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Construction
9 min read
Areas of Expertise :
Construction Delay, Construction Claims, Construction Management, Architecture, Construction Cost
Published Date:
Last Modified Date:
Jurisdiction:
Federal. Third Circuit
Quinn Construction, Inc. v. Skanska USA Building, Inc. et al. arose from the construction of Skirkanich Hall, a bioengineering research building at the University of Pennsylvania. The project involved several parties with different roles. The University of Pennsylvania owned the project, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects LLP served as the project architect, Skanska USA Building, Inc. acted as construction manager, Quinn Construction, Inc. performed concrete work as a subcontractor, and Harleysville Mutual Insurance Company was involved as surety.
The federal construction dispute included allegations about architectural plans, design documents, and project specifications, along with payment, delay, disruption, overtime, change-order, surety, and subcontract-waiver issues. Quinn claimed that it suffered delay, disruption, unpaid contract balance, overtime costs, and unpaid change-order damages. Its claims against Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects were tied to allegedly incomplete plans and specifications. Skanska also asserted claims and cross-claims involving project responsibility, indemnity, and alleged negligent misrepresentation.
The central issue was whether alleged statements or representations in the architectural plans and project specifications supported negligent misrepresentation liability and caused claimed delay or cost impacts.
Construction of Skirkanich Hall began in August 2004 as part of a University of Pennsylvania bioengineering building project. Penn hired Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects LLP as the project architect and Skanska USA Building, Inc. as construction manager. Skanska then hired Quinn Construction, Inc. to complete concrete work under two subcontracts. These relationships later framed the claims among the concrete subcontractor, construction manager, architect, and surety.
During Quinn’s concrete work, the project was already behind schedule and allegedly fell further behind. Quinn later argued that its foundation and superstructure work was affected by delay and disruption tied to design documents, project sequencing, and change-order disputes. Skanska disputed responsibility for the delay and brought claims of its own, including claims involving Quinn’s work and surety bonds. The dispute developed into competing arguments over who caused or absorbed the project delays.
The court record states that construction was substantially complete by June 2006. Substantial completion did not end the parties’ disagreements over payment, delay, overtime, or remaining change orders. The unresolved claims later moved into federal litigation involving Skanska, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, and Harleysville Mutual Insurance Company. Those claims placed the Skirkanich Hall project documents and construction schedule at the center of the litigation.
Quinn filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Skanska and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. Quinn alleged that Skanska and the architect caused delays that affected its work on the Skirkanich Hall project. The claims against the architect were tied to allegedly incomplete plans and specifications. The lawsuit brought the payment, delay, and design-document dispute into federal court.
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects moved to dismiss the claims against it. The architect argued that Quinn and Skanska had not filed a certificate of merit required for claims based on licensed standards. The court rejected that argument because it found that the claims were negligent misrepresentation claims, not claims based on a departure from a licensed standard of care. The decision allowed the architect-related negligent misrepresentation theory to remain in the case.
The architect later moved to preclude Quinn and Skanska from presenting expert testimony about architect standard of care or causation. The court denied the motion without prejudice, leaving open the possibility that specific opinions could be addressed under the Federal Rules of Evidence. The court also stated that expert testimony was not required for the negligent misrepresentation claims.
The court denied Harleysville’s motion for summary judgment, denied Quinn’s motion for partial summary judgment, and granted Skanska’s motion for partial summary judgment in part. The ruling discussed expert evidence from both sides in the construction delay dispute.
Quinn relied on reports from The Duggan Rhodes Group, which addressed delay, disruption, and damages tied to Quinn’s foundation and superstructure work. Skanska relied on testimony and a report from its expert, Zafar B. Farooqi, who addressed whether Quinn’s work remained on the critical path after October 27, 2005. The court found that subcontract language barred many of Quinn’s delay and disruption claims and barred 18 of Quinn’s change-order claims. Claims involving overtime wages and several remaining change orders survived.
The court granted Skanska’s motion to strike Quinn’s jury demand as to claims against Skanska. As a result, those claims were designated for trial by the court. The court denied Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects’ motion to strike Quinn’s jury demand as to claims against the architect. That ruling placed the claims against Skanska and the claims against the architect on separate trial paths.
Court:
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Case Name:
Quinn Construction, Inc. v. Skanska USA Building, Inc.
Commercial Construction
Construction Scheduling
Construction Change Orders
Construction Contracts
Construction Damages
Architectural Design
Owner Architect Agreements
Drawings
Delays
Progress Payments
Quinn Construction, Inc. v. Skanska USA Building, Inc. et al. arose from the construction of Skirkanich Hall, a bioengineering research building at the University of Pennsylvania. The project involved several parties with different roles. The University of Pennsylvania owned the project, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects LLP served as the project architect, Skanska USA Building, Inc. acted as construction manager, Quinn Construction, Inc. performed concrete work as a subcontractor, and Harleysville Mutual Insurance Company was involved as surety.
