OU to get $1 million in settlement over Grover Center water-line break
September 11, 2008
A settlement agreement released last week by Ohio University, in response to a records request from The Athens NEWS, indicates that OU will receive $1 million in damages, from two companies that it sued over a water leak in a campus building.
The university sued American Valve, Inc., of Greensboro, N.C., and A.C. Stockmeister Inc., of Jackson, Ohio, in Athens County Common Pleas Court in March 2007.
The companies were, respectively, the manufacturer and installer of a number of water valves that were installed in OU’s Grover Center in 2001 as part of a major renovation.
The suit alleged that the firms’ negligence contributed to the failure of one of the valves on Grover’s third floor in April 2006. The resulting water leak caused extensive damage to around half the building, which housed offices and classrooms of OU’s College of Health and Human Services.
The university and its insurer asked for $1.9 million in damages. The case was set to go to trial in November, but last month the parties agreed to dismiss it with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. This is standard practice when the litigants in a case reach a settlement.
Part of the agreement is that the parties do not disclose its terms publicly. However, the document notes that this aspect of the agreement can be superseded by factors such as a court order or state law, which includes Ohio public-records law.
In response to a records request, OU supplied a copy of the settlement agreement, which includes separate settlements with each of the companies.
In the settlement with the manufacturer American Valve, that company has agreed to pay $925,000. The copy of the agreement obtained by The NEWS bears the signatures of OU President Roderick McDavis and a representative of OU’s insurer – both dated in March – but not from any representative of American Valve.
The agreement with the installer A.J. Stockmeister indicates that that company has agreed to pay $75,000 to settle its part of the case. That part of the agreement bears only McDavis’ signature, dated in June.
According to a state audit of OU that was released in February 2007, the April 2, 2006 valve failure caused a 3-inch pipe on Grover’s third floor to burst, resulting in major water damage to 40-50 percent of the building.
Grover Center, which is almost 50 years old, underwent more than $24.4 million worth of renovations that were completed in 2001, and which included the installation of the new water valves.
The state audit estimated the restoration cost for Grover after the leak at a little more than $1.09 million, but that amount was more than covered by an insurance payout of over $1.44 million (after OU ‘s $100,000 deductible).
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