Builders agree to pay for Courtside repairs

Wednesday, November 18, 1998

Builders agree to pay for Courtside repairs

HOUSING: UCLA accepts $14 million from companies to end lawsuit
over leaks in Sunset Village dormitories

By Lawrence Ferchaw

Daily Bruin Staff

UCLA and the construction companies involved in building Sunset
Village settled a lawsuit this month, with the university receiving
$14 million from the other parties to pay for building repairs.

UCLA, the architect, general contractor and subcontractors
settled the suit which came after Courtside, one of the buildings
that make up the village, experienced varying degrees of leakage
over the past year through the roof and windows.

Courtside was the building that bore the brunt of the leakage,
while Canyon Point, Delta Terrace and Covel Commons experienced
lesser degrees of leaking.

Temporary repairs were made, with permanent repairs not
scheduled until the fall of 2000, according to Sam Morabito,
associate vice chancellor of business and finance.

"We’re pleased with the settlement," Morabito said. "For the
amount received, we believe we can do the repairs."

UCLA had asked for $30 million in the suit, according to
Morabito, but that number included the costs of litigation.

Courtside, and all of Sunset Village, was completed in 1992. The
entire village of seven buildings had a total project cost of over
$87 million, but only about $50 million was for building
expenses.

The degree of leaks varied from room to room and from building
to building within the Courtside complex.

"It wasn’t a big leak or anything," said Angela Chen, a
second-year economics student. Chen said that water leaked into her
room through the window and damaged some papers nearby.

For other students, however, the leaks themselves were not the
problem, it was what the leaks left behind.

"It smelled like mildew a lot, especially when we turned the air
conditioning on," said Rachel Chang, a fourth-year communication
studies student.

Settlement negotiations began before the summer, after UCLA
filed a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against more
than 20 of the companies involved in the construction, ranging from
the architect to the contractors who handled the roofing and
windows.

Construction companies did not immediately return calls from The
Bruin.

The settlement does not necessarily mean that any of the
companies involved are admitting any wrongdoing in the case.

"When parties settle, they want a stipulation that they are not
admitting to anything," said Glen Fichman, campus counsel.

Settlements are common in construction cases, according to
Fichman, because of all the costs involved in handling the cases
through a trial.

"The process costs involved in litigation can be quite high,"
Fichman said.

The costs involved in trying the case, and that the companies
offered UCLA a dollar amount which would allow for the repairs
caused the university to stop short of going to trial, according to
Fichman.

"We thought we got a good result by settling," Fichman said.
"The amount we received was a fair amount."

Courtside went through temporary repairs earlier this year to
prevent any further leaking, but the money for the lawsuit will pay
for permanent repairs which will include fixing roofs and replacing
windows.

"We’ve done temporary repairs to get the buildings as watertight
as possible," Morabito said.

During the temporary repairs, some students were moved to the
UCLA Guest House for a short time.

Permanent repairs will not take place until De Neve Plaza is
completed. The added housing provided by De Neve will allow housing
officials to close Courtside to do the repairs, according to
Morabito.

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