RI Homeowner Alleges Engineer’s Bad Design Cost $800K and State Failed to Act
GoLocalProv News Team
RI Homeowner Alleges Engineer’s Bad Design Cost $800K and State Failed to Act
The two had known each other 30 years earlier. Stenberg’s father was a speechwriter for DiPrete’s father, who served as Rhode Island Governor from 1985 to 1991.
Stenberg’s brother was a policy staffer.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTDiPrete interviewed Stenberg to oversee the construction of the house and says Stenberg had promised to be onsite a minimum of every two weeks. DiPrete checked the state's database of engineers and found that he was licensed and in good standing.
DiPrete hired Stenberg in June of 2021.
“By November, we knew there were problems. We had the first floor framed, and you could bounce on the floor almost like a trampoline. It had what is called a lot of deflection," said DiPrete. "[Stenberg] said with a straight face, ‘You need to get the walls up and the windows in place, and it will all work out in the right way.'"
However, the contractor warned DiPrete that the engineering design was flawed.
“We continued building and were framing out the second floor and we got [Stenberg] down to the site and he finally admitted to me that he specified the wrong structural members,” claims DiPrete.
Two independent engineering reports provided by DiPrete also said the home was structurally flawed. The house had to be demolished.
The decision was made after the engineers reviewed Stenberg’s work. One of the engineers wrote in a multi-page analysis, “The only reasonable solution was to demolish the portions that had been constructed and start over with appropriate structural members.” That report was written by David Titus of Commonwealth Engineering.
Robert Smith, another Rhode Island engineer who reviewed Stenberg’s work, wrote in a letter to DiPrete, “I will say that my field inspection did show that the structure was originally framed in accord with Mr. Stenberg's design. The additional support members that were installed helped to stabilize the situation, but still were not enough to be completely effective. I believed that the structure, as framed, would require major dismantling to allow for the installation of an adequate framing system. At that time, it was my recommendation that the engineer you were having do the redesign also look at framing in out in steel.”
Both engineers came to the same conclusion that the house was structurally unsound, said DiPrete.
The house was then demolished, and DiPrete said the financial cost totaled about $800,000.
DiPrete has filed a complaint against Stenberg with the Division of Business Regulation (DBR), an agency under the management of RI Commerce Corporation, and he has taken separate civil legal action.
DiPrete says that beyond Stenberg's failure, if the state had taken proper action, he and other members of the public would have been aware of prior issues relating to Stenberg.
GoLocal reached out to Stenberg by phone and email. He did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.
Suspended Twice in MA - “Gross Incompetence in the Practice of Engineering”
Unbeknownst to DiPrete, Stenberg had been sanctioned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in one disciplinary action, Stenberg admitted “Gross Incompetence in the Practice of Engineering” as part of his suspension plea.
That was Stenberg’s second disciplinary violation in Massachusetts.
He had been suspended earlier for one year.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, Stenberg was suspended in January of 2009 for one year in Massachusetts but continued to practice in Rhode Island.
The disciplinary action of the board [of Registration of Professional Engineers] was initiated by the Office of the State Fire Marshall and by the Bedford Fire Department to the Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure and the complaints allege that Mr. Stenberg "fraudulently sealed [approved] a certification of compliance for fire sprinkler systems he never inspected."
While Stenberg was under suspension, he was having his engineering license repeatedly renewed. Stenberg failed to disclose on his renewal form that he had been disciplined in another state.
DiPrete said, “They [DBR] knew about it [Stenberg’s second suspension] and they still renewed his license.”
“I am frustrated that DBR has left the public out there. They have known that for three years out of the last 15 years [Stenberg] has been under suspension in Massachusetts. They looked the other way…someone is running interference for the guy. DBR just isn’t doing its job,” said DiPrete.
DiPrete said he did his due diligence and checked the DBR website on Stenberg and it did not show he had disciplinary actions.
Smith, a leading professional engineer, says that action should have been taken in Rhode Island. He had served on the board.
In a letter from Smith to DiPrete, he outlines what he believes was a failure of disclosure by Stenberg.
“On another note, when I served on the Rhode Island Board of Registration for Professional Engineers, it came to the attention of the Board that Mr. Stenberg's PE license had been suspended in Massachusetts. Mr. Stenberg had sealed plans covering disciplines in which he was not licensed in Massachusetts. Because Mr. Stenberg was licensed as a Professional Engineer in Rhode Island, and not in a specific discipline, then he would have been allowed to seal those plans in Rhode Island, if they were in his areas of expertise, which Mr. Stenberg claimed they were,” according to Smith.
“As a result, Mr. Stenberg was cautioned to comply with the requirements in other jurisdictions, but was not disciplined or suspended in Rhode Island. When I went to check on the specifics of the Massachusetts incident, on their website, I also found that Mr. Stenberg had been again disciplined by Massachusetts for ‘Gross Incompetency’ and appeared to have had his license suspended in Massachusetts during the time that he did the structural design on your project. I recommended that you request additional information from the Rhode Island Board of Registration to see if Mr. Stenberg had disclosed this suspension to the Rhode Island Board, as I could not fathom the Board not suspending Mr. Stenberg from practice in Rhode Island,” wrote Smith.
Matthew Touchette, the spokesman for Rhode Island’s Commerce Corporation and DBR, said, “Regarding discipline in Massachusetts, the Department is aware of that as stated in the Order to Show Cause.”
According to DBR, that process began in June of 2023, but no hearings have been held, and no actions have taken place.
“A hearing has not been scheduled since discovery is in progress. The timetable of show cause proceedings depends upon the nature and complexity of the matter and procedural requirements to ensure due process and compliance with the Administrative Procedures Act,” said Touchette.
Regarding the failure by the Board of Engineers to have taken action after the multiple suspensions in Massachusetts and the complaint filed by Diprete, Touchette wrote, “As to your general question, RIGL § 5-8-18 provides that, after notice and a hearing, the Department may take action against an engineer’s registration for practicing engineering in another state in violation of the laws of that state.”
“The Department declines to comment on the ongoing administrative proceeding against Kurt A. Stenberg, PE.,” added Touchette.