Belmont Developer Seeks $20 Million From District
The developer of the defunct Belmont Learning Complex has filed a demand for $20 million in damages from the Los Angeles Unified School District, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Temple Beaudry Partners, which was thrown off the job in November, is invoking a provision in its contract requiring binding arbitration of disputes, said project executive Kenneth J. Reizes.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. April 22, 2000 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday April 22, 2000 Home Edition Metro Part B Page 5 Metro Desk 2 inches; 45 words Type of Material: Correction
Belmont developer--A story in Thursday’s Times said the Los Angeles Unified School District inspector general recommended that the Board of Education sue Temple Beaudry Partners, the developer of the Belmont Learning Complex. The recommendation was to sue if negotiations failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion.
“The school district has made a public show of abandoning the project, but has refused to address any of the contractual and legal issues that flow from that decision,” Reizes said.
The district voted to abandon the $200-million project in January because of concern over environmental conditions on the former oil field west of downtown.
Temple Beaudry Partners contends that its contract exempts it from any responsibility for environmental issues. A statement released Wednesday did not detail the alleged damages, but said the contractor had not been paid since last October for work authorized by the district.
In a report last September, district Inspector General Don Mullinax recommended that the Board of Education sue Temple Beaudry Partners and four other contractors on the project. The report accused the developer of misleading regulatory authorities by failing to report hazardous conditions it discovered during construction.
The board voted to sue its law firm on the project, O’Melveny & Myers, but has taken no action against the others.
The spokesman for Temple Beaudry Partners said the demand for damages, filed Tuesday, will ensure resolution of the dispute in about 90 days.
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