Idaho City Looses Legal Battle with Contractor

MERIDIAN, Idaho (AP) — The city of Meridian must pay a contractor $2.2 million in a dispute over additional construction fees originally billed at $376,808 in 2009. The city sued Petra after the contractor billed the city that amount when the scope of the new city hall increased construction costs from $12.2 million to $21 million.

The city lost after a two-year legal battle, with the district court ordering Meridian to pay Petra $324,808 and about $1.87 million in legal fees and court costs. The city appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court and lost again Monday.

Now the city owes Petra $2.2 million plus additional legal fees. Meridian City Councilman David Zaremba says the city felt the taxpayers didn't get their money's worth out of the construction agreement.