As people throughout Pennsylvania are aware, construction projects of any type can quickly become costly. Presumably, many are nonetheless undertaken in an effort to improve upon whatever is already there. Accordingly, it makes sense that those making the improvements would assume that the construction materials they are purchasing to facilitate the update are not defective products. As regular readers of this blog are aware, that is an assumption no consumer should ever count on.

Recently, Northwest Pipe, the manufacturer of steel pipes used by a city in a water line project, was sued by that city via a third party complaint. The city said the project had to be stopped for a time when it was determined that the pipes were defective. The city's lawsuit joins another, already pending, case against the manufacturer that was previously filed by the contractor hired by the city to complete the project.

According to a City Engineer, the polyurethane coating on the steel pipes designed to greatly slow pipe corrosion was not doing what it was supposed to do. The engineer said that a field test conducted on the pipes indicated the coating was not meeting the expected adhesion specifications. The resulting nine month delay caused the contractor to lose money after missing deadlines and the city to have to pay for pipe repairs and other costs related to the issue.

The Washington state-based pipe manufacturer denies that the pipe was defective.

Cases regarding the matter and related issues are currently in both the Seventh Circuit Court as well as U.S. District Court. While the allegedly defective pipe in these cases was used in Rapid City, South Dakota, because it is feasible that the pipe was shipped elsewhere in the country, it is important that those needing pipe for construction projects in the Pittsburgh area be aware of defects it could have.

Source: Rapid City Journal, "City to sue contractor for sub-par pipe," Emilie Rusch, May 9, 2012