Terence J. Scanlan

Design & Construction Litigation

• Seattle Tunnel Partners, et al v. Washington Department of Transportation, et al:  Retained by Shannon & Wilson to defend claims totaling $640 million brought by Seattle Tunnel Partners and Hitachi Zosen against WSDOT and members of its design team, including Shannon & Wilson. The claims concerned the design and operation of a deep-bore tunnel boring machine and related issues following the failure of the TBM once tunnel construction was commenced.  Tunneling operations were interrupted for almost two years and an extensive rescue and repair process was implemented, resulting in multiple claims between involved parties. Claims by both STP and Hitachi Zosen were settled when Shannon & Wilson’s respective dispositive motions against each were pending; the respective six-figure settlement amounts fully resolved the entirety of the $640 million dollar claims against Shannon & Wilson.
• Municipality of Anchorage v. ICRC, et al.:  Retained by GeoEngineers to defend a $340 million claim brought by the Municipality of Anchorage against its contractors and design team in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska (AK), regarding the development of 9000 linear feet of commercial port facility. The project entailed design and construction of container shipping and barge berth facilities utilizing an open-cell sheet pile system at the Port located in a seismically active zone. The litigation centered on whether the constructed system and geotechnical analysis underpinning the system was appropriate for surviving a 500-year seismic event. While Geoengineers’ dispositive motion was pending, the case settled for a six-figure amount, fully resolving the Municipality’s $340 million claim.
• King County v. Kiewit-Massman:  Retained by King County regarding claims arising from the construction of the new South Park Bridge spanning the Duwamish River. The King County Superior Court (WA) lawsuit centered on determining responsibility for delays and cost overruns that were in a dispute with the contractor, Kiewit-Massman. Kiewit claimed the County was responsible for more than $35 million in damages. The case was settled by Kiewit surrendering more than 80% of its claim in exchange for a nominal payment by the County, which allowed the project to be completed within its original budget.
• University of Oregon v. Hoffman Construction, et al.:  Retained by Catena Consulting Engineers in a $42 million lawsuit arising in Lane County Superior Court (OR) brought by the University of Oregon against the designers and builders of a large residential hall project on the Eugene, OR campus. Three new dormitories experienced substantial deflections on all floors of each building. Terry proposed an alternative resolution process which guaranteed repair by a certain date for an agreed-to repair scope of $6 million. This also removed the University from the litigation and shifted the remaining parties to an arbitration track. All parties agreed to this approach. With the University out of the case, the remaining parties were subsequently able to negotiate a settlement to allocate funding between five contractors and two design firms, resolving the case.
• Ft. Knox Gold Mine v. Knight Piesold:  Retained by Knight Piesold in a $6 million claim brought in Fairbanks Superior Court (AK), initiated by Ft. Knox Gold Mine regarding a slope failure at a gold mining operation in south central Alaska. Early melting of a permafrost layer resulted in an entire heap leach mining system to slide downslope requiring repair to the system and delay to mining operations. Early in the litigation, Terry presented technical information rebutting the causation theory of the mine owner and its insurer. The $6 million claim was settled for a significantly lower six-figure payment well below cost-of-defense.

Wrongful Death & Catastrophic Tort Litigation

• Collins v. CPV Sentinel Energy Center, et al.:  Retained by Mott MacDonald to defend a wrongful death claim brought by the family of a worker killed in a catastrophic explosion at the CPV Sentinel Energy Project, a gas turbine electrical plant located in Palm Springs, California.  The plaintiff sought $12 million in damages.  Terry provided a full defense to Mott MacDonald and after deposing key witnesses at the plant who were witnesses to the accident and knowledgeable about plant operating procedures, established that liability as to Mott MacDonald was dubious at best.  Shortly after the conclusion of discovery, the case settled for $ 160,000, well below the cost of remaining litigation.
• Donnelly v. HDR Architecture, et al.:  Retained to represent HDR Architecture in a lawsuit brought in King County Superior Court (WA), involving catastrophic injuries suffered by a state worker at a facility designed by HDR. The injured plaintiff and his family sought $42 million in damages against HDR, as well as two co-defendants, a general contractor and subcontractor. After a five-week jury trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of HDR, finding no liability and awarding no damages.
• Zimmerman et al v. Tesoro, et al.:  Retained to represent Matrix Service Co. in a wrongful death lawsuit brought in Skagit County Superior Court (WA), initiated by the families of seven refinery workers killed during a catastrophic explosion at the Tesoro Refinery in Anacortes, Washington. Terry provided a full defense for Matrix in this litigation with damages sought near $100 million. Matrix brought a successful motion for summary judgment, seeking discharge of all claims. Matrix was completely dismissed from the case with prejudice.