Charles (Cully) H. Wahtola, III
Cully is accustomed to managing high-stakes design and construction disputes. He has vast experience representing construction clients in complex matters involving design errors and omissions, construction defects, delays, and catastrophic injury as well as property damage claims. He advises on large-scale projects ranging from federal and state transportation, infrastructure, and power and energy facilities to global mining and distribution projects, as well as healthcare and municipal facilities.
In addition to litigation and dispute resolution, Cully provides project-specific legal consulting and contract-drafting services for design and construction matters. He is skilled at managing trial teams in federal and state courts nationwide and conducting arbitrations both nationally and internationally before forums including the International Commerce Commission (ICC) and the American Arbitration Association.
Related Practices
Related Industries
Experience
Government Experience
- Special assistant attorney general, State of Illinois, 1998-2000
Representative Matters
- Led the successful defense of a top 5 EPCM contractor (as ranked by Engineering News-Record) against over $130 million in claims related to a $2 billion hyper-pure polysilicon manufacturing facility in the Southern United States
- Represented a joint venture (JV) comprised of two of the world's leading EPCM contractors in ICC arbitration in London, England, with respect to the design and construction of mooring and docking facilities for one of the largest liquified natural gas (LNG) projects in the world; successfully established that the tribunal had jurisdiction over the JV's claims against its subcontractor and obtained favorable settlement after submission of evidence establishing the subcontractor's performance of defective work
- Successfully defended and arbitrated to award claims against a premier construction management firm exceeding $100 million related to a hotel and convention center project
- Engaged as lead litigation counsel to represent a multidisciplinary design team on a $5.69 billion PPP design-build bridge and tunnel project, successfully defending against substantial delay and cost overrun claims while recovering on his clients' outstanding payment claims in arbitration
- Represented the owner of an African nickel and cobalt refining facility in ICC arbitration, to defend against delay and disruption claims, and prosecute delay claims, against a Korean contractor
- Defended a commercial railway designer in litigation pending in federal court arising from a catastrophic monorail fire, securing favorable settlement terms after successfully disqualifying the plaintiff's experts and barring them from testifying at trial
- Achieved full recovery of a nationally renowned architectural firm's contract balance claim and defeated breach of contract claims at trial in state court action related to a Miami condominium project; the verdict was upheld on appeal
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. cum laude Loyola University Chicago School of Law 1997
- B.A. University of Wisconsin-Madison 1993
- Double Major: Political Science and Communication Arts – Public Speaking
- National collegiate heavyweight wrestling champion
- Two-time Academic All-American
Bar Admissions
- Illinois
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Member, Federal Trial Bar
- Member, American Bar Association, Construction Law Section
- Member, Chicago Bar Association
- Member, The Chicago Building Congress
- Guest lecturer, Northwestern Kellogg School of Management (Construction Law)
Recognition
- Illinois Super Lawyers, Construction Litigation, 2019 – present