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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021CV30470 - City Of Fort Collins V. American Civil Constructors, Inc. And American Civil Constructors, Llc - 006 - City Status ReportDISTRICT COURT, LARIMER COUNTY, COLORADO 201 La Porte Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80521 Plaintiff: City of Fort Collins v. Defendants: American Civil Constructors, Inc. and American Civil Constructors, LLC ▲COURT USE ONLY▲ ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF: John W. Mill, Atty. Reg. #22348 Mill Construction Law LLC 1040 S. Gaylord Street, Suite 8 Denver, CO 80210 Phone Number: (303) 601-5635 Email: john@millconstructionlaw.com Case No. 2021-CV-30470 Courtroom: 3B STATUS REPORT Plaintiff the City of Fort Collins (“City”), by and through its counsel, for this Status Report, states as follows: BACKGROUND 1. The City is the owner of a pedestrian underpass located in the City’s right-of-way at Prospect Road and Center Avenue in the City of Fort Collins (“the Underpass”). The Underpass is approximately 18 feet wide and 92 feet long. 2. ACC was the general contractor that designed and constructed the Underpass. 3. The Underpass is leaking through multiple joints between the concrete panels used to construct the ceiling of the Underpass. DATE FILED: October 20, 2021 11:46 AM FILING ID: 117959F1505BD CASE NUMBER: 2021CV30470 2 4. On June 30, 2021, the City filed its Complaint in this case asserting that design and construction defects by ACC caused the leaking in the Underpass. 5. On August 30, 2021, ACC accepted service of the Complaint. 6. On October 6, 2021, the Court issued an Order for Motion for Default Judgment or Status Report. This Status Report is submitted in compliance with that order. 7. Before and after ACC accepted service, the City and ACC have been cooperating in an attempt to discover the cause of the leaking in the Underpass. These efforts have included expert inspections and discussions aimed at trying to identify the cause of the leaking so it can be corrected. STATUS REPORT 8. On October 7, 2021, the City and ACC reached an agreement that could potentially lead to a settlement of the claims in this case. The agreement calls for ACC to remove and cover with concrete a large landscaping planter box above part of the Underpass by October 29, 2021. ACC believes the planter box may be the source of the water causing the leaking. 9. The parties’ agreement includes that after ACC removes the planter box (and its irrigation system) and covers it with concrete, the parties will observe the Underpass through the winter, until May 2022, to determine if the leaking has stopped. 10. The parties agreed that in May 2022 they will discuss the observations over the winter and either (1) negotiate a mutually-agreeable settlement, or (ii) proceed with this lawsuit. 11. The City and ACC have been working diligently to attempt to find a reasonable and efficient way to resolve the City’s claims, avoid unnecessary expense and minimize the burden on the Court. 3 12. The City and ACC have agreed to file a joint motion asking the Court to stay this action until June 30, 2022. The stay will allow the parties to implement their agreement, remove the planter box as a potential source of water leaking into the Underpass, observe the Underpass over the winter months until May 2022 and then determine if the removal of the planter box has stopped the leaking. 13. The stay may eliminate the need for the parties and the Court to proceed with the litigation of the City’s claims, save the parties significant expense and save judicial resources. 14. On October 18, 2021, the City’s undersigned counsel drafted and sent to ACC’s counsel a draft joint motion for stay. ACC”s counsel has been unavailable to review the draft motion. 15. The City’s counsel anticipates that the parties will be able to file the joint motion for stay by October 25, 2021. 16. Therefore, the City requests that the Court not enter a default judgment against ACC and allow the parties until October 25, 2021 to file a joint motion for stay. Dated: October 20, 2021 MILL CONSTRUCTION LAW LLC Original signature on file for review upon request at the office of Mill Construction Law LLC. By: s/ John W. Mill John W. Mill, #22348 Mill Construction Law LLC 1040 S. Gaylord Street, Suite 8 Denver, CO 80209 Attorney for City of Fort Collins 4 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on October 20, 2021, I caused a true and correct copy of the foregoing STATUS REPORT to be electronically served by email to: J. Scott Lasater, Atty. Reg. #16070 Lasater & Martin, P.C. Email: Scott@lasaterandmartin.com Counsel for Defendant s/ John W. Mill