Source: http://www.bendbulletin.com, February 9, 2017
By: Marina Starleaf Riker

A judge will decide whether the case will go to arbitration

A Deschutes County Circuit Court judge said Wednesday he needs more information before he’ll make a decision about whether the city of Bend and a Washington-based construction company should settle an $8 million lawsuit in court.

The Kennewick, Washington-based Apollo Inc. was hired to expand the city’s sewer treatment plant and is suing Bend for unpaid work and damages after the project was delayed and over budget. According to court documents, Apollo wants to force the city into arbitration, which means settling the dispute outside of court.

But the city wants to keep the case in circuit court and says the project’s issues were caused by Apollo’s poor management and construction work.

On Wednesday, Deschutes County Circuit Judge Walter “Randy” Miller said that before he makes his decision, Apollo must file more documents to explain why the case should go to arbitration.

Miller scheduled another court hearing for March 20, which gives the city time to defend why it thinks the case should stay in court after Apollo files the documents.

“The decision by the court will inform which way we head after that,” said Miller.

Apollo is also asking the court to request evidence from the city to use in the case. Depending on what happens at the next court hearing, the judge can decide whether he wants to allow Apollo to request more evidence.

According to the lawsuit, Apollo alleges that the city’s design and contract documents were “defective and deficient,” and that there were an “extraordinary” number of design flaws caused by the project’s engineer, Colorado-based CH2M Hill.

But the city doesn’t agree with Apollo and says problems were the construction company’s fault. The city also says its contract with Apollo says disputes should be settled in court, which means Apollo doesn’t have a legal reason to ask for arbitration.

Additionally, the city says Apollo is only owed $4 million in unpaid work, and the allegations about damages are “legally insufficient.”

The court proceedings come after the city and Apollo Inc. spent months in mediation in an attempt to resolve the contract disputes. To date, the unfinished project has cost Bend residents about $24 million on construction, $10.8 million for engineering and construction management and $2.7 million in consultants and attorneys.

After dealing with budgeting and construction problems, the city chose to take Apollo off the construction site rather than having it complete the job. The city hasn’t figured out when or who will finish the remaining 15 percent of the project, which Bend residents could be forced to pay for.