Without admission of any liability, VOA Associates, Inc., a professional design firm, agreed to settle all outstanding claims by paying the Orange County School District $75,000.
VOA Associates, Inc., had been retained by the Orange County School Board in 2004, to undertake a feasibility study and recommend to the School Board whether or not Howard Middle School should be renovated comprehensively or demolished and rebuilt. Ultimately VOA advised that comprehensive renovations should be undertaken.
According to the School Board, the cost of renovations was underestimated, the project completion delayed and the board filed suit. The Board’s lawsuit charged, among other things, VOA had:
- failed to completely perform design, architectural and engineering services with such skill and expertise to comply with applicable building codes and prevailing construction industry standards
- failed to devise measures to protect against unacceptable loading or stress upon the Howard Middle School structure during the course of excavation
- failed to recognize constructability issues on the construction drawings and failed to counsel or advise the general contractor as to the appropriate and safe manner excavations
- failed to include construction drawings or comply with building codes illustrating the safe method of excavation, given the soil conditions under Howard Middle School.
VOA Associates, Inc., is a 42-year-old design firm, with offices in Orlando, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Seattle, and Shanghai, China, among other locations.
For more on the lawsuit, please see here: Mutual Release executed by VOA.pdf (142 KB) and 2ND amended complaint.pdf (21 KB).
