Fluor Corp. officials said Friday the company’s Caribbean subsidiary received an unfavorable jury verdict that could cost $60 million.
Fluor Daniel Caribbean Inc. got what officials termed an “unexpected” verdict awarding $28.8 million to Humphrey’s Cayman Ltd., a developer that sued Fluor.
The Aliso Viejo engineering company’s subsidiary was the general contractor on a Ritz-Carlton resort project for Humphrey’s Cayman in the Cayman Islands.
Fluor officials said they halted work on extra facilities the developer
added to the project. Fluor said the developer failed to show adequate funds
to pay for the work.
But Fluor continued the original contract base work, officials said.
In early 2004, Fluor filed suit to force collection of invoices for work the
company already had performed.
After the suit, the developer fired Fluor, claiming its lack of progress was a contract breach.
The jury awarded the developer $28.8 million in damages. Fluor officials
said they would appeal the verdict.
The company said it would take a $60 million hit to pre-tax earnings, plus
interest and attorneys’ fees. The charge includes the jury award plus a
reversal of amounts billed to the client by Fluor for work performed.
Fluor’s share price took a slight hit on the news before bouncing back to
its opening level in Friday trading.
In other Fluor news, the company inked a Vietnam contract. The contract will
allow Fluor to consult with Petrol Vietnam on transporting natural gas from
the Gulf of Thailand to southern Vietnam.
