Baltimore County officials are suing three companies hired to construct the still-empty detention center in Towson, alleging they were responsible for the building?s “faulty” and “untimely” design.
The county is seeking $30 million in damages from the companies, alleging they failed to meet project deadlines, never measured the site elevation and built slanted hallways. After a six- to 12-month delay, a revised opening date for the $77 million jail was set for March 2005. The facility is now expected to open next month.
The construction delays pushed back other projects, the suit says, most recently the installation of smoke and alarm systems. The delays are also costing the county money in salaries being paid to employees who were hired in anticipation of an earlier opening.
The suit names the project?s main consultant, DMJM H&N Inc., and two subcontractors, Henry Adams Inc. and EBA Engineering Inc., as defendants. The work of Henry Adams, which was responsible for mechanical, electrical and plumbing tasks, posed immediate risk of death to anyone in the center, the suit says. It says EBA, charged with civil and site planning work, used obsolete data and never measured the elevation of the building to ensure it matched the new facility.
Baltimore-based EBA has filed a motion for dismissal, saying the county did not have a contract with EBA, nor was it a beneficiary to any contract involving EBA. A communications officer for the company said it is “denying all allegations,” but referred additional comment to its attorneys.
Messages left at the offices of DMJM H&N Inc. and Henry Adams Inc. were not returned.
Another company, Oldcastle Precast Inc., hired to provide precast prison cells, has filed suit against the county. The company alleges the county repeatedly disrupted and delayed their work, forcing them to incur substantial additional costs. They said the county requested extensive changes to plans.
County spokesman Don Mohler declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
