Mecklenburg School District wins $1.6M award against general contractor.(Board of Education v. R.L. Casey Inc.)

Byline: Fred Horlbeck

Six years after a mail courier drove a car into the side of a Mecklenburg County elementary school, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District has reached a settlement -- not with the driver but with the building's general contractor.

The 2001 accident exposed a significant flaw in the school's construction -- the lack of reinforcing steel beams in the walls.

The settlement came April 24, just weeks after the school district won a $1.6 million arbitration award against the contractor, lawyers for CMS said.

In a Feb. 19 judgment, Mecklenburg County Superior Court entered the arbitration award of $1,622,661 in the case of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education v. R.L. Casey, Inc. et al. Both sides filed appeals with the state Court of Appeals. Last week's settlement put those actions to rest.

The award was entered after the arbitrator found the general contractor liable for willful or wanton negligence. The award represented a 25 percent reduction of the $2,163,549 in principal damages that CMS originally sought.

Although CMS raised a claim for a violation of the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the arbitrator did not award treble damages.

Rod Malone and Kristopher Gardner, of Raleigh's Tharrington Smith law…