According to a judgement in a suit filed by Chestlen Development, issues related to construction defects, specifically defective concrete work from the third to top floors at the W Hotel and Element Hotel, were determined to be a breach of contract and as such, a Philadelphia court has awarded $174.6 million in damages against L.A.-based Tutor Perini.
The Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County issued the judgment April 10, bringing a yearslong dispute over construction issues at the 51-story, 755-room dual-branded hotel to a resolve.
Tutor Perini won the $239 million contract for the hotel in 2015, which was eventually opened in 2021 after the developer sued the contractor over the construction issues and claims that the work resulted in more than 890 days of delays. Contractors are responsible for the work performed; therefore, Tutor Perini was liable.
“This award confirms what Chestlen has maintained from the start: accountability matters, regardless of the size of the contractor,” said Peter Sheridan, chair of the Construction Litigation practice at Los-Angeles based law firm Glaser Weil. The firm, along with co-counsel from Blank Rome and Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld, represented Chestlen.
