State settles lawsuits over UNLV library

Thursday, June 17, 2004 | 8:26 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- The state has agreed to settle lawsuits over delays and defects on the Lied Library at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for $2.6 million, and the Legislative Interim Finance Commission agreed Wednesday to release the money to end the claims.

Kirk Williams, a Las Vegas lawyer hired to represent the state Public Works Board, said there were 15 mediation sessions involving 41 parties trying to sort out claims. The settlement was approved by the district court Monday, he said.

"The risk of going to trial is great," Williams told the legislators Wednesday. He said that contractors and subcontractors filed $11 million for "delay and disruptions" claims against the state for their work on the library.

State Public Works Manager Dan O'Brien says steps have been taken to prevent a repeat of the problems that plagued the library's construction. The $40.5 million library, which was scheduled to open in October 1999, instead opened in January 2001.

O'Brien said the public works board has tightened its procedures. There will be a team of full-time inspectors watching as the $75 million engineering and science building is built, he said.

Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, objected to the settlement, noting a sloping floor in the library. "How do we know it won't collapse in the next 10 years?" he asked.

Williams said experts have looked at the floor and they say it is sound. "There is nothing structurally wrong with the floor," he said.

Williams said the state would be able to sue if "latent unknown defects that could not have been discovered without destructive testing" were found.

As part of the settlement, the state will receive $600,000 to make repairs to the roof and the electrical system that are "life safety issues," officials said.

The state has spent more than $1 million in legal fees and for expert witnesses in the case.