Contractor offers settlement to school district

Friday, Sept. 13, 2002 | 9:42 a.m.

A contractor who won a $1.6 million judgment against the Clark County School District made an unusual offer Thursday -- $300,000 for teachers' supplies in exchange for district officials settling the case within 30 days.

Addison Construction filed suit against the district alleging more than $1 million in work went unpaid. District officials claimed the work was shoddy and completed after the contract's deadline.

The district was ordered by a jury last month to pay Addison Construction more than $900,000 for work done on seven campuses between 1997 and 1999. The same jury Thursday boosted the award by more than $700,000 for attorney fees, litigation costs and interest on the owed payments. The district is appealing the decision.

Addison's president, Steve Van Meetren, had appeared before the school board Aug. 22 and urged the district to settle the case before the final verdict award was handed down. No one from the district's legal office ever contacted him, Van Meetren said during the public comment period of Thursday night's meeting.

"I urge you to consider the hundreds of thousands of dollars being wasted," Van Meetren told the board. "I was willing to settle this in 1997. I'm still willing now."

School board member Larry Mason said he planned to investigate Van Meetren's offer and find out whether it was feasible. Mason suggested Van Meetren could donate the $300,000 to the Clark County Education Foundation, earmarked for classroom supplies.

"It seems like we should have cut our losses three weeks ago when the award was $920,000," Mason said. "Now we're looking at $1.6 million, and that's only going to go up."

Mediation and settlement conferences are an automatic part of the appeals process, said Bill Hoffman, counsel for the school district. It may not be possible to complete the process within 30 days, Hoffman said.

If the district loses the appeal, the judgment will be paid using money from the 1996 bond fund that originally paid for the construction projects, Hoffman said. No money will be used from the district's general fund, he said.