State Fires McCarthy Over Emergency Operations Center, Lawsuit Ensues

SALEM, OR- A week after being fired as general contractor of the state’s uninhabitable $21-million emergency operations center, McCarthy Building Cos. responded last week by filing a $4 million lawsuit against the state in Marion County Circuit Court.

The state is withholding the final $1-million payment of McCarthy’s $17.33-million contract pending the outcome of the lawsuit. A hearing is scheduled for the morning of Aug. 7, a court clerk tells GlobeSt.com.

The project, scheduled for completion four months ago, is rising at then corner of State Street and Hawthorne Avenue NE. The Oregon Military Department has oversight over the project. McCarthy’s firing stems from an alleged lack of earthquake protection in the building.