Judge Boosts US Nitrogen Verdict

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A federal judge has reversed himself and boosted the award to US Nitrogen LLC to a little under $2.8 million in a suit brought against the company that performed engineering work on a Tennessee factory.
In a seven-page ruling U.S. District Judge Michael L. Brown, sitting in Atlanta, ruled that Weatherly Inc. must pay US Nitrogen $2.759 million, an increase of nearly $600,000. Brown had earlier ruled that the maximum amount of the award was $2.2 million.
The latest action follows a September trial in which a jury awarded US Nitrogen $5.75 million. Brown subsequently reduced the award to $2.2 million citing a 15 percent cap in the contract between the two firms.
But the judge reversed himself following a December hearing in which lawyers for Weatherly argued that the $5.75 million jury award was excessive and should be reversed. US Nitrogen's lawyers sought an increase in the verdict.
Weatherly performed engineering services for the construction of US Nitrogen's Midway TN. ammonium nitrate manufacturing facility. In the original suit US Nitrogen sought $30 million, charging that errors by Weatherly substantially delayed the start up of the plant and forced millions of dollars in added construction costs.
According to the ruling US Nitrogen was billed $18.395 million by Weatherly and a provision in the original contract capped any damages at 15 percent of the contract price.
Brown had previously ruled that the cap applied to the original contract price of $14.692 million, but in the latest ruling he concluded that the cap should be applied to the final price.
Citing language in the original contract, Brown wrote that it was clear that both parties understood that the price could increase.
"That the parties used a percentage rather than a definite figure indicates their expectation and intention for the price and Weatherly's liability cap to increase with the needs of the project," Brown wrote.
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