School district loses appeal over construction work

Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2001 | 11:04 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court Monday rejected an appeal by the Clark County School District, which had been found liable for breaching its contract for construction work at Basic High School.

The court said the school district refused to pay for additional fireproofing work it ordered its contractor, Richardson Construction Inc., to perform. And that caused Richardson to breach its contract with the subcontractor, Rolling Plains Construction, which did the work.

The case went to arbitration, and Rolling Plains received $168,142 from Richardson. The school district was required to pay $96,327 of that amount.

The arbitration award was upheld by District Judge Sally Loehrer, and the school district appealed to the Supreme Court. The district claimed it could not be made to pay for part of the attorney fees incurred by Rolling Plains.

The court said that in past cases "we have determined that when a defendant's conduct causes litigation between the plaintiff and a third party, attorney fees may be recoverable as damages caused by that conduct."

The decision said the contract between the school district and Richardson left open the possibility of whether attorney fees could be awarded.

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