Try Construction suing in-administration firm for £1.1m

A subcontractor that went into administration following the bungled installation of a curtain walling system in Watford is being sued for ВЈ1.1m.

Contano (Aluminium) is being pursued in the High Court by Try Construction over mistakes it allegedly made on a six-storey office block in Watford.

Try claims the office block sprung a leak because of defects in the curtain walling system installed and designed by Contano.

In a writ filed at the Technology and Construction Court, Try claims Contano installed a modified Hueck Mullion system that started leaking in May 2002 - months after its installation.

It alleges Contano identified defects in the curtain wall system as the cause of the leaks but was unable to decide on a repair route, despite 10 months of discussions.

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After the firm went into administration on 27 August 2003, Try was forced to appoint Structura to redesign and install a new curtain walling system.

Try is seeking ВЈ1,020,319.12 for costs including subcontractor fees and glass breakages. It is also seeking ВЈ174,431.07 in interest.

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Knight Build sue Urvasco in latest Strand hotel dispute

Legal woes continue for the developer of an 11-storey hotel on the site of the BBC’s first radio broadcast, with a plant and materials supplier filing a lawsuit.

Knight Build is suing Urvasco for enforcement of an adjudicator’s decision over work it did on the former Marconi Hotel on London’s Strand, which has been demolished to make way for a five-star Silken hotel.

The project has been dogged by problems, with O’Keefe (Greenwich) filing a suit against main contractor Cantillon and Cantillon filing a counter-claim.

In the latest dispute, Knight Build is seeking ВЈ320,110.08 plus interest from Urvasco as ordered by an adjudicator in September this year.

The adjudicator was called in by Knight Build after the firm failed to receive various staged payments for its ВЈ6.2m contract to supply plant and materials for concrete works.

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HMRC has collected just 8% of CIS fines

The Revenue has only collected ВЈ5.5m of the ВЈ180m in tax fines dished out to contractors under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).

Figures obtained from HM Revenue & Customs by CJ last week show that only a tiny proportion of penalties have been paid.

Revenue chiefs have also conceded that more than ВЈ100m in fines has been written off following successful appeals or companies and individuals leaving the industry.

That leaves ВЈ67m of fines still to chase from contractors. But industry experts are sceptical whether HMRC has the resources to go after people.

Howard Royse, the construction industry head for the Chartered Institute of Accountants, said: “This £67m figure could hang like a Sword of Damacles over the industry if the Revenue decides to go all out in the next few months to collect in as many fines as it can get. But I’m not sure if it really has the resources to do that.”

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Companies are fined ВЈ100 for each late return under CIS and extra fines for each subsequent late or incorrect filing.

An HMRC spokesman said: “The £180m is the total amount of penalties issued. A large proportion of these have been remitted by HMRC because either the businesses in question have ceased to trade without informing us or there have been successful appeals.

“At present, around £67m remains in charge, but that figure might be reduced by further appeals and £5.5m has been collected so far. As with all HMRC work, recovery action is prioritised and outstanding penalties will be prioritised accordingly.”

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PRIDE Honors Four Industry Builders

On Aug. 13, four area leaders will be honored by PRIDE for their teamwork-building efforts to advance St. Louis as the best place to build at an awards luncheon.

The honorees are:

Mark S. Wrighton, chancellor, Washington University. While not a developer, few over the last decade have had a larger impact on the St. Louis construction industry. Wrighton will be honored with the PRIDE Industry Impact Award for expanding Washington University’s legacy of excellence that in the 13 years of his tenure has led to the commissioning of 30 new buildings. He has also encouraged significant minority participation in building projects. Further, Wrighton has advanced the university’s tradition of educating architects, engineers and construction managers through improvements to the Sam Fox Arts School of Design and Visual Arts, the John M. Olin School of Business and the soon-to-expand school of engineering.

Robert P. Elsperman, P.E., chairman, Tarlton Corp. A fixture in the St. Louis construction industry for more than 55 years, Elsperman brought a construction entrepreneurs’ perspective to the PRIDE board when he served as management co-chair from 1998 to 2003. Elsperman, who continues to attend PRIDE board meetings, has been affiliated with the organization for nearly 30 years. Elsperman will be receiving the Al Fleischer Management Award named for the late Alfred J. Fleischer, who helped co-found PRIDE and was its first management co-chair.

Rick Schaefer, director of department planning and capital projects, Malinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine. As PRIDE owner co-chair from 2004 to 2007, Schaefer fostered greater two-way communications between union construction industry stakeholders and the buyers of their services. Prior to being named co-chair, Schaefer served on a number of committees to help advance construction industry proficiency in the region. Schaefer will be honored with the Joe Rinke Owner Award. The award is named for Joseph W. Rinke, PRIDE’s first owner co-chair.

William Bernard, president emeritus, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers. A native St. Louisan, Bernard rose from the rank of apprentice in Asbestos Workers Local 1 in 1950 to become a national and international ambassador for the tenets of PRIDE. He led the historic negotiations that unified the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union, which set a national and international precedent on cooperation between unions. Bernard will be honored with the Dick Mantia Labor Award. The award is named for Dick Mantia, who co-founded PRIDE and remains board member emeritus of the organization.


