A settlement approved November 5 by the Court of Claims of Ohio resolved a dispute over the construction of the new middle and high school in Reynoldsburg.

A settlement approved November 5 by the Court of Claims of Ohio resolved a dispute over the construction of the new middle and high school in Reynoldsburg.

Synergy Group, Inc. v. Ohio School Facilities Commission, Case No. 2012-05606

A Michigan construction company has settled its breach of contract claims for nearly $1 million with the Ohio School Facilities Commission over work performed on the new elementary and high schools in Reynoldsburg. The Court of Claims of Ohio approved the $979,054.27 settlement on November 5.

In its July 25, 2012 complaint, Synergy Group Inc. sought payment for $1,718,750.52 in “unpaid base contract work, earned and unpaid retainer, and extra work, services and materials” on the project.

After it competitively bid for the project, Synergy was contracted to perform the work on January 5, 2010.

Synergy claimed it “completely and timely performed its work under the Agreement and has satisfied all conditions precedent to payment.” But the state “directed and required Synergy to accelerate its performance and complete additional work,” according to the complaint.

Synergy also claimed that the state failed to coordinate the work of other contractors and to timely and properly schedule the work, which caused unreasonable delays. The state also “unreasonably failed to extend the Project schedule.”

“The State and OSFC materially breached the Agreement by, among other things, delaying progress of work; disrupting, preventing, and interfering with the planned sequence of work; and expressly and constructively accelerating the Project schedule without equitably compensating Synergy.”

The facilities commission and the school district asserted that Synergy caused some of the delays. As a result, the district and the state incurred considerable additional expenses on the project with other subcontractors, including Accurate Electric, Gutridge Plumbing, and TP Mechanical, as well as legal fees and other expenses arising from lawsuits filed by the subcontractors.

In the agreement among the parties approved by the Court of Claims, the lawsuit is dismissed, Synergy forgoes $560,990.93 in payment under the contract, and the Reynoldsburg City School District agrees to release the remaining $979,054.27 to Synergy and others owed money from the project without interest. Court costs are assessed to both parties.

The agreement states: “This deduct change order is to compensate Owners (the district and the facilities commission) for delays and disruptions that the Owners assert were caused by Synergy related to the Project, including delay impacts asserted by Accurate Electric, Gutridge Plumbing and TP Mechanical against the Owners, as well as for legal fees incurred by the District in responding to Lien Claims and resulting lawsuits. Synergy does not admit to causing any delays or disruptions and is entering into this change order as a compromise.”

The Court of Claims is given original jurisdiction to hear and determine all civil actions filed against the State of Ohio and its agencies.

To access information on other cases visit the Court of Claims website.

Please note: Opinion summaries are prepared by the Office of Public Information for the general public and news media. Opinion summaries are not prepared for every opinion, but only for noteworthy cases. Opinion summaries are not to be considered as official headnotes or syllabi of court opinions. The full text of this and other court opinions are available online.