January 16 Scheduling Conference cancelled; Parties submit joint proposed order
A Friday afternoon, January 16 Scheduling Conference at the Cottonwood County Courthouse before the Honorable Christina M. Wietzema, Judge of District Court for the Fifth Judicial District in the case of Kuechle Underground, Inc. (plaintiff) and the City of Mountain Lake (defendant) has been cancelled and stricken from the Court calendar.
Rather, as of Friday, January 9, the parties involved submitted to the court administrator a joint proposed order with stipulated dates and deadlines to follow during the course of litigation. The lawsuit stems from situations arising from the 2012-2014 Utility and Street Project.
Pursuant to the stipulation of the parties, the joint proposed order is as follows:
* An alternative dispute resolution must be completed by September 30, 2015.
* All discovery related to the case must be completed by August 3, 2015.
* Additional parties to the case must be joined by February 27, 2015.
* All non-dispositive and dispositive motions are to be heard by August 17, 2015.
* Scheduling and pretrial conferences will be at the Court’s discretion.
* All pretrial submissions, including proposed instructions, verdicts, or findings of fact, witness lists, exhibit lists, joint statement of the case or any similar documents are to be filed two weeks prior to the trial date.
* The Court will schedule a date for trial, not to take place until after November 30, 2015.
History of the lawsuit
In the lawsuit, brought against the City of Mountain Lake by Kuechle Underground Inc. of Kimball, Minnesota, Kuechle maintains that the city breached the contract by “failing to provide plans and specifications that were adequate” (Kuechle Underground Inc. was the general contractor for the 2012-2014 Utility and Street Project.)
In the complaint, Kuechle alleges that the company performed Utility/Street Project work according to the contract, its obligations and the plans and specifications as was noted and given to them by the city. And, despite that work, certain portions of the work performed in both 2012 and 2013 settled (includes 2nd Avenue, 5th Avenue, 6th Avenue and Prince Street).
The complaint includes the statement that Kuechle did not cause the settlement on the project, and reserves its right to seek reimbursement for the related extra costs of the remedial work necessary to correct the settlement. According to the complaint, as of its date, the city has not paid Kuechle for the extra costs incurred because of the settlement.
Kuechle attests that, because of the city’s breach of the contract, the general contractor has been damaged in an amount greater than $50,000, with the exact amount to be determined at trial.
