POINT PLEASANT – The owners of a Scott Depot farm claim that the company it contracted to build a barn on its premises failed to deliver.
Lazy Bones Farm LLC filed a lawsuit on Jan. 19 in Mason Circuit Court against Build A Barn LLC over claims that the defendants misrepresented themselves, breached a contract and was negligent.
The plaintiff asserts that on Oct. 1, 2014 it purchased barn and shed kits from the defendant for $32,000. The barn kit was to allegedly include 80-foot steel trusses, a list of materials and blueprints. The defendant allegedly told the plaintiff that the blueprints and trusses would arrive at a later time, and advised the plaintiff to hire Joe Holstein for construction of the barn, allegedly stating that Holstein had built many barns for them.
The plaintiff claims that it paid Holstein an initial $5,500 as a down payment on a total fee of $11,000. After many weeks, the plaintiff alleges that only half the trusses arrived and repeatedly called the defendant for them. The defendant apologized and the trusses arrived weeks later, but allegedly without the blueprints.
Instead, the plaintiff claims that it received a handwritten diagram of how the trusses were to be assembled and set. The plaintiff then contacted Holstein for commencement of construction. Holstein allegedly arrived without a crew and informed the plaintiff that he had no experience building the barn that the plaintiff had bought. Holstein also allegedly had spent the down payment and could not give the plaintiff a refund.
The suit alleges that Holstein is not a licensed contractor and is not insured. The plaintiff said in the suit that the barn's owners then had to find another contractor and had difficulty finding one to complete the barn.
The plaintiff is suing for actual and compensatory damages of $36,000, consequential damages, punitive damages, attorney costs and fees, and other such relief deemed just by the court. They are represented by Joe M. Supple of Supple Law Office PLLC in Point Pleasant.
Mason Circuit Court Case number 16-C-2