The federal construction dispute included allegations about architectural plans, design documents, and project specifications, along with payment, delay, disruption, overtime, change-order, surety, and subcontract-waiver issues. Quinn claimed that it suffered delay, disruption, unpaid contract balance, overtime costs, and unpaid change-order damages. Its claims against Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects were tied to allegedly incomplete plans and specifications. Skanska also asserted claims and cross-claims involving project responsibility, indemnity, and alleged negligent misrepresentation.
The central issue was whether alleged statements or representations in the architectural plans and project specifications supported negligent misrepresentation liability and caused claimed delay or cost impacts.
Construction of Skirkanich Hall began in August 2004 as part of a University of Pennsylvania bioengineering building project. Penn hired Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects LLP as the project architect and Skanska USA Building, Inc. as construction manager. Skanska then hired Quinn Construction, Inc. to complete concrete work under two subcontracts. These relationships later framed the claims among the concrete subcontractor, construction manager, architect, and surety.
During Quinn’s concrete work, the project was already behind schedule and allegedly fell further behind. Quinn later argued that its foundation and superstructure work was affected by delay and disruption tied to design documents, project sequencing, and change-order disputes. Skanska disputed responsibility for the delay and brought claims of its own, including claims involving Quinn’s work and surety bonds. The dispute developed into competing arguments over who caused or absorbed the project delays.
The court record states that construction was substantially complete by June 2006. Substantial completion did not end the parties’ disagreements over payment, delay, overtime, or remaining change orders. The unresolved claims later moved into federal litigation involving Skanska, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, and Harleysville Mutual Insurance Company. Those claims placed the Skirkanich Hall project documents and construction schedule at the center of the litigation.
Quinn filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Skanska and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. Quinn alleged that Skanska and the architect caused delays that affected its work on the Skirkanich Hall project. The claims against the architect were tied to allegedly incomplete plans and specifications. The lawsuit brought the payment, delay, and design-document dispute into federal court.
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects moved to dismiss the claims against it. The architect argued that Quinn and Skanska had not filed a certificate of merit required for claims based on licensed standards. The court rejected that argument because it found that the claims were negligent misrepresentation claims, not claims based on a departure from a licensed standard of care. The decision allowed the architect-related negligent misrepresentation theory to remain in the case.
The architect later moved to preclude Quinn and Skanska from presenting expert testimony about architect standard of care or causation. The court denied the motion without prejudice, leaving open the possibility that specific opinions could be addressed under the Federal Rules of Evidence. The court also stated that expert testimony was not required for the negligent misrepresentation claims.
The court denied Harleysville’s motion for summary judgment, denied Quinn’s motion for partial summary judgment, and granted Skanska’s motion for partial summary judgment in part. The ruling discussed expert evidence from both sides in the construction delay dispute.
Quinn relied on reports from The Duggan Rhodes Group, which addressed delay, disruption, and damages tied to Quinn’s foundation and superstructure work. Skanska relied on testimony and a report from its expert, Zafar B. Farooqi, who addressed whether Quinn’s work remained on the critical path after October 27, 2005. The court found that subcontract language barred many of Quinn’s delay and disruption claims and barred 18 of Quinn’s change-order claims. Claims involving overtime wages and several remaining change orders survived.
The court granted Skanska’s motion to strike Quinn’s jury demand as to claims against Skanska. As a result, those claims were designated for trial by the court. The court denied Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects’ motion to strike Quinn’s jury demand as to claims against the architect. That ruling placed the claims against Skanska and the claims against the architect on separate trial paths.
The court identified The Duggan Rhodes Group as Quinn’s expert source for construction delay, disruption, and damages analysis. DRG’s reports addressed Quinn’s position that its foundation work experienced 6.5 weeks of delay and that its superstructure work experienced two weeks of delay. DRG attributed part of the foundation delay to deficiencies in TWBTA’s drawings and linked superstructure delay to ongoing design-document issues. DRG also prepared damages opinions involving labor escalation, overtime, extra shifts, and inefficiency costs.
The court identified Zafar B. Farooqi as Skanska’s expert. Farooqi provided testimony and a report about whether Quinn’s work remained on the project’s critical path after October 27, 2005, when Quinn topped out Skirkanich Hall. His opinion supported Skanska’s position that Quinn’s work stayed on the critical path into spring 2006 and affected follow-on trades. The court noted a pending motion in limine concerning Farooqi’s testimony and report, but it also found that contemporaneous schedule updates created a factual dispute for trial.
Architecture expert witnesses are commonly consulted in disputes involving project drawings, specifications, and design-document coordination. They may review whether architectural plans were complete, consistent, and usable for construction. Their analysis may also address missing dimensions, design revisions, RFIs, sequencing issues, architect communications, and the relationship between plan-related issues and claimed project delays or added costs.
