A five year legal battle between Tampa Bay Water and HDR Engineering over a cracked and damaged reservoir is finally over. Tampa Bay Water filed suit against HDR over the failure in 2008. After a second defeat in the courts, the Water District voted to end pursuit of the lawsuit and pay $21 Million in HDR’s legal fees. [Source: Read more about the case at Tampa Bay Times via ASCE SmartBrief. Image: Tampa Bay Times]
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Judge Rules City of San Diego Not Responsible for Mt. Soledad Landslide in 2007
The Mt. Soledad Landslide in a La Jolla California neighborhood destroyed 3 houses and damaged others and it also shut down Mt. Soledad Road for an entire year after it occurred in October of 2007. Residents blamed the city of San Diego, and 65 homeowners filed suit, claiming that leaking pipes caused the landslide and the City should cover damages.
Last week, a superior court judge ruled in favor of the City of San Diego. So far I have not seen anything indicating if the residents plan to appeal the ruling.
One interesting note regarding the trial, the City released an 8-minute cell phone video taken by a geotechnical engineer or drilling contractor employed by the City that showed the road cracking and buckling just prior to failure. The homeowners used the video to try to make their own case. Click through for a portion of the video and a link to the full one.
Developer To Pay Building Owner $3.2 Million For Damage Related to Shoring
Pile load test accident, dead load topples into street (Video)
A pile static load test went awry in Singapore when a pyramid of dozens of concrete blocks used for the reaction force toppled over into Gilstead Road. The force of the collapse caused a gas main to rupture but there were no reports of injuries. Click through for the video.