Sandpebble Trial Begins

The East Hampton School District’s lawsuit against Sandpebble Builders has finally come to trial in New York State Supreme Court in Riverhead. After several years of delay, jury selection was on May 9, attorneys’ opening arguments were on May 10, and the trial has been underway ever since.

The lawsuit stems from a 2006 dispute over a multimillion-dollar construction contract that East Hampton awarded Sandpebble Builders, which is based in Southampton, in 2002. When the scope of the work increased, East Hampton chose a different construction company, and Sandpebble sued the district for $3.75 million, alleging its contract had been wrongly terminated. East Hampton countered with a lawsuit of its own.

Richard Burns, East Hampton’s superintendent, said during Tuesday’s school board meeting that the trial may last another week or so, but he could not be certain. For what he described as legal reasons, he would not provide details.

The attorney representing East Hampton, Steven G. Pinks of the Hauppauge firm Pinks, Arbeit & Nemeth, and the attorney for Sandpebble, Stephen R. Angel of the Riverhead firm Esseks, Hefter, Angel, Di Talia & Pasca, did not return several calls.