Construction cost expert witnesses are commonly consulted in disputes involving unpaid change orders, delay costs, overtime claims, labor escalation, and disputed project damages. They may review contract records, payment applications, change-order documentation, labor data, schedules, and project correspondence to assess claimed cost impacts. Their analysis may also address added supervision, acceleration, inefficiency, and the relationship between project events and claimed damages.
In Quinn Construction, the court allowed the architect-related allegations to proceed as negligent misrepresentation claims, not as formal architectural malpractice claims requiring a certificate of merit. The proper theory in a construction-design dispute often depends on the parties, contract terms, project documents, alleged representations, and governing law.
The summary judgment order addressed how subcontract language can narrow or bar categories of delay damages. Payment releases, notice clauses, no-damages-for-delay language, change-order provisions, and waiver clauses may affect which claims survive. This part of the ruling shows how contract language can control the scope of recovery even when a contractor alleges plan or schedule problems.
For plan-related construction claims, expert analysis is strongest when it connects a specific drawing issue, missing dimension, RFI, revision, design response, or critical path event to a measurable schedule or cost impact. The expert discussion in Quinn Construction focused on delay, disruption, damages, and critical path issues. The court’s analysis treated those topics as part of the factual disputes that remained after summary judgment.
The court’s certificate-of-merit discussion separated negligent misrepresentation claims from claims alleging a departure from a licensed standard. That distinction can affect pleading requirements, expert requirements, admissibility disputes, and how the jury is asked to evaluate architect-related evidence.
The 2010 trial-designation ruling treated claims against Skanska differently from claims against the architect. Trial structure may depend on contract provisions, jury waivers, subcontract relationships, party roles, and the nature of the claims. In Quinn Construction, the claims against Skanska were designated for trial by the court, while the claims against Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects remained designated for jury trial.
Quinn Construction, Inc. v. Skanska USA Building, Inc. grew out of delays and payment disputes tied to Quinn’s concrete work on Skirkanich Hall. Quinn claimed that project delays, unpaid change orders, overtime costs, and incomplete design documents affected its foundation and superstructure work. Skanska disputed those claims and raised its own arguments about project responsibility, surety issues, and subcontract limits.
As the case moved through federal court, several rulings narrowed the dispute. The court allowed the architect-related negligent misrepresentation claims to continue, declined to broadly exclude possible expert testimony, limited many delay and change-order claims under the subcontract, and separated the trial path for claims against Skanska from claims against the architect. The rulings did not find that Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects committed architectural malpractice. Instead, they show how the Skirkanich Hall dispute developed through issues involving design documents, construction scheduling, claimed damages, and trial procedure.
What role did Skirkanich Hall’s concrete work play in the Quinn Construction dispute?
Quinn served as the concrete subcontractor on the University of Pennsylvania bioengineering building project. Its claims focused on foundation and superstructure work allegedly affected by project delays, unpaid work, overtime, change orders, and incomplete plans and specifications.
Was Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects accused of architectural malpractice in Quinn Construction v. Skanska?
The claims against the architect were tied to allegedly incomplete plans and specifications. The court treated those claims as negligent misrepresentation claims rather than formal architectural malpractice claims requiring a certificate of merit under Pennsylvania law.
What incomplete architectural plan issues were raised in the Skirkanich Hall case?
Quinn’s delay position referred to alleged deficiencies in drawings, slow review of structural drawings, and missing critical dimensions in project documents. Those issues were discussed as part of Quinn’s broader delay and disruption theory.
Did the court find TWBTA liable for incomplete architectural plans?
The available orders do not establish a final merits ruling that Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects was liable. The court addressed procedural and summary judgment issues, including expert testimony, damages limitations, change orders, and jury-trial designation.
How did the alleged incomplete drawings affect Quinn Construction’s delay claims?
Quinn alleged that incomplete or inaccurate project drawings prepared by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects contributed to project disruption. The court discussed those allegations alongside subcontract language, delay damages, change orders, and expert reports addressing Quinn’s foundation and superstructure work.
The court identified The Duggan Rhodes Group as Quinn’s expert source for construction delay, disruption, and damages analysis. DRG’s reports addressed Quinn’s position that its foundation work experienced 6.5 weeks of delay and that its superstructure work experienced two weeks of delay. DRG attributed part of the foundation delay to deficiencies in TWBTA’s drawings and linked superstructure delay to ongoing design-document issues. DRG also prepared damages opinions involving labor escalation, overtime, extra shifts, and inefficiency costs.
