Latrobe Elementary contractor seeks damages for construction delays

The general contractor that completed construction of Latrobe Elementary School in December 2018 has filed suit against the building architect, seeking $1.3 million in damages related to a four-month project delay.

Nello Construction of Carnegie filed the civil complaint this week in Westmoreland County Court, claiming that Axis Architecture breached its contract with the Greater Latrobe School District.

Philadelphia attorney Pete Schwenker, who represents Axis, had no comment.

Nello is seeking similar damages from the project manager, Foreman Program and Construction Managers of Zelienople, through arbitration, according to Nello’s attorney, Dean Falavolito.

Falavolito indicated Axis wouldn’t agree to submit to arbitration.

“We’re fighting on multiple fronts, trying to get the money that we’re owed,” he said.

The Latrobe school district assigned Nello its rights in any claims against the architect and project manager, after the district and the contractor settled their dispute over money Nello was owed for its work on the $24.8 million elementary building.

In that February settlement, the district paid Nello $831,000 of the $1.26 million the district had withheld — with the stipulation that Greater Latrobe will receive 15% of any damages the contractor is awarded in its filings against Axis and Foreman.

Nello claims that Axis drafted “confusing and unworkable” specifications for HVAC controls, alleging that the architect “purported to address temporary environmental controls but failed to draft any specifications or provide any direction to the school district as to the responsibility for permanent HVAC/environmental controls.”

According to the suit, Axis called for installation of interior finishes that required the environmental controls but didn’t address the responsibility for meeting that HVAC requirement. Nello says that led to ongoing disputes among the parties involved in the project, resulting in delays that pushed construction past the original target completion date of Aug. 3, 2018.

Nello also claims that Axis selected HVAC units that were incapable of controlling temperature and humidity in a new building project. Nello also claims there were errors in the architect’s steel and masonry drawings, and in drawings for a sewer connection, all of which contributed to the construction delay.

In its demand for arbitration, under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association, Nello alleges shortcomings on the part of Foreman’s representative, George Dickerson. Nello says the initial construction schedule he provided to contractors was illogical — “such as HVAC equipment being started before ducts installed and wood flooring being installed before HVAC start-up” — and that he was unqualified to create the schedule.

Nello also claims he failed to properly coordinate the work of the prime roofing contractor.

Pittsburgh attorney Matthew Hoffman said Foreman “denies liability upon Nello’s claims and intends to vigorously contest those claims.”

Hoffman blamed the delayed Latrobe Elementary completion on “Nello Construction’s own deficient performance.”

He said Foreman “diligently protected Greater Latrobe School District’s interests in completing the project and provided significant assistance to the school district in contesting Nello’s claims, which allowed the school district to achieve a favorable resolution of those claims.

”Nello now seeks to inconvenience and disparage (Foreman) for having the audacity to hold Nello accountable for its own failures.”