Leonardo contractor sues Salt Lake City for $1M

SALT LAKE CITY — The contractor hired by Salt Lake City to renovate and remodel the building that now houses The Leonardo is suing the city for failing to pay nearly $1 million for completed construction work.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in 3rd District Court, Ascent Construction Inc. alleges the city has breached the $5.8 million contract awarded to the company in June 2010 to transform the former city library at 209 E. 500 South into a science, technology and art center.

According to the lawsuit, the city has refused to pay for the work because it was not completed by the June 14, 2011, deadline. The project was not completed until Aug. 17, which delayed the planned spring 2011 opening until Oct. 8.

The responsibility for those delays is the crux of the lawsuit. Ascent Construction alleges that the city and the independent contractor it hired as project manager, Larry Migliaccio, were to blame. Migliaccio also is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, as is his employer, Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc.

City spokesman Art Raymond said Wednesday the city had not yet been served with the lawsuit. He said city policy prevents officials from commenting on pending litigation.

The lawsuit states that "issues arose that caused substantial delays in construction" shortly after the contract was awarded and continued throughout the construction process. Those issues, according to the lawsuit, "were not caused or controlled" by the contractor.

The lawsuit alleges the city was slow in issuing building permits and that it required "numerous and extensive design changes … throughout the project," even after the June 14 deadline.

The city and its architect also "were repeatedly slow in resolving design issues and making decisions" on the project, as well as when "reviewing, processing and paying invoices" submitted by the contractor, according to the lawsuit.

As of April 15, the contractor had been paid 40 percent of the contract price, even though Ascent Construction had completed 80 percent of the work, the lawsuit states.

Other delays caused by outside forces included changes in city management — including the accidental death of project manager Steve England — and an unseasonably wet spring. "However, the city refused to grant extensions to the completion deadline" to account for weather-related delays.