“These are stalwarts of our industry,” said Jim LaMantia, executive director of PRIDE. “Each has embraced and furthered the principles of cooperation to build a better future for the St. Louis area and its union construction industry.”

The award recipients will be honored at luncheon at the Renaissance St. Louis Grand & Suites Hotel in downtown St. Louis.

PRIDE, founded in 1972, is an acronym for Productivity and Responsibility Increase Development & Employment. For more than 35 years, PRIDE has worked to maintain harmony and build cooperation among St. Louis area AFL-CIO construction craft workers, contractors, construction buyers, architects, engineers and suppliers.

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Asbestos victory safeguards compensation for workers

Thousands of asbestos victims had compensation payments safeguarded today after the High Court ruled against insurance companies trying to dodge out of their liabilities.

The Unite union led a successful defence on behalf of the family of a former steel erector against a legal challenge by insurance companies which could have deprived mesothelioma sufferers and their families of compensation.

The High Court ruled that Employers' Liability insurers remain liable to pay compensation for mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos in the work place if they insured the employer at the time the asbestos exposure occurred.

The decision comes after a nine-week court battle throughout June and July.

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Unite joint general secretary, Derek Simpson said: "This is a hugely important victory for the victims of the deadly dust and for their families. Having to suffer or watch your relatives suffer from a slow and painful death is horrific.

“Thousands of men and women across the UK have been negligently exposed to asbestos by their employers but insurers have tried and failed to use legal technicalities to escape their responsibility to pay compensation under the policies they sold to employers."

A number of insurers argued the policies they sold, to insure employers against liability for workers who were injured or suffered illness due to work, were "triggered" by the development of the disease rather than by the exposure to asbestos. 

Often the time lapse between exposure to asbestos and the development of mesothelioma can be 40 years or more.

If the insurance companies' defence had been successful it could have deprived thousands of asbestos victims and their families of their right to compensation.

The successful conclusion to the test case means the family of mesothelioma victim and Unite member Charles Michael O'Farrell will be a step closer to receiving ВЈ152,000 in compensation from his former employer's insurers Excess Insurance Company Limited.

Charles O'Farrell was a retired member of Unite who died in 2003. He was exposed to asbestos while working as a steel erector for Humphreys & Glasgow Limited from 1964 to 1967. The company ceased trading in1986 and is currently in liquidation.

Excess had refused to pay the damages citing the "trigger issue" defence as their reason. If the High Court had found in favour of the insurer the O'Farrell family would not receive any compensation.

His daughter, Maureen Edwards said: "My dad died a painful death from mesothelioma and watching him suffer was agonising for all of us. Excess Insurance poured salt into the wound by forcing us to fight them in court to receive compensation which we had already been awarded but they refused to pay.

"My dad would have been proud today that, with the backing of his union, we have finally achieved justice for him. But he would have been disgusted by the lengths the insurers went to get out of paying.”

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Continental Cement Selects Wilson for Downtown Cement Facility

S. M. Wilson & Co. was selected by Continental Cement Company, LLC to build a new $15 million barge unloading facility and dome storage facility at the company's terminal in downtown St. Louis.

Construction will be completed in two phases. Phase I will involve the construction of a 40,000 ton cement storage dome with an adjoined cement transportation center. In addition, a 1000 square foot building also will be built to house equipment. Phase II of the project will include the construction of the new barge unloading facility on the Mississippi River. A utility bridge will be constructed to connect the new unloading facility to the storage dome.

Construction for Phase I is scheduled for completion in late 2008, while Phase II is targeted for completion in May 2009.

EDG Consulting Engineers, based in Columbus, Ohio, is the engineering firm for the project.

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Randy Burketet Lighting Celebrates 20 Years

Randy Burkett Lighting Design, Inc. is celebrating 20 years of professional practice. The Saint Louis based architectural lighting design firm was founded in 1988 by Randy Burkett, FIALD, IES, LC. Their lighting work has been honored numerous times with design awards for projects throughout the United States and abroad for distinction, design excellence and technical achievement.

Local past and current projects include: The Gateway Arch; Lumiere Place and Four Seasons Hotel including the River City Casino Hotel; Renaissance Grand Hotel; Old Post Office and CustomHouse; St. Louis Science Center; and The Penguin and Puffin Coast at the St. Louis Zoo.

National and worldwide projects include: The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC; 111 West Illinois Building in Chicago; Utah State Capitol historic renovation in Salt Lake City;St. Anthony's Falls Bridge I-35 Replacement, Minneapolis; Goethels Bridge Replacement, New York, NY; Zhe Jiang Fortune Finance Center in Hangzhou, China; Sea World Shark Encounter of Florida in Orlando, FL; Orange County Convention/Civic Center in Orange County, FL; and The American Queen Steamboat.

Lighting Design offers a complete range of services from initial conceptual development through final construction administration. The team's professional experience includes: skills in complete design formulation and development, equipment layout and specification, architectural detailing, custom luminaire design, solar and lighting energy analysis. The firm specializes in both interior and exterior project types including: corporate, retail, shopping malls, museum/exhibit, conferencing facilities, hotels, restaurants, religious structures, themed environments, monuments, and bridges.

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