Judge Rules For US Nitrogen

By Walter F. Roche Jr,

A federal judge has ruled that US Nitrogen can get testimony from three expert witnesses who have concluded that the engineering firm hired to design a $200 million Greene County chemical plant made multiple errors.
In a 14-page ruling U.S. District Judge Michael L. Brown sitting in Atlanta ruled that US Nitrogen can use testimony by the three persons in an upcoming trial against Weatherly Inc., a Georgia engineering firm.
US Nitrogen filed the suit charging that Weatherly's errors in designing the Midway, Tenn. facility cost the chemical company some $30 million.
Brown, however, in a prior ruling, concluded that the most US Nitrogen could recover was $2.2 million, the cap included in the original contract.
Brown also denied Weatherly's motion to dismiss US Nitrogen's claims.
The three witnesses, Randy Sewall, Danny Vaughn and Gary Brannon can testify for US Nitrogen, Brown concluded.
In the 19-page ruling Brown cited Sewall's background as an engineer. He noted Sewall has concluded that Weatherly's design "was defective and insufficient for it's intended use."
"He (Sewall) opined that cracks were a manifestation of poor design, but his testimony was much broader than the cracks," Brown wrote referring to cracks that appeared in pillars.
Vaughn and Brannon, the judge wrote, had testified about ineffective plant piping in the facility.
Vaughn's methodology and opinion "was reliable enough" to meet standards set by the U.S. Supreme Court," Brown wrote.