Final movement.

A couple of local lawyers have helped Walt Disney Concert Hall Inc. and Minneapolis-based M.A. Mortenson Co. finally achieve a degree of harmony in their long-standing discord stemming from the troubled construction of the site.

Disney Hall was completed in 2003 at a total cost of $274 million--before the settlement--roughly $174 million over budget.

Two partners at Gibbs Giden Locher & Turner LLP, Jose L. Padilla and Marion T. Hack, represented the contracting company, which sued and alleged that it and its subcontractors were owed more than $43 million by Disney Concert Hall in 2003, claiming direct costs and those related to delays, inefficiency, and design changes. The contractor, and several of its subcontractors, put liens on the architectural landmark. Disney countersued for $6 million a month later, charging inadequate pre-construction services.

The parties reached a settlement last August in which Disney was to pay nearly $18 million to Mortenson and its subs, but it took another year to obtain releases from non-named parties in the dispute, including architect Frank Gehry, in an effort to ensure that they would not be named in a later complaint.

The settlement additionally includes a non-disparagement clause that prohibits Mortenson and its subcontractors from criticizing Gehry's work or from using Gehry's name in written advertising or marketing materials regarding their work on the Concert Hall.

The payouts are due by Sept. 14.

"It was remarkable that we were able to settle this complex lawsuit without taking as much as a single substantive deposition and with minimal written discovery," Padilla said. "With the litigation behind us, we can now focus our attention to the marvel of this landmark concert hall, which is a proud accomplishment for all involved."