BECKLEY – Beaver construction company Preferred Builders Group LLC, formerly known as DRS Veteran Enterprises LLC, is suing a subcontractor for $661,300, alleging that the defendant was ultimately responsible for termination of a contract with the Veterans Administration Medical Center.
Preferred filed its breach-of-contract lawsuit against Laxton’s Heating, Cooling & Electrical Inc. in March in the Raleigh Circuit Court.
In the complaint, Preferred said it signed a contract with Veterans Administration Medical Center in April 2013 to complete a construction project located in Beckley. The contract required construction to be completed by Oct. 23, 2014.
The plaintiff said it entered into a contract with Laxton’s to do some of the work on the project on April 15, 2013. However, Preferred alleged that Laxton’s stopped working on the project without notice in July 2014 and never completed the work outlined in its contract with Preferred.
Specifically, the contract between Preferred and Laxton’s required the latter to “correct negative air” at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Beckely.
The original amount owed to Laxton’s under the subcontract was $1,347,859. That amount was reduced to $1,261,343 after a change order was agreed on Nov. 18, 2013.
Despite efforts to fulfill its obligations in the contract with Veterans Administration Medical Center, the plaintiff said it was in violation of its agreement with the medical center due to the abrupt nature of Laxton leaving the job site and not completing its construction.
Preferred said its contract with Veterans Administration Medical Center was terminated in February 2015 “as a direct result of Laxton’s failure to complete the work agreed upon in the contract between Preferred and Laxton.”
In addition to the $661,300 in damages, Preferred is seeking statutory interest, attorney’s fees, costs of filing the lawsuit and other relief the court deems necessary.
Laxton’s has 30 days to file an answer to the complaint.
Raleigh Circuit Court Case number 17-c-132