Oct 15, 2018 3 min read

Back in 2009 – when Manheim Corp. was vying for a contract to build a parking garage on California University of Pennsylvania’s campus – the company couldn’t find high enough praise for the firm it planned to pay for precast concrete in the project.

“As a member of the Altus Group, Shockey (Precast Group) provides technological advances that are only available from this elite faction of fabricators,” Manheim president David Mantheiy said in its bid for the contract.

Manheim’s proposal won it a $10.5 million contract to build the Vulcan garage at the state university.

Now, nine years later, the Mt. Lebanon contractor is naming Shockey among the parties that could be liable in the event the university is successful in its lawsuit against Manheim, which stems from the partial collapse of the garage during move-in day in 2016.

Manheim’s cross-claim against Shockey and other entities involved in the construction project was part of a response its attorneys filed Friday to the school’s lawsuit.

In the filing, Manheim denied responsibility for the collapse at the garage, which has been closed ever since.

“If (Cal U.’s) damages occurred as alleged, then the damages were caused by third parties over whom Manheim had no control,” the company’s attorneys wrote.

The lawyers, who are from the Pittsburgh firm Zimmer Kunz, wrote that “Manheim did not breach any contractual obligation” to the school.

The contractor also raised the arguments that the school was barred from collecting damages on its claims – which include breaches of implied warranty and express warranty as well as of contract – because of its “failure to mitigate” and “failure to properly inspect, maintain, and/or repair the garage.”

Cal U. spokeswoman Christine Kindl said her employer rejects assertions in Manheim’s filing.

“The University stands by the assertions in its complaint that it properly maintained the garage,” Kindl said in an email. “The University also stands by its claims that a six-year-old garage, if built properly and to industry standards, should have performed as expected.”

The university filed its lawsuit against Manheim and Traveler’s Casualty and Surety Co. of America in August. Its complaint says Manheim and its subcontractors used carbon fiber to reinforce decking in the garage – the same materials from Shockey the company proposed using in its bid – instead of the metal reinforcements the university specified in its request for proposals.

The substituted decking materials “were not longer lasting or more durable as represented in Manheim’s proposal,” the school’s attorneys wrote.

Later, they added: “In short, Manheim did not design or construct the Project in accordance with the requirements of the Contract, and the University did not receive the Garage it paid for.”

Meanwhile, the university has fought efforts by the Observer-Reporter to shed further light on its relationship with Manheim. On Monday, a hearing officer with the state Office of Open Records in Harrisburg found in favor of a reporter who sought records of donations from the contractor to the Foundation for California University of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit formed pursuant a memorandum of understanding with the school.

The university initially denied the reporter’s request for the records under the state Right To Know Law, which was then appealed to the state’s Open Records office.

It’s unclear if the school will appeal the case to Commonwealth Court.