The Taipei High Administrative Court yesterday partially overruled a Taipei City Government order to suspend all construction on the Taipei Dome, allowing contractor Farglory Group, which filed for the appeal, to resume work on parts of the structure.
According to the verdict, Farglory is to shoulder 75 percent of legal fees spent on the case.
On May 20, 2015, the Taipei Department of Urban Development halted all construction on the Taipei Dome, after accusing Farglory of violating safety standards and making unauthorized changes.
Photo: Chung Hung-liang, Taipei Times
The suspension of work was disproportionate and unnecessary, and the order to halt construction is to be lifted for 14 items in the contract, the presiding judge wrote in the verdict.
The ruling largely formalizes the tentative agreement between the city and Farglory to resume partial work on the Dome, even though both litigants are expected to appeal the decision, sources said.
The 14 activities on which work is to be resumed pertain to corrosion prevention, buoyancy reduction, weight reduction and tackling collapses, all of which the city government and Farglory had already agreed to undertake prior to the ruling, sources said.
The judge cited Article 63 of the Building Act (建築法), which mandates the provision of appropriate equipment or safety and fire prevention measures in buildings.
“The Dome is a large-scale public construction project and public safety should have the highest priority. A total halt on construction not only affects the commercial interests of Farglory, but could also endanger public safety in the surrounding area,” the judge wrote.
The court upheld the work freeze on contract items in which Farglory failed to provide fire-safety features that facilitate personnel evacuation, saying those omissions caused “grave public safety concerns.”
In addition, the court upheld the suspension of work on 79 contract items, saying the city has the authority to halt work after Farglory deviated from the blueprint under Article 58 of the Building Act.
The unauthorized structural changes included changing elevator locations, reducing the number of staircases and changing the specifications for pillars, walls and floors, the verdict said.
“The ruling is a complete legal victory for the city government, because the court has essentially approved the city government’s strategy for handling the issue,” said a city official, who commented on condition of anonymity.
Although the Urban Development Department ordered all work to stop at the site on May 20, 2015, it allowed Farglory to file for resumption on individual items five days later and this covered the 14 items affected by the ruling, the official said.
Farglory Group spokesman Jacky Yang (楊舜欽) said the group regretted that the judge had failed to take into account that the Dome had passed a performance review.
The verdict proved the city’s handling of the issue had damaged Farglory’s legitimate commercial interests, Yang said, adding that the company is consulting with lawyers about appeal options.
The Taipei Dome was originally intended to serve as the Taipei Summer Universiade’s main arena, but the plan was foiled by disputes between the city government and the developer.
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