PANAMA CITY — Jurors in this month’s marathon airport trial have heard all they care to hear about sand.
Sand dominated the two-and-a-half week trial to determine if Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), manager of the construction project to build the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, was responsible for more than $8 million in excess costs. But, two jurors contacted by The News Herald said sand had little to do with their finding KBR had not been negligent.
“It all boils down to the word ‘negligence,’ and we really had a hard time saying there was negligence on KBR’s part,” jury foreman Joey Segovia told The News Herald after the trial’s conclusion. While he thought KBR was not entirely blameless, he felt the ultimate responsibility was the airport board’s.
Robert Vezina, an attorney representing the airport board, said he would not use the word “surprised” to describe his reaction to the verdict.
“I thought that the evidence was compelling that KBR had breached its contract,” Vezina said.
He thought the evidence to support the Airport Authority’s contention that KBR should have done more to help the airport take advantage of its tax-exempt status when purchasing construction materials was particularly strong, and, compared to the Pond C sand issue, easy to grasp. “I guess I was surprised on that one,” Vezina said.
Of course, David McGee, who handled most of the questioning in KBR’s defense, also believed the evidence supported a verdict for his client.
“Lawyers like to think they make arguments, but the evidence makes the arguments,” he said. “Evidence wins cases.”
Sand dominated the two-and-a-half week trial to determine if Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), manager of the construction project to build the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, was responsible for more than $8 million in excess costs. But, two jurors contacted by The News Herald said sand had little to do with their finding KBR had not been negligent.
“It all boils down to the word ‘negligence,’ and we really had a hard time saying there was negligence on KBR’s part,” jury foreman Joey Segovia told The News Herald after the trial’s conclusion. While he thought KBR was not entirely blameless, he felt the ultimate responsibility was the airport board’s.
Robert Vezina, an attorney representing the airport board, said he would not use the word “surprised” to describe his reaction to the verdict.
“I thought that the evidence was compelling that KBR had breached its contract,” Vezina said.
He thought the evidence to support the Airport Authority’s contention that KBR should have done more to help the airport take advantage of its tax-exempt status when purchasing construction materials was particularly strong, and, compared to the Pond C sand issue, easy to grasp. “I guess I was surprised on that one,” Vezina said.
Of course, David McGee, who handled most of the questioning in KBR’s defense, also believed the evidence supported a verdict for his client.
“Lawyers like to think they make arguments, but the evidence makes the arguments,” he said. “Evidence wins cases.”
Long trial
Segovia and Cindy Burke, another juror on the case, said the experience was tedious, but they were fortunate they were able to adjust their work schedules to minimize the potentially adverse economic impact of spending more than two weeks in a jury box. That wasn’t necessarily the case for other jurors, they said. Jurors included teachers, landscapers and nurses.
“We had a psychiatric nurse,” Segovia joked, “so that was good, in case I went crazy.”
As for the jurors in the case, Vezina said he “felt their pain.”
“It was horrible,” Vezina said of the trial. “I’ve never tried a case that had so much prerecorded testimony.”
KBR’s two primary witnesses never appeared in court. Jeff Dealy and Ray Willett are building another airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where they were deposed earlier this year. Their video depositions were played for the jury, and their testimony took several days.
But for Burke, that testimony was among the most persuasive of any she heard, despite not being able to see their testimony live.
“They didn’t seem to be evasive or trying to hide anything,” Burke said.
That came as no surprise to McGee. He said the case was never about sand.
“The truth is it comes down to people, and these people are world-class people,” McGee said. “I think it’s hard to believe they did what they were accused of.” Dealy and Willett, KBR’s representatives on the ground during the construction of the airport, were accused of withholding the results of testing that showed the sand being used in Pond C was insufficient.
Another key
For Burke, the language in KBR’s contract was another key to understanding the verdict. During the trial, McGee repeatedly asked witnesses who were familiar with the contracts to point out where a failure on KBR’s part would absolve builders or designers of their responsibilities. No one did.
