San Diego Unified Port District v. Douglas E. Barnhart, Inc.

San Diego Unified Port District (the District) filed the instant action against defendants Douglas E. Barnhart, Inc. (Barnhart), SGPA Architecture and Planning (SGPA) and others for professional negligence and related causes of action based on alleged defects in the construction of a new terminal at the San Diego International Airport (Lindbergh Field), including defects in the design and construction of the terminal’s natural stone floor. Barnhart and SGPA separately appeal an order requiring them to contribute to the cost of destructive testing to be performed on the floor. They contend the order was an abuse of the court’s discretion because they did not request the testing and the court did not order other similarly situated defendants to contribute to the cost of the testing. We conclude the court lacked authority to order defendants to pay for the testing.

Factual and Procedural Background

SGPA was the primary designer of the new terminal (the project) and Barnhart was the prime contractor for the project. SGPA subcontracted with the design firm of Gensler & Associates (Gensler) to assist in the project’s design, which included a natural stone floor. Gensler…