Tulsa has refiled a lawsuit against a local construction company for negligent work at a nonprofit that has received a substantial amount of public money.
Earlier this month, the city filed the lawsuit against Construction Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) over its alleged shoddy work and missed deadlines while renovating the Tulsa Performing Arts Center in 2017. The city ran operations for the PAC during the year in question.
The lawsuit alleged city inspectors toured the construction area and found “various construction defects” and “critical delays in the agreed upon construction schedule,” according to court documents. The lawsuit points to problems like CEI not submitting shop drawings for approval, causing “improper or incorrect sizes and types of material” to be installed. The suit claims CEI submitted a bid of over $1.8 million to complete the project.
PAC CEO Mark Frie and Construction Enterprises, Inc. declined to comment on the lawsuit for this story.
This wasn’t the city’s first attempt to get CEI to pay up for alleged inadequate work on the PAC. The lawsuit filed this month is a refiling of the same suit from August 2020, which lasted almost two years before being dismissed after the parties “reached an understanding about how to accomplish resolution without further Court proceedings,” according to court documents.
That dismissal was in July of 2022. Now, a year later, the city is trying again and asking for damages.
City Attorney Jack Blair referred Public Radio Tulsa to the mayor’s office for a statement. The mayor’s office said it doesn't comment on pending litigation.
The PAC trust now oversees the facility’s operations. City Councilor and PAC trustee Lori Decter Wright did not comment on the pending litigation.
Public Radio Tulsa has requested copies of all construction bids for the project.
