Cassa owner sues construction firm for $30M

Waterscape Resort, the owner of the new, 50-story Cassa Hotel and Residences — at 66-70 West 45th Street in Midtown — is suing construction firm Pavarini McGovern for $30 million, alleging that the firm never obtained insurance to cover defaults by its subcontractors. Pavarini claims, however, that it did get the insurance and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in premiums, Crain’s reported. In June 2007, Waterscape hired Pavarini to build Cassa, which is developed by Assa Properties. Under the agreement, Pavarini was obligated to purchase Subguard insurance to protect against potential default by its subcontractors. The construction company charged Waterscape $200,000 in insurance premiums. In 2008, the concrete subcontractor, Broadway Concrete, began to default, prompting the plaintiff to ask Pavarini to activate the insurance to cover the rising costs. But the construction company wasn’t able to produce a copy of the policy. According to the lawsuit, Pavarini confessed in June 2009 that there was no such coverage. Although the concrete work was ultimately completed, it was done eight months later than planned, creating delays for other subcontractors and increasing costs for Waterscape, according to Solly Assa, CEO of Assa Properties and a managing member of Waterscape. [Crain’s]