Lawsuits filed over Perez Art Museum beam collapse

Downtown’s Perez Art Museum Miami is a co-defendant in a lawsuit that accuses two of its contractors of failing to prevent several concrete beams from collapsing during the museum’s construction.

Arup USA filed the suit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court earlier this week, the Miami Herald reported. The engineering firm names the museum and contractors Moriarty & Associates and Gate Precast Co. in the complaint. It seeks nearly $7 million allegedly owed to Arup from the defendants.

Three beams collapsed in November 2012. After that happened, the museum ordered Arup and the contractors to redo the affected portion of the project. Arup claims it paid for the work and never received any reimbursement from the museum.

Arup’s suit follows a federal lawsuit filed against the firm by Gate Precast, which manufactured and installed the beams. In that complaint, Gate claims it is owed $8 million from Arup after the engineering firm allegedly ordered the company to use the wrong parts. [Miami Herald] — Eric Kalis