Contractor suing St. Charles District 303 for unpaid Thompson Middle School work
A construction contractor is suing St. Charles Unit District 303 for $2.2 million in additional costs for work on Thompson Middle School that occurred while the facility was being renovated from 2017 to 2019.
In a lawsuit filed on Jan. 22, Inverness-based K.R. Miller Contractors Inc. claims the district failed to pay for cost overruns that occurred because of "actions and inactions" of the architect - Minnesota-based Armstrong, Torseth, Skold and Rydeen Inc. - on behalf of the district, and because of 295 change orders requested by district officials and the architect.
The lawsuit states the cost of the change orders totaled $4.5 million, or more than 12% of the original $36.7 million contract with K.R. Miller.
K.R. Miller's attorney, Patrick Enright of O'Rourke, Hogan, Fowler and Dwyer LLC in Chicago, declined to comment, and a representative of the architecture firm could not be reached for comment. District 303 spokeswoman Carol Smith issued a brief statement on the lawsuit.
"We are aware of the lawsuit and will be working with our legal counsel to respond appropriately to these claims in court," she said.
According to the lawsuit, among the requested changes that added to the costs "long after the project began" were porcelain ceramic tile wainscoting and Marmoleum floor tile that had to be ordered from Europe and required months for delivery.
The lawsuit states "the size, scale and scope of the excessive change orders impacted (K.R. Miller's) right to complete the work as planned and as anticipated at the time of bid." According to the lawsuit, costs built up in part because of a loss of efficiency in work and an accelerated schedule.
The lawsuit states the scope of the contracted work included renovation of classrooms and athletic rooms, the library, cafeteria, kitchen, offices, storage spaces and mechanical spaces. Also, an existing two-story wing of the building was demolished and replaced with a new building entrance and additional renovations.
Exterior work, according to the lawsuit, included new parking lots, an athletic field with a running track and site landscaping.