PCL Awarded $74.6M After Suing Casino Owners Alleging Refusal to Pay

PCL Building has been awarded $74.6 million in damages after suing Colo.-based Monarch On line casino Resort Spa Black Hawk over refusal to pay for building companies rendered. 

In a 236-page ruling issued Feb. 21, Denver District Choose Andrew Luxen sided with PCL Building and 4 of its subcontractors on 4 claims towards house owners Monarch Development, Inc., Monarch On line casino & Resort, Inc., and Monarch Black Hawk, Inc.—together with breach of contract, breach of excellent obligation and truthful dealing, breach of implied guarantee and gross negligence, following the renovation and completion of a 23-story constructing on the on line casino and resort.

“PCL offered a major quantity of persuasive proof displaying Monarch and its group contracted for the Venture in a piecemeal vogue, erected vital roadblocks to PCL’s success, mismanaged the Venture, engaged in protracted CRX negotiations over the worth of modifications it needed, misused the CCD course of to compel PCL to carry out with out getting paid and withheld fee with out enough justification,” wrote Luxen in his ruling.

Following PCL’s lawsuit submitting in August 2019, Monarch’s house owners countersued the contractor 4 months later alleging a number of deadlines missed and poor high quality of labor, and expressing frustration over challenge delays.

In a 2019 press release, Monarch alleged PCL’s lawsuit was an try to “deflect consideration” away from “their failures” whereas the house owners “remained centered on the transformation of Monarch On line casino Black Hawk.”

On the time, the corporate added, “Sadly, we should now reply to PCL’s lawsuit with our affirmative defenses in addition to counterclaims towards PCL which can element their quite a few contract and efficiency breaches.”

Along with the PCL’s aforementioned claims, Monarch additionally alleged in its countersuit that PCL induced its settlement within the contract by affirming that the challenge may very well be accomplished inside 28 months prior execution. Nonetheless, in his resolution, Luxen dominated that Monarch was “combative and adversarial and regarded to position blame on PCL fairly than resolve issues.” 

Luxen added, “The Courtroom concludes, primarily based on the proof and testimony, that Monarch actively interfered with and delayed PCL’s efficiency, inflicting damages. The Courtroom additional determines such energetic interference delayed and disrupted the plan.”

General, Monarch was awarded $144,894 in damages, which was used to set off damages owed to PCL. 

PCL’s Ryan Schmidt, vp and district supervisor, welcomed the decision after he says the corporate submitted “over 700 paperwork and a whole lot of hours of witness testimony” in assist of the 28-day trial. 

“Regardless of ongoing challenge challenges, PCL continued work and efficiently accomplished the Monarch challenge, turning it over in January 2021,” mentioned Schmidt. “The events made intensive efforts to resolve this advanced matter, however in the end, PCL turned to the courts to guard its contractual rights and safe fee for its work, together with quantities owed to its subcontractors and suppliers.”

PCL was ranked No. 10 on ENR’s 2024 Top 400 Contractors list.