Jacobs Facilities is formerly known as Sverdrup.
Moody/Nolan Ltd. Inc., Overly Manufacturing Company; and Donald M. Miller Company were also named as defendants in the suit.
On April 22, 1998, WVU contracted with Sverdrup to act as the construction manager and as a constructor of a new Student Recreation Center to be located on WVU’s Evansdale Campus in Morgantown, according to a complaint filed in June in Monongalia Circuit Court.
WVU claims Moody/Nolan acted as the project architect and the scope of work, schematic designs and specifications for the project included the design, manufacture and installation of a 30-year metal roofing system on the center.
When the installation was completed, Overly performed a final inspection of the roofing system and determined that Miller’s installation was performed in accordance with the contract documents and issued the 30-year warranty, according to the suit.
WVU claims in April 2015, representatives of the university noticed the metal roof was leaking over the pool equipment room and in May or June 2015, contacted Kalkreuth Roofing & Sheet Metal and Overly to inspect the area where the roof was leaking.
As a result of the inspection, Overly reported that the roof leaks over the pool area were caused by the failure of Miller to install full width sheet cleats under the metal roofing, according to the suit.
WVU claims Overly recommended that the leaking sections of the roof be repaired by re-installing the metal roofing with the full width sheet cleats and in October, Kalkreuth was hired to complete the repairs.
While preparing for the repair work, Kalkreuth noticed that other areas of the roof showed similar signs of failure and in December, Kalkreuth and Overly inspected the entire metal roofing system, according to the suit.
WVU claims on Dec. 10, Overly reported that the roofing sheets were improperly anchored in place by machine screws rather than full width sheet cleats and Rawl fasteners and reported that “practically all of the metal roofing system lacked full width sheet cleats, which allowed uncontrolled movement of the roofing sheets due to thermal expansion and contraction and the effects of gravitational pull.”
After the discovery of the problems, the university asked the defendants to replace the defective roofing system pursuant to the 30-year anti-leak warranty and the defendants have refused to honor the warranty obligations to replace the metal roofing system, according to the suit.
WVU claims the defendants breached their contracts and were negligent.
WVU is seeking compensatory damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. It is being represented by Marc A. Monteleone and Kenneth E. Webb Jr. of Bowles Rice LLP.
Monongalia Circuit Court case number: 16-C-383