LOS ANGELES (January 9, 2023)—Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that a firm trial team led by Meredith Jones-McKeown secured a significant legal victory for client Lendlease in a breach of contract case involving the construction of a twin-tower, $500 million luxury apartment development in downtown Los Angeles.

The trial team successfully delivered a unanimous jury verdict for Lendlease, a global real estate development, construction, and investment management group, on all eight counts of the case in late December following a 12-week trial in the Los Angeles Superior Court before the Honorable Maren Nelson. In addition to awarding Lendlease significant remedies, including prompt payment penalties and rescission, the jury found Lendlease had been wrongfully terminated by the Owner Circa 1200 LLC. 

“We truly appreciated the strategic thought, dedication and guidance we received from the Perkins Coie team. They were consistently responsive, sharp, and professional while advocating for us. We are extremely happy with the unwavering support we received. We will undoubtedly continue to rely on Meredith for assistance in the future,” said Michael Serafino, Lendlease’s chief compliance & litigation officer and senior vice president. 

Lendlease engaged Perkins Coie to litigate the case after the developer caused delays, ordered extra work, failed to pay for change orders, and finally wrongfully terminated Lendlease when the project was approximately 90 percent complete. Circa hired another contractor to complete the small amount of work remaining on the 650-unit apartment complex.

“We were so pleased to see the jury right the wrong that was Lendlease’s wrongful termination,” said Meredith, a construction and real estate trial lawyer. “Lendlease’s extraordinarily competent and professional team managed a complex project that was dominated by a high volume of late, far-reaching design changes by Circa - but the Lendlease team kept the project on pace and at an extremely high quality despite those challenges. It was satisfying to see the jury recognize the competence of the Lendlease team and how inappropriate the termination was.”

The Perkins Coie trial team included Meredith with support from Partners Oliver Gold, Jonathan Goddard, and Heather Heindel, Senior Counsel Helen Lauderdale, Counsel Abby Bloetscher, and Associate Gillian Kuhlmann, as well as ESS Senior Discovery lawyer Serena Nakano and ESS Discovery Lawyers Ru Yi Teow and Jeffrey Williams. The trial team also included Senior Paralegals Elaine Cherry, Sergio Perez, and George Auslander, as well as Legal Practice Assistants Rosa Ceja and Carla Bone. Circa was represented by five law firms, including lead trial counsel at the Theodora Oringher firm. 

The case centered around the construction of the Circa project, a $500 million, two-tower luxury skyscraper apartment complex overlooking the Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center in the city’s downtown business district. Lendlease will be awarded damages in a bifurcated phase two trial.

Lendlease has helped deliver some of the world’s most recognized buildings, including Sydney’s iconic Opera House, the Tate Britain in London, Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Towers, and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York. It is currently developing and constructing several major projects in California, including 3401 S. La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, Hayes Point in San Francisco and four master planned communities in the Bay Area through a partnership with Google.

Perkins Coie is a leading international law firm that is known for providing high-value, strategic solutions and extraordinary client service on matters vital to our clients’ success. With more than 1,200 lawyers in offices across the United States and Asia, we provide a full array of corporate, commercial litigation, intellectual property, and regulatory legal advice to a broad range of clients, including many of the world’s most innovative companies and industry leaders as well as public and not-for-profit organizations.

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