The Irving (Texas) school district has agreed to pay nearly $300,000 to settle a lengthy breach of contract dispute over construction of a middle school. Satterfield & Pontikes Construction Inc. sued the district shortly after completing Lorenzo de Zavala Middle School, which opened in August 2002. The company contended that the district did not pay for extra work resulting from design delays. The district had argued it couldn't be sued because of sovereign immunity, which protects government entities from civil suits and criminal prosecution. But the Texas Supreme Court sent the case back to trial court in June 2006 after the legislature passed a law preventing local government entities from claiming immunity in contract disputes. After the law was passed, the school district decided to settle and avoid the risk of going to trial and incurring more costs.
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