HARRISBURG, Pa. — An architectural firm in Harrisburg is suing a Williamsport developer, claiming the developer pirated its plans for a $20 million project involving Lycoming College, court records show.
Murray Associates Architects filed the lawsuit in U.S. Middle District Court, naming Pine Ridge Construction Management and PRCM Holdings as defendants.
Lycoming College is not a party to the suit.
The lawsuit alleges that in the spring of 2020, Lycoming College solicited submissions for the Basin Street Development, a mixed-use project to be built on land the school owns.
Related to those plans, Pine Ridge sought requests for architectural services including conceptual design, bidding documents, and construction administration, the lawsuit said.
In June 2020, Pine Ridge submitted a conceptual design created by Murray and identified the firm as part of the project team.
Pine Ridge was later awarded the project, and requested that Murray continue to be a part of its project team by furnishing architectural services, the lawsuit claims. The relationship was not defined in writing, but Murray noted that its invoices were paid and that PRMC Holdings presented it with an owner-architect agreement in October 2021.
By that point, Murray claims, it had completed and billed PRMC for 100% of the project's programming and conceptual designs, and was in the process of completing the project's preliminary design phase.
On Oct. 18, 2021, the lawsuit says, PRMC notified Murray that their relationship was being terminated, but that Murray would be provided with an agreement to execute, would be paid for its services, and would be credited as the project's design architect.
In return, the lawsuit claims, PRMC wanted Murray to turn over computer-aid design drawings, models and digital versions of all renderings.
Murray claims in the lawsuit that it offered to execute an agreement that would give PRCM a non-exclusive license to use its architectural works, but Craig Miller, president of PRCM and Pine Ridge, never responded to the offer.
Murray says in the lawsuit it has copyright registrations on its works, and contends Pine Ridge has no authorization to use them. By continuing to do so, PRCM and Pine Ridge's actions constitute infringement.
Murray claims it sent a cease and desist letter to Pine Ridge and PRCM on Dec. 2, 2021, but PRCM and Pine Ridge removed Murray's logo from the architectural works on its website and is passing off Murray's work as its own, according to the lawsuit.
Murray also claims Pine Ridge and PRCM owes more than $100,000 in unpaid invoices.
The lawsuit says Pine Ridge and PRCM is stealing and wrongfully appropriating Murray's intellectual property. Murray claims it has notified Lycoming College and its development group of the unauthorized use of its work.
Murray's claims against PRCM and Pine Ridge include violation of the federal Copyright and Pennsylvania Contractor and Subcontractor Payment acts, misappropriation of its architectural works and breach of contract.
The lawsuit is seeking more than $100,000 in damages, an injunction prohibiting Pine Ridge and PRCM from using its work, and the return of anything reflecting or containing Murray's intellectual property.
