CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Settlement reached in county lawsuit over nursing home

The Jonesboro Sun - 11/30/2017

POCAHONTAS - A 2016 lawsuit against Randolph County about the construction of the new county nursing home was recently settled out of court as the plaintiff has run out of money, the county's attorney, Donn Mixon, said Wednesday.

In February 2016, GAG Builders, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Randolph County, County Judge David Jansen, Stuck and Associates, PLLC and Paul Hoelscher, alleging the county improperly terminated their contract and failed to pay them money they deserved. They also claimed the county did not warn them about problems with the type of the soil at the construction site.

Mixon said neither side paid the other anything when the case was settled Nov. 13, as GAG was bankrupt. GAG had sued for just under $900,000, which they said the county owed them. The county countersued for about $300,000, which was the price of finishing the project and liquidated damages, since the project was more than 400 days behind schedule.

GAG representatives were not available for comment.

"It had become clear that GAG was insolvent, they were bankrupt," Mixon said. "Even if we won, we weren't going to get any money. Your upside's zero and your downside is $900,000."

Mixon said he felt the county had a good case. In their countersuit, the county said GAG "failed and refused to keep workers on the project, changed project superintendents several times, failed to make its subcontractors get their work done, failed to correct its mistakes or those of its subcontractors, performed faulty work, did not reasonably supervise its work or that of its subcontractors, failed to maintain adequate records of work done, damaged work that had been done on the project, failed to repair what it damaged, and otherwise did or accepted shabby and defective work on the project."

Subcontractors have also sued GAG and included the county in the suit, and while they could still come back and sue GAG, the county would not be held liable, Mixon said, though they may have to show up in court. However, Mixon said he believes the time for those lawsuits has passed.

GAG claimed the county waited two years from excavation to contract them to begin work and never informed them of a report claiming "special soil conditions" would require special precautions. They also claim they were not given extra time to finish the job and that the county and Jansen benefited financially from their work.

"It's true they didn't get part of their money, but that's because they didn't finish the job," Mixon previously said.

GAG's contract was terminated Nov. 2, 2015.

While the county did not receive money from GAG, the nursing home will receive as-built drawings, which GAG had been withholding, Mixon said. Those drawings help the home locate where everything is.

The $200,000 requested in the countersuit was not needed by the county, Mixon said, since they held on to the $885,000 requested by GAG.

Mixon said the county was satisfied with the judgment. The order has not yet been formally filed by the judge, and Jansen said he would wait to issue comment until after that order was filed.

Nationwide News