North Las Vegas sinking firehouse lawsuit will continue in court

North Las Vegas’ quest to recoup the costs of repairing a sinking firehouse will continue in court.

A judge last week sided with the city’s motion to change an earlier judgment in the case. Clark County District Judge Trevor Atkin previously granted a motion to dismiss the city’s complaint.

“In particular, the decision allows the case to go forward so that the persons who caused the damage can be held responsible for the damage instead of the taxpayers of North Las Vegas,” said Richard Gordon, who is representing the city. Gordon is an attorney for the law firm Snell and Wilmer.

Station 53 was fewer than 10 years old when it started sinking. The city has since spent more than $1 million on repairs, and said those costs could reach about $2 million. It’s money the city says could be used for other services.

The issues with the building forced workers to lift the eastern portion of the station at Gowan Road and Simmons Street about eight inches.

North Las Vegas City Attorney Micaela Moore applauded Atkin’s decision in a statement Monday.

“When state lawmakers passed (Assembly Bill) 421 last spring, it was intended to help remedy construction defect cases just like what we are encountering at Fire Station 53,” she said. The law changed the deadline to file a complaint about construction defects from six years to 10 years, and made it retroactive.

When Station 53 was completed in 2009, the deadline for complaints was 10 years. In 2015, the Legislature shortened the deadline to six years.

Last session, lawmakers changed the deadline back to 10 years, largely because of soil-related defects to buildings, according to Gordon. Issues from soils usually arise after six years, Gordon said.

North Las Vegas filed the lawsuit in Clark County District Court in July against multiple defendants, including the contractors and design professionals behind the building.

Defendants in the case argued that the six-year deadline applied in the case of Station 53 because the new law did not take effect until Oct. 1 of last year, Gordon has said.

Atkin granted a motion to dismiss the case on Sept. 30 because it was filed before the law’s effective date, Gordon said. North Las Vegas filed a motion to change the judgment after the law took effect.

Gordon said Atkin’s decision means the case will proceed through an ordinary course of discovery.

Theodore Parker III, an attorney for defendant Richardson Construction, Inc., said he suspects motions for summary judgment will be filed in the next four to five months after facts have developed in the case.

Richardson Construction Inc. is not the same company as W.A. Richardson Builders, which is constructing the Resorts World project on the Las Vegas Strip.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.