Mokena Park District litigation

The Mokena Community Park District would like to inform the public about the two lawsuits it has initiated.

Mokena Community Park District v. Olivieri Brothers, Inc., Matthew Paving, Inc., and Perm-a-Seal, Will County Circuit Court, Case No. 16 AR 737. The case concerns the tennis courts located in the FoxRidge subdivision. Water accumulates on the tennis courts after heavy rain and does not drain off. This in turn has caused cracking on the surface of the courts rendering the courts difficult to play on and ultimately, a safety hazard. The Complaint filed with the Will County Court alleges that these problems were the direct result of faulty and defective construction, drawings, plans, oversight, poor workmanship, as well as material defects in the design and work performed by Olivieri Brothers, Inc. (Olivier Brothers), Matthew Paving, Inc., and Perm-a-Seal, Inc., as a direct result of their work on the Fox Ridge Project. Olivieri Brothers in turn, has filed a third-party complaint against DesignTek Engineering, Inc. (DesignTek), whom Olivieri Brothers alleges drew the faulty plans which did not allow for water to drain from the Courts. Since DesignTek worked under the supervision of Olivieri Brothers, the Park District contends in the litigation that Olivieri Brothers were nevertheless responsible for not seeing that DesignTek’s plans were properly drawn.

The parties to the lawsuit must first go through mediation with the American Arbitration Association before the court case in Will County may proceed, according to the contractual agreement with Olivieri Brothers. The Park District is seeking approximately $50,000 in damages from the defendants, which is the cost the Park District expects to incur in order to re-grade and resurface the courts so that water properly drains off and does not accumulate on the surface of the court.

Mokena Community Park District v. Olivieri Brothers, Inc., Case No. 01-16-0005-5899-1-GC, American Arbitration Association. On December 21, 2016 the Park District filed a demand for arbitration with the American Arbitration Association against Olivieri Brothers, Inc., alleging a breach of the contract between Olivieri Brothers and the Park District for the Yunker Farm/Oaks Expansion. The Park District had terminated its contract with Olivieri Brothers on November 30, 2016, the termination which was ratified by board vote on December 20, 2016. In its submission for mediation filed with the American Arbitration Association, the Park District alleged that OB failed to fulfill its contractual obligations by failing to assist the Park District in filing documents required for the approval by the Village of Mokena in violation of paragraph 2.4.4 of the Contract between Olivieri Brothers and the Park District. The Park District alleges that the problem was that the Construction Documents, which Olivieri Brothers tendered to the Village Permitting Committee upon which the permits were issued, were different from the documents OBI had provided to the Site Plan and Architectural Review (“SPARC”) Committee. The Park District believes that testimony will show that OBI never reconciled the differences with either, the Village, the Construction Manager Henry Brothers Co. (Henry Brothers), or the Park District.

The total amount which the Park District is presently seeking against Olivier Brothers is $268,820.00. The Park District expects live testimony and other documentary proofs to confirm that Olivieri Brothers breached its Contract with the Park District and that the above stated damages were proximately caused by Olivieri Brothers’ breach of the Contract.

The Park District has found it necessary to issue this Press Release because Olivieri Brothers’ legal representative has stated that the arbitration filed against it would be dismissed if the slate of candidates of which John Olivieri is part, prevails in the April election. If a new board is sworn in after the election and the mediation is inexplicably cancelled and the arbitration demand withdrawn by the new board of commissioners, the Park District would like the tax payers and patrons of the Mokena Community Park District to be fully aware of the nature of the litigation against Olivieri Brothers; and of Park District’s claims to damages and reimbursement that would be given up by any new board of commissioners. The present Board of Commissioners of the Mokena Community Park District approved initiating arbitration against Olivieri Brothers, Inc., by a board vote of 4-1 (with one abstention) in December 2016.

For more information, call Mokena Park District, 708-390-2401.