Unity
U.S. District Court Judge Steven McAuliffe said in a 19-page ruling from the court in Concord that claims by the school’s original architect and construction manager, Scott Vaughn, that the town and SAU are at least partially responsible for the project’s cost overrun and construction delays are not valid.
Vaughn was sued by the Unity School District for $2.7 million last March and he counter-sued, seeking $800,000 in unpaid fees. Vaughn also filed a third-party complaint against the SAU and town, demanding those two entities pay all or some of the damages he may owe to the school district.
The SAU and town then filed motion to dismiss claims against them contained in Vaughn’s complaint. Oral arguments were heard in December.
Regarding the SAU, Vaughn alleged he was given incomplete financial data and a geotechnical report he relied upon was not provided in a timely manner, which in turn was part of the reason the school was finished two years late and at a cost nearly double the original bond of $4.7 million.
McAuliffe said Vaughn’s complaint did not allege that SAU 6 caused the “injuries for which Unity School District seeks compensation.
“In other words, Vaughn has failed to allege sufficient facts to suggest that SAU 6 should be held to account for its proportionate share of Vaughn’s liability to the school district,” McAuliffe concluded.
Regarding the town, Vaughn said it allowed its employees, elected officials and agents, to use their positions to fight the new school, along with a strong ‘anti-tax’ element in town.
Again, McAuliffe rejected the claim.
“What Vaughn has failed to identify, and what the third-party complaint lacks, is some causal connection between the alleged conduct of the town’s employees/agents and the harm Vaughn claims to have suffered,” the judge wrote. “In short, the third-party complaint lack plausible allegations that wrongful conduct on the part of the town, its employees, and/or agents improperly interfered with Vaughn’s obligation to honor its own contractual relationship with Unity School District and, thereby, proximately caused harm to Vaughn.”
The suit against Vaughn is headed toward mediation.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
