ADF Group settles suit over World Trade Center's steel antenna

TERREBONNE, Que. - ADF Group Inc. has settled a legal dispute with the owners of the new World Trade Center, allowing work to proceed on an antenna to crown the New York skyscraper being built on the site of the former twin towers.

Terms of the deal involving delivery and payment for structural steel and the antenna were not disclosed.

The lawsuit, filed in the Supreme Court of New York, alleged that the Quebec-based steel manufacturer was holding the project for "ransom."

It alleged ADF was breaching certain contractual obligations by refusing to ship certain steel parts for the project until receiving about US$6 million that it was owed.

It wanted the court to order the delivery of the antenna.

ADF had said the lawsuit was "without merit" but that discussions would proceed in an attempt to find a resolution.

The steel for the 124-metre antenna will raise the height of the overall structure to about 541 metres (1,776 feet), making it the tallest structure in the United States. Discounting the antenna, Willis Tower in Chicago remains the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere at 110 stories and 1,450 feet (442 metres).

It weighs about 750 tons and must be transported by boat because of its massive size. The tower's owners said about 100 iron workers could have been laid off if the steel delivery was delayed beyond December because the St. Lawrence River would freeze.

Earlier this year, ADF had sued the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the company responsible for erecting the steel claiming it was owed more than US$10 million for steel provided for the transportation hub and another tower on the site.

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