The court identified Zafar B. Farooqi as Skanska’s expert. Farooqi provided testimony and a report about whether Quinn’s work remained on the project’s critical path after October 27, 2005, when Quinn topped out Skirkanich Hall. His opinion supported Skanska’s position that Quinn’s work stayed on the critical path into spring 2006 and affected follow-on trades. The court noted a pending motion in limine concerning Farooqi’s testimony and report, but it also found that contemporaneous schedule updates created a factual dispute for trial.
Architecture expert witnesses are commonly consulted in disputes involving project drawings, specifications, and design-document coordination. They may review whether architectural plans were complete, consistent, and usable for construction. Their analysis may also address missing dimensions, design revisions, RFIs, sequencing issues, architect communications, and the relationship between plan-related issues and claimed project delays or added costs.
Construction cost expert witnesses are commonly consulted in disputes involving unpaid change orders, delay costs, overtime claims, labor escalation, and disputed project damages. They may review contract records, payment applications, change-order documentation, labor data, schedules, and project correspondence to assess claimed cost impacts. Their analysis may also address added supervision, acceleration, inefficiency, and the relationship between project events and claimed damages.
In Quinn Construction, the court allowed the architect-related allegations to proceed as negligent misrepresentation claims, not as formal architectural malpractice claims requiring a certificate of merit. The proper theory in a construction-design dispute often depends on the parties, contract terms, project documents, alleged representations, and governing law.
The summary judgment order addressed how subcontract language can narrow or bar categories of delay damages. Payment releases, notice clauses, no-damages-for-delay language, change-order provisions, and waiver clauses may affect which claims survive. This part of the ruling shows how contract language can control the scope of recovery even when a contractor alleges plan or schedule problems.
For plan-related construction claims, expert analysis is strongest when it connects a specific drawing issue, missing dimension, RFI, revision, design response, or critical path event to a measurable schedule or cost impact. The expert discussion in Quinn Construction focused on delay, disruption, damages, and critical path issues. The court’s analysis treated those topics as part of the factual disputes that remained after summary judgment.
The court’s certificate-of-merit discussion separated negligent misrepresentation claims from claims alleging a departure from a licensed standard. That distinction can affect pleading requirements, expert requirements, admissibility disputes, and how the jury is asked to evaluate architect-related evidence.
The 2010 trial-designation ruling treated claims against Skanska differently from claims against the architect. Trial structure may depend on contract provisions, jury waivers, subcontract relationships, party roles, and the nature of the claims. In Quinn Construction, the claims against Skanska were designated for trial by the court, while the claims against Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects remained designated for jury trial.
Quinn Construction, Inc. v. Skanska USA Building, Inc. grew out of delays and payment disputes tied to Quinn’s concrete work on Skirkanich Hall. Quinn claimed that project delays, unpaid change orders, overtime costs, and incomplete design documents affected its foundation and superstructure work. Skanska disputed those claims and raised its own arguments about project responsibility, surety issues, and subcontract limits.
As the case moved through federal court, several rulings narrowed the dispute. The court allowed the architect-related negligent misrepresentation claims to continue, declined to broadly exclude possible expert testimony, limited many delay and change-order claims under the subcontract, and separated the trial path for claims against Skanska from claims against the architect. The rulings did not find that Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects committed architectural malpractice. Instead, they show how the Skirkanich Hall dispute developed through issues involving design documents, construction scheduling, claimed damages, and trial procedure.
What role did Skirkanich Hall’s concrete work play in the Quinn Construction dispute?
Quinn served as the concrete subcontractor on the University of Pennsylvania bioengineering building project. Its claims focused on foundation and superstructure work allegedly affected by project delays, unpaid work, overtime, change orders, and incomplete plans and specifications.
Was Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects accused of architectural malpractice in Quinn Construction v. Skanska?
The claims against the architect were tied to allegedly incomplete plans and specifications. The court treated those claims as negligent misrepresentation claims rather than formal architectural malpractice claims requiring a certificate of merit under Pennsylvania law.
What incomplete architectural plan issues were raised in the Skirkanich Hall case?
Quinn’s delay position referred to alleged deficiencies in drawings, slow review of structural drawings, and missing critical dimensions in project documents. Those issues were discussed as part of Quinn’s broader delay and disruption theory.
Did the court find TWBTA liable for incomplete architectural plans?
The available orders do not establish a final merits ruling that Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects was liable. The court addressed procedural and summary judgment issues, including expert testimony, damages limitations, change orders, and jury-trial designation.
How did the alleged incomplete drawings affect Quinn Construction’s delay claims?
Quinn alleged that incomplete or inaccurate project drawings prepared by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects contributed to project disruption. The court discussed those allegations alongside subcontract language, delay damages, change orders, and expert reports addressing Quinn’s foundation and superstructure work.
Commercial Construction
Construction Scheduling
Construction Change Orders
Construction Contracts
Construction Damages
Architectural Design
Owner Architect Agreements
Drawings
Delays
Progress Payments
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