Cold War Bunker Becomes Hot Target of Litigation
Built into the side of Mt. Pony in Culpeper, Virginia, the Federal Reserve Facility sheltered billions of dollars of U.S. currency from a Soviet Union nuclear attack. If an attack came, the Richmond Federal Reserve workers planned to wait it out in the 140,000 square foot bunker together with 30 days worth of stored provisions for 540 people, giant computers that handled funds transfers among Federal Reserve Banks, and enough radiation free cash to replenish the United States east of the Mississippi following a nuclear cataclysm.
After the Soviet Union disintegrated, the cash was removed, the computer operations were transferred elsewhere and the facility deteriorated until it was purchased by the David and Louise Packard Foundation with a grant from the Library of Congress. The Packard Humanities Institute then renovated the old facility and constructed new additions in a 200 million dollar plus project to turn the Cold War relic into the Library of Congress’ new repository for its more than 4.5 million movie, television and sound recordings.
Construction workers removed tons of dirt and vegetation which covered the massive bunker as a “green” roof, waterproofed the entire concrete and steel bunker so that no leaks would ever damage the historic recordings, and constructed a new and supposedly superior state of the art “garden roof” over the bunker. But when the garden roof’s new soil covered nearly the entire bunker, it, and the waterproofing and insulation beneath it, slowly crept, slid and shifted its way down the bunker roof slope, a “roofslide” of sorts that surprised contractors, designers and the owner. After demolishing the sliding roof, everyone started anew and the roof was redesigned with provisions this time to hold it in place. The same roofing contractor installed the newly designed roof and the facility now houses the nation’s audiovisual recordings collection.
Then came the attack of the lawsuits. The Culpeper Circuit Court eventually consolidated them into one case and Taylor and Walker attorneys represented the roofing contractor, an out of state specialist in unique roofing applications who was a natural target for blame. Taylor and Walker worked closely with the client, brought in experts who were uniquely qualified to testify on the design and construction of the garden roof, and used sophisticated litigation software to manage hundreds of thousands of documents and keep track of large numbers of witnesses. Taylor and Walker attorneys brought certain pretrial motions which strengthened the roofing contractor’s position in advance of a mediation at which the attorneys persuaded the owner that other parties were responsible and that success at trial against the roofing contractor was problematic. A settlement favorable to Taylor and Walker’s client was reached and the owner focused its attention on the designer and others to satisfy its damages claim of 10.2 million dollars.
Taylor and Walker attorneys represent contractors, subcontractors, architects and engineers in construction litigation in state and federal court and are equipped with the latest technological litigation tools to manage what are often document rich cases. Contact John Franklin, III, Brian N. Casey, or Christopher J. Wiemken.
