The credibility of an unlicensed engineer who has been involved in a number of high-profile Montgomery County construction projects was challenged in a civil suit involving accusations that a Chevy Chase driveway project caused flooding to a neighbor’s property.
The case, which had been scheduled to go before a jury in Rockville, was settled Monday, with the specific details unavailable, one of the attorneys involved told The Examiner on Tuesday. But, according to the case file, Lee Sutherland had been set to appear as an expert witness testifying to the fact that the driveway installation performed for 5403 Trent St. “provides adequate drainage and has not and will not cause damage to 5400 Trent Street.”
Plaintiff David Sadoff, who claimed the work damaged his property, filed an injunction seeking to disqualify Sutherland as an expert based on the fact that he’s not licensed as an engineer. In his petition Sadoff also challenges Sutherland’s resume.
“It does not describe Mr. Sutherland’s education, his professional credentials and licenses, his membership in professional organizations, or his publications, if any,” it states. “It lists a number of projects but it does not describe with specificity Mr. Sutherland’s relationship to them.”
Sadoffand his lawyer declined to speak to The Examiner about the case, and Nathan Finkelstein, the attorney for defendant 5403 Trent LLC, did not return a Tuesday call seeking comment on Sutherland’s role in the project. A letter from Marc Reshefsky, of Trent LLC, indicates that Sutherland was the civil engineer on the Trent Street project. But, according to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations, Sutherland holds no professional licenses in engineering or other related fields. His resume, in the case file and on file in Montgomery County, refers to him as a engineer and specifies that Sutherland was the engineer on the 2,000-unit Leisure World residential subdivision.
Maryland law strictly forbids anyone from calling him or herself an engineer without a license and specifies that doing so constitutes a misdemeanor crime punishable with up to six months of jail time. Sutherland has told The Examiner he will not comment on his qualifications or work.
