A jury in St. Louis County today ruled in favor of the Cross County Collaborative (CCC) on all counts in a lawsuit that was brought by St. Louis Metro over the eight-mile Metrolink extension from Forest Park to Shrewsbury.

Cross County Collaborative was a joint venture of four companies hired to design and manage the project. The companies which include Parsons Brinckerhoff, STV Inc., Jacobs Engineering Group and Kwame Building Group of St. Louis were fired by Metro in 2004.

Metro alleged mismanagement and fraud, and sought $81 million in damages. The jury rejected the claims and awarded nothing.

In a counterclaim, the CCC accused Metro of making them a scapegoat and damaging their professional reputations, and sued for $6 million for work it performed. The jury awarded the team $2.56 million.

After Metro terminated the CCC and took over management of the project, the light rail opened in August 2006, 15 months late and more than $126 million over budget.

Richard Hardcastle, attorney for the CCC, said in a statement “For more than three years we have maintained that Metro wrongfully terminated the CCC and that its claims were baseless. We are pleased that the jury has agreed with us on all counts.

“It was a long process but one with great significance to the citizens of St. Louis. With this issue behind us, each of the firms looks forward to continuing to serve the St. Louis community in future assignments.”