Contractor sues Lucas Museum, claiming lease makes project a public work

J.E. Snyder Electric has sued the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art for $1.9 million, asserting that the museum’s $30-a-year lease on state-owned land makes the Exposition Park construction a public-works project subject to California’s stringent procurement laws. The complaint alleges that the museum, along with prime contractor Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Co. and subcontractor Siemens Industry Inc., deliberately presented the build as a private nonprofit development to evade registration, bonding and labor code requirements.

Museum counsel Orin Snyder argues the museum is a wholly private gift, financed by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, and that it contributes $490,000-plus annually to the state while adding parking, park space and upgrades to nearby facilities. The contractor also says the museum failed to secure a required payment bond and did not register the project with the Department of Industrial Relations. This case joins three other lawsuits seeking between $272,000 and $439,000, plus a separate breach-of-contract suit by Hathaway Dinwiddie for over $35,000. The museum is slated to open on Sept. 22 after years of delays.