovations to the Property were complete. Stip. Facts 1-2, Doc. No. 60.

' Because this case involves many people and entities, a list of them, together with convenient abbreviated names, their Project roies, and other references used in these Findings and Conclusions, is appended to this document.

2. Once renovations were complete, the Property was to be known as the Public Safety Services Campus to house the police headquarters, medical examiner’s office and morgue, and the laboratory services for the Department of Public Health, Stip. Facts 113-4. 3. Prior to the events pertinent to this litigation, the Property was in a severely deteriorated condition, with broken windows and water leaks that had stained floors and ceilings and caused plaster damage throughout the building. TD1 Tr. at 54, □□ 6 to pg. 56, □□ 2;? Ex. P-238 at 3-12. 4. Leaks in multiple locations of the Property allowed water penetration into the building. TD4 Tr. at 103, 2 15 to pg. 104, / 4. 5. The Property had 16 separate roofs identified as Roof Areas | through 16. 6. To complete the renovation work on the Property, the City divided the proposed necessary work into three (3) phases. Stip. Facts 4 5. 7. Phase I primarily involved demolition, electrical, and asbestos abatement. TDI Tr. at 36, / 9-11; Stip. Facts 6. 8. Phase II (about which this litigation is primarily concerned) involved the restoration of the building exterior fagade, including masonry work, window replacement, door

? The following abbreviated references are used: TD1 Tr. = Transcript from Trial Day | on June 14, 2021 TD2 Tr. = Transcript from Trial Day 2 on June 15, 2021 TD3 Tr. = Transcript from Trial Day 3 on June 16, 2021 TD4 Tr, = Transcript from Trial Day 4 on June 23, 2021 TD5 Tr. = Transcript from Trial Day 3 on June 25, 2021 TD6 Tr, = Transcript from Trial Day 6 on July 6, 2021 TD7 Tr. = Transcript from Trial Day 7 on Fuly 8, 2021 TD8 Tr. = Transcript from Trial Day 8 on July 9, 2021 TD9 Tr, = Transcript from Trial Day 9 on July 12, 2021 TD10 Tr. = Transcript from Trial Day 10 on July 14, 2021.

replacement, some additional or other asbestos abatement in connection with existing windows, installation of structural steel, and replacement of most of the roofing, in addition to certain plumbing work such as the installation of roof drains and related piping. TD! Tr. at 36, 2 14 to pg. 37, £ 1; Stip. Facts { 8. 9, Phase II was to involve the fit-out of the existing building, the construction of an addition, installation of the combined utility power plant, and exterior improvements to the parking lots and lights. Stip. Facts 4] 9. 10. Phase IT was likely to be approximately 12 times larger in both scope and cost than Phase II, 11. The City’s Project Manager for the Project was Pedro Pinto. Ex. D-1 at 12. Mr, Pinto was involved in all three phases of the Project, including the design of Phase ITI, TD6 Tr. at 161, 2 24 to pg. 162, 7 12. On average, Mr. Pinto was onsite during Phase II approximately once a week. TD8 Tr. at 40, /, 1422. He testified that he reviewed only the first few monthly reports, though they were provided to him on a monthly basis throughout his tenure on the Project. TD7 Tr. at 127, 2 3-11; 128, 7 5-9. 12. The City’s Project Director for the Project was James (Jim) Lowe. Ex, D-1 at 12. Mr. Lowe was not onsite every day or involved in the day-to-day Project construction activities. TD9 Tr. at 95, 2 22 to pg. 96, 2. 2. As Project Director, Mr. Lowe reviewed invoices submitted by the City’s vendors and payment applications submitted by Nolt. 13. The Project architect was the Ballinger Company. Ex. D-1 at 12. Ballinger, in turn, retained Klein & Hoffman as a sub-consultant to design the roofing system and to specify the manufacturer for the roofing materials. As such, Klein & Hoffman was the City’s roofing consultant for the Project. TD2 Tr. at 78, / 5-7; TD1 Tr. at 47, 2 18-23.

14. Brent Ellman was a Ballinger structural engineer responsible for the day-to-day design documentation and construction administration of the structural steel work required for Phase I. TD7 Tr. at 4, 2. 2, pg. 5, 2 6-14. 15. Ballinger was also the designer and project architect for Phase III. 16. Mr. Pinto was Ballinger’s point-of-contact for the City. TD6 Tr. at 162, 2. 13-16. 17. The City hired the Daniel J. Keating Company as its Construction Manager. Ex, D-1 at 12. Keating employed Craig Hunt, the Project Director, and Joe Brasberger, a field superintendent, on the Project. See, e.g., Ex. D-123 at 1. 18. Keating’s duties included quality assurance and quality control (“QA/QC”) functions for the Project. [D8 Tr. at 29, 2 2-10. See Definition fff. of the Special Contract Requirements (“SpCR”) (defining “Construction Manager” as the “Owner’s liaison” to the contractor) TD6 Tr, at 125, 2. 7-17; Ex. D-1 at 99. 19. The quality assurance inspector on the Project was Carl Pizzo, who worked for a subcontractor to Keating. As the field QA/QC inspector supervised by Keating, Mr. Pizzo’s role was to see that the “proper materials were being used,” and that the work was installed “per the specifications and plans.” TD6 Tr. at 101, £ 14-19; pg. 103, 2 5-8. 20. At all times throughout the Project, Mr. Pizzo was either employed directly by Keating or employed directly by subcontractors of Keating who were approved by the City to perform work on the Project. TD6 Tr. at 103, 2 12-19; TD8 Tr. at 29, 2 16 to pg. 30, /. 5. 21. As the Construction Manager, Keating had the authority to act on behalf of the City. TD6 Tr. at 125 to pg. 126, 2 1; Ex. D-1 at 99,

22. Keating prepared and submitted to the City monthly Project reports reflecting the status of the work, anticipated progress of the work, and payments made to Nolt. TD7 Tr. at 125, 1. 17 to pg. 126, L 1. 23. Under the Special Contract Requirements, Keating had the authority to accept and reject work which it deemed as non-compliant with the Contract Documents. TD1 Tr, at 52, 1. 22-24; Ex. D-1 at 99, 24. In mid-2015, the City publicly advertised Phase II as a multi-prime project comprising of a general construction prime contract and a plumbing prime contract. Stip. Facts 10, 12. 25. On July 7, 2015, the City accepted and opened bids for Phase II. Stip. Facts ff] 10, 12. 26. The City awarded the Phase II general construction contract for the Project to Nolt on August 18, 2015 and issued the Notice to Proceed to Nolt on September 22, 2015. Ex. P-7, 27, Nolt’s work for Phase H included window replacement, masonry repairs, and replacement of the roof, which required the installation of some structural and other steel. Stip. Facts 11.

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D.A. NOLT, INC. v. THE PHILADELPHIA MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/da-nolt-inc-v-the-philadelphia-municipal-authority-paed-2021.