Demolition firm suing Columbia for slander, breach of contract.
Demolition firm Breeze National is suing Columbia for breach of contract and slander following the University’s decision to terminate its contract with the firm, according to court documents filed by Breeze.
Breeze was contracted to demolish eight buildings on the site of Columbia’s Manhattanville campus expansion. It was in the process of demolishing the fifth building when the structure collapsed on March 22, killing one worker and injuring two others.
Lend Lease, Columbia’s primary contractor for the expansion, sent a letter to Breeze on April 13 indicating that its contract would be terminated, according to court documents filed by Breeze.
But in a complaint filed in the New York State Supreme Court, Breeze alleges that Columbia wrongfully terminated the contract, claiming it was not responsible for the building’s collapse. The firm argues that Columbia was trying to “publicly distance them from negative publicity resulting from the incident and to wrongfully and falsely blame Breeze for being responsible.”
Breeze argues that it “sustained significant damages” as a result of “defamation, slander, and disparaging statements” made by Columbia and Lend Lease both in private conversations with the DOB and in the media.
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