Architect in $1.65 million Columbia contract case seeks $2.9 million more

COLUMBIA, SC The architectural firm awarded $1.65 million last week in a contract dispute with the city of Columbia is asking for an additional $2.9 million.

If paid, that would bring the city’s cost for its court case with Stevens & Wilkinson over a proposed Vista hotel to $4.56 million, according to the motion filed by the firm’s attorney, Dick Harpootlian.

City Council is due to discuss the case Tuesday in an executive session, according to its agenda.

Last Thursday’s jury verdict awarding $1.65 million to Stevens & Wilkinson was the climax of a 10-year legal battle.

In 2003, the city gave Stevens & Wilkinson architect Bobby Lyles and a team of professionals the go-ahead to draw up detailed designs for a publicly funded, 300-room, $40 million convention center hotel in the Vista.

In 2004, however, the then-City Council choose another team of developers. That team wound up building a privately financed hotel, partially subsidized by the city.

In 2005, Lyles filed suit against the city, alleging it owed $1.65 million to his firm for work it did before their project was canceled. The city should pay $75,000 a week for 22 weeks of work done in late 2003 and early 2004, Lyles testified last week.

The city denied that Lyles had a valid contract and refused to pay. Since filing suit, Lyles and the city have fought numerous legal skirmishes in various courts, once even going to the S.C. Supreme Court. In 2014, the high court ruled the contract dispute should be heard by a jury.

The State newspaper has filed a S.C. Freedom of Information Act request to see how much money the city has spent on legal and other fees in the case.

Harpootlian said Lyles is due nearly $3 million because, under state state law, he is due interest calculated from 2005, when Lyles filed suit, and from 2009, when Lyles filed what is called an “offer of judgment” – a proposal to settle the case for $1.58 million. That offer was rejected.

A city spokeswoman had no response Monday to a request for comment on the new motion in the just-finished case.

“Of course, the city can appeal the verdict,” attorney Harpootlian said. “If they do, I would expect appellate courts to deal with this quickly. But, meanwhile, the city would be adding an additional estimated $400,000 a year in interest they would owe my client.”

This story was originally published August 3, 2015 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Architect in $1.65 million Columbia contract case seeks $2.9 million more."