However, the port’s request for a summary judgment would not affect other claims by Clark or the port’s countersuit
See Correction/Clarification at the end of this article.
Officials at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport hope to avoid a King County Superior Court trial over a complaint filed by Clark Construction Group, the contractor that built its nearly $1 billion International Arrivals Facility.
The Port of Seattle, which owns the airport, filed for summary judgment in late September, arguing that a complaint brought by Clark in December seeking to recoup costs it attributes to the Covid-19 pandemic bypassed key requirements of its contract. Port officials want to get the case before a judge for a ruling, based on statements and evidence submitted by the two parties, rather than it being heard in court.
The legal battle stems from issues with the final layout of the gates at the arrivals facility, which the port says cannot simultaneously fit the number of widebody planes it will need to manage international traffic in the coming decade.
The summary judgment would not affect other claims by Clark or the port’s countersuit seeking $100 million in damages related to delays and the alleged design flaw, which it filed in January.
Clark has alleged it and its subcontractors are still owed around $60 million from added costs on the project as a result of changes to the design after construction was underway. The company is also seeking to recoup costs it attributes to the Covid-19 pandemic, which “could not reasonably have been foreseen.”
The port’s argument for a summary judgment claims that Clark didn’t follow the procedures laid out in the contract for documenting and justifying those added costs.
The project was already behind schedule and over budget before the onset of the pandemic, the port said in filings. The new facility debuted in March 2022.
Clark requested around $30 million in reimbursement in mid-2020, then increased it to $47 million in late 2021, records show. The port claims it did not properly account for the 219 days of delay included in that payment.
Clark also alleges it provided documentation “over and above” what was required by the contract and said design changes by the port added significant costs to the design.
The port estimated in the documents the issues with the layout will ultimately cause $120 million in added operating costs and repairs. It declined to comment on the ongoing litigation and said details of how it will remedy the design are still being worked out in court.
The gates in question are part of the A Concourse and do not affect construction on the planned $1.5 billion overhaul of its S Concourse, which is connected to the arrivals facility by an 85-foot-high aerial walkway.
However, the port said in filings that the gate capacity is needed for the S Concourse renovation effort, and a delay would add significantly to the cost of that project and result in “long term lost profits due to lack of use.”
Clark has requested that the port table remediation efforts.
Go behind the scenes at the grand opening ceremony of the brand new International Arrival Facility at Sea-Tac International Airport (SEA), Washington on March 3, 2022. Photos by Anthony Bolante | PSBJ
Correction/Clarification
The story has been updated to clarify that the motion for summary judgment by the port applies only to one of the complaints brought by Clark Construction and does not affect other claims before the court. A previous version of this story also had an outdated court schedule. New court dates are not available yet.