PARX Casino, Bensalem, PA

PARX Casino

Bensalem, PA

TRAUNER worked with a Philadelphia area Casino Owner, its internal general counsel, and construction attorney, to resolve $4M in mechanic’s liens resulting from numerous projects – some completed almost a year prior – with contract values totaling over $100M. In addition to the mechanic’s liens submitted by the subcontractors, the general contractor submitted a claim that included the value of the liens and additional damages resulting from alleged project delays. TRAUNER assisted the Owner’s team by analyzing the contract, project pay applications, lien waivers, change orders, the general contractor’s purchase orders, and the project schedule. TRAUNER also audited the general contractor’s general conditions expenditures.

TRAUNER’s analysis of the project payments, incomplete project scope, review of purchase orders and alleged extra work orders, and valuation of the punchlist, provided a true value for each of the liens. TRAUNER sat with the Owner at the settlement table and helped to negotiate, and quickly resolve the liens directly with the subcontractors, for approximately 60% of their submitted values.

TRAUNER was also able to separate a lump sum claim submitted by the general contractor into defined issues with discrete values. The claim included pass-through liens, unapproved change orders, under-funded construction directives, and extended general conditions costs. By separating these issues and costs, each could be evaluated on its own merits. TRAUNER found that the general contractor was duplicating his damages by including costs for unapproved change orders that were already accounted for in the subcontractor liens.

TRAUNER also reviewed the change orders, determining the validity of the scope and reasonableness of the cost of each. At the completion of its analysis, TRAUNER provided the Owner a risk assessment of its exposures, defining a range for the maximum win and maximum loss on the issues and costs if the claim were to go to court. This analysis allowed the Casino’s Board of Directors to make an informed decision on the best path to resolve the issues.

TRAUNER’s analysis ultimately showed that the general contractor had failed to pay monies to its subcontractors for work that the Owner had paid for. The analysis also showed that the general contractor submitted erroneous lien waivers which overstated the percent that its subcontractors were paid. This analysis allowed the Owner’s attorney to counter-sue under the Tort Act. TRAUNER’s work gave the Owner’s team a complete understanding of the issues and costs, and put the Owner in a strong position at the settlement table – at which a settlement was reached.