Bright House Networks, LLC v. Johnson Bros. – Misener Marine – a Joint Venture, Johnson Bros. Corporation, Misener Marine Construction, Inc., and Pinellas County, Florida, Case No. 10-5384-CI-7, in and for Pinellas County, Florida
Mike Bradford and Julie Cunningham Aiello of HM&B’s Tampa Office obtained a final judgment following a week long bench trial in favor of their client, Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff, Misener Marine Construction, Inc. (now known as Orion Marine Construction, Inc.), successfully defending the negligence claim brought against it and succeeding on its counter-claim against the Plaintiff, Bright House Networks, LLC. Bright House sued Misener, another contractor, and Pinellas County for damage to its underground and subaqueous utilities during construction of the new Belleair Beach Causeway Bridge in Pinellas County, Florida in 2008. Bright House and Progress Energy shared a directional bore hole, placed pursuant to a right-of-way permit issued by the County. Under the permit, they were required to keep the utilities out of the way of construction and provide accurate as-built plans depicting the utilities’ location. Bright House failed to provide accurate information concerning the location of the subaqueous utility line. Due to the inaccurate information provided by Bright House, Misener severed the subaqueous line while driving piles in 2008. Progress Energy did not seek to recover its costs for its damaged lines. However, Bright House sued the Defendants seeking nearly $300,000 for damages it allegedly sustained. Misener filed a counterclaim seeking to recover costs incurred due to the delay in construction and Bright House’s failure to locate its lines after they were struck, which required Misener to devise a new method for constructing the bridge. Bright House argued Misener failed to use reasonable care in driving its piles and worked too closely to its utilities. After a week-long bench trial, the Judge entered a final judgment holding Misener was not negligent for striking Bright House’s subaqueous cable, and awarded Misener and its joint venture partner $534,000 in damages, along with pre-judgment interest.