“I think KBR, being such a big company, knew how to write a contract to protect themselves,” Burke said.
Segovia said he expected the verdict to be unpopular locally. After all, no one wants to see the home team lose.
“If they were going to string somebody up at the next airport board meeting, that would be me,” said Joey Segovia, the jury foreman. “But that’s OK. I can take it.”
But, he also thought, whatever the verdict, “nobody was going to go broke in all this.” After all, the airport was finished on time. Burke echoed that sentiment.
“None of this felt like a life-or-death decision,” she said. “We kept coming back to the fact that they hadn’t been harmed by it.”
‘Lessons learned’
Segovia said his work involves large construction projects, and on every project there are mistakes and lessons learned. He said Phoenix Construction, whose owner James Finch did not return a call seeking comment on the verdict, did a fine job, and he wanted to make one point clear.
“I don’t want anybody to think that there’s anything wrong with that airport,” he said. “Hopefully, everyone can put this behind them and chalk up these lessons learned.”
Vezina said no decision on an appeal has been made; he had plans to discuss the possibility with airport representatives this week. In the meantime, no one involved in the case expressed anything other than relief to have the trial behind them.
“Let’s just say none of us want to know any more about sand,” Burke said.
Read more: http://www.newsherald.com
Segovia and Cindy Burke, another juror on the case, said the experience was tedious, but they were fortunate they were able to adjust their work schedules to minimize the potentially adverse economic impact of spending more than two weeks in a jury box. That wasn’t necessarily the case for other jurors, they said. Jurors included teachers, landscapers and nurses.
“We had a psychiatric nurse,” Segovia joked, “so that was good, in case I went crazy.”
As for the jurors in the case, Vezina said he “felt their pain.”
“It was horrible,” Vezina said of the trial. “I’ve never tried a case that had so much prerecorded testimony.”
KBR’s two primary witnesses never appeared in court. Jeff Dealy and Ray Willett are building another airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where they were deposed earlier this year. Their video depositions were played for the jury, and their testimony took several days.
But for Burke, that testimony was among the most persuasive of any she heard, despite not being able to see their testimony live.
“They didn’t seem to be evasive or trying to hide anything,” Burke said.
That came as no surprise to McGee. He said the case was never about sand.
“The truth is it comes down to people, and these people are world-class people,” McGee said. “I think it’s hard to believe they did what they were accused of.” Dealy and Willett, KBR’s representatives on the ground during the construction of the airport, were accused of withholding the results of testing that showed the sand being used in Pond C was insufficient.
Another key
For Burke, the language in KBR’s contract was another key to understanding the verdict. During the trial, McGee repeatedly asked witnesses who were familiar with the contracts to point out where a failure on KBR’s part would absolve builders or designers of their responsibilities. No one did.
“I think KBR, being such a big company, knew how to write a contract to protect themselves,” Burke said.
Segovia said he expected the verdict to be unpopular locally. After all, no one wants to see the home team lose.
“If they were going to string somebody up at the next airport board meeting, that would be me,” said Joey Segovia, the jury foreman. “But that’s OK. I can take it.”
But, he also thought, whatever the verdict, “nobody was going to go broke in all this.” After all, the airport was finished on time. Burke echoed that sentiment.
“None of this felt like a life-or-death decision,” she said. “We kept coming back to the fact that they hadn’t been harmed by it.”
‘Lessons learned’
Segovia said his work involves large construction projects, and on every project there are mistakes and lessons learned. He said Phoenix Construction, whose owner James Finch did not return a call seeking comment on the verdict, did a fine job, and he wanted to make one point clear.
“I don’t want anybody to think that there’s anything wrong with that airport,” he said. “Hopefully, everyone can put this behind them and chalk up these lessons learned.”
Vezina said no decision on an appeal has been made; he had plans to discuss the possibility with airport representatives this week. In the meantime, no one involved in the case expressed anything other than relief to have the trial behind them.
“Let’s just say none of us want to know any more about sand,” Burke said.
Read more: http://www.newsherald.com
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