Lawsuit over Gehry-designed Disney hall settled
Last Updated: Sunday, July 30, 2006 | 5:24 PM ET
CBC Arts
A multi-million dollar lawsuit over colossal cost overruns for the Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by Canadian-born architect Frank Gehry, has been settled.
Eleven builders and contractors will be splitting a $13.3-million US settlement from the hall's parent corporation, according to a report published in Saturday's Los Angeles Times. The report said another $4.5 million will be provided under Gehry's professional liability insurance policy.
The hall opened in October 2003 in Los Angeles, six years after its due date and running $174 million over budget. The hall's total bill came to $274 million.
The lawsuit was filed less than month after the opening. The main contractor, M.A. Mortenson, claimed that it and many other contractors were owed about $43 million because of changes to the design and a defective construction plan that caused delays and boosted the cost.
Disney Hall Inc. filed a counterclaim, saying builders had been given plenty of time to study the master plans.
The settlement lists 18 litigants and stipulates none of the parties has to admit blame or wrongdoing for the cost escalations.
Zev Yaroslavsky, a member of the Disney Hall Inc. board, called the deal "a manageable amount" in the Times article.
Gehry, born 1929 in Toronto, was not party to the suit. The settlement forbids the contractors from criticizing the architect's work.
Some of the problems listed in the agreement include a leaky skylight, cooling problems and stains on the steel cladding.
Gehry's other notable designs include the Millennium Park in Chicago, the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain and the re-design of the Ontario Gallery of Art in Toronto.
