Hazard, Kentucky The Project Motel Facility located in the Eastern Kentucky Coal Fields with 108 Rental Units in three, two story buildings and a single story commercial building. All structures utilized masonry bearing wall construction with shallow foundations. The estimated construction cost is $3,800,000 The Site The site is a relatively level former coal strip mine with uncompacted mine spoil fills to depths of 10 feet to over 100 feet. The Problem One of the two story rental units began to settle during construction and has never been placed into service. The damages are the total loss of the settled building, the lost revenues from the 36 rental units in the settled building, and the required underpinning of a second, adjacent rental building. The Cause Borings and test pits made by the geotechnical engineer on behalf of the general contractor failed to discover the range of depth of fills underlying the site. In addition, when settlements were first observed by the general contractor in the early stages of construction, he continued the work without contacting the design team or the geotechnical engineer. The Resolution The owner took bankruptcy due to inadequate cash flow from the property, and the lender took possession of the property. The lender has recovered a total of about $1,900,000 from the general contractor and the geotechnical engineer through arbitration and negotiated settlements, respectively. The Attorney Clients For the Owner: Frost & Jacobs For the Lender: Taft, Stettinius & Hollister
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Copyright 2004 Richard Cheeks
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