MiamiCentral subcontractor sues for $25.8M of allegedly unpaid work

Steel contractor ADF International Inc. claims it did extra work due to faulty planning for the construction of MiamiCentral

MiamiCentral construction site
MiamiCentral construction site

A steel contractor hired to help build the Brightline train station in downtown Miami filed a lawsuit claiming $25.8 million for additional work due to faulty project planning.

ADF International Inc., part of ADF Group Inc., a publicly traded Canadian company, sued general contractor Suffolk Construction Inc., project architect and engineer Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, and All Aboard Florida, the company behind the Brightline commuter train system.

All Aboard Florida plans to launch its Brightline service next week between downtown train stations in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The company hasn’t yet set a date for extending the service to MiamiCentral in downtown Miami, a mixed-use development encompassing a Brightline station.

In the lawsuit the steel contractor filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, ADF International claims the plan to construct MiamiCentral had errors and omissions and complied with neither the Florida Building Code nor the American Institute of Steel Construction’s code of standard practice.

ADF International complained in its lawsuit that Suffolk Construction provided a tower crane for the MiamiCentral project instead of crawler cranes, which the steel contractor requested.

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ADF International also complained that its work on the MiamiCentral project was impeded by a failure to coordinate construction with service on two public transit lines, Metromover and Metrorail, which run parallel to the MiamiCentral site.

The steel contractor’s lawsuit alleges breach of contract by Suffolk Construction and negligence claims against Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and All Aboard Florida, a subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries LLC. The lawsuit also includes claims of unjust enrichment by All Aboard Florida, which would benefit from allegedly unpaid work done by ADF International.

The dollar amount of the contract originally awarded to ADF International was $36.6 million. According to Stuart Sobel, an attorney for ADF International, Suffolk Construction has made partial payments to the steel contractor and that further payments are pending because All Aboard Florida hasn’t yet paid Suffolk Construction for work on the MiamiCentral project.

Spokeswomen for Suffolk Construction and All Aboard Florida declined to comment on the lawsuit. [Daily Business Review] Mike Seemuth