Indianapolis Library Loses Lawsuit over Central Library Cost Overruns

Lynn Blumenstein -- Library Journal, 04/16/2009

• Sought $49 million total
• Engineering firm awarded unpaid fees
• Library previously got $25M out of $50M cost overrun

The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library (IMCPL), dealing with the financial fallout of faulty construction of its central library addition (coverage) since 2004, has suffered a setback in its many attempts to recover funds from construction partners through legal actions. A Boone County jury delivered a verdict April 15 that denied IMCPL $24.5 million in damages, plus the same amount in punitive damages, that IMCPL sought from the New York-based firm engineering firm, Thornton Tomasetti (TT).

IMCPL’s attorneys contended that TT sought to conceal design flaws in the concrete parking structure that served as the central library’s foundation. The same jury awarded TT $712,000 in unpaid fees for work on the project, according to a report in the Indianapolis Star.

Library statement
The library board stated that it was “disappointed with the verdict. We continued to seek legal redress because we believed in the validity of our claim that there were issues with Thornton Tomasetti's work, and that we would have been remiss in our responsibility to Marion County taxpayers if we had not pursued legal remedies in this case.”

“Although we are disappointed with this judgment, it is important to point out that the Library has already collected settlements in excess of $25 million,” the statement continued. “The majority of the funds expended by the Library were to investigate and fix the problems discovered with the Project. These expenditures were necessary to ensure that the taxpayers of Marion County would be provided a safe and quality library structure for future generations.” There was no mention of further litigation.

Past efforts
IMCPL has sought recompense from several firms since structural defects were detected in the foundation of the six-story addition. As a result of court-ordered mediations, IMCPL in early 2008 received $17.65 million  in exchange for the release of pending claims related to the parking garage. 

By the time the library opened in late 2007, more than a year late, the cost of the $102 million renovation project ballooned by an extra $50 million. IMCPL in 2006 had to borrow $45 million to finish the project, incurring an increase in property taxes. The result of all this turmoil is a 293,000 square foot facility plus a 183,000 square foot parking structure that includes an atrium connecting the current building to new six-story glass structure.