Electric companies accused of failing to pay a subcontractor for its work at a Bloomington substation deny liability, arguing that the plaintiff has been paid in full and failed to sufficiently complete the work.
The lawsuit was originally filed on Feb. 4 by Zoie LLC in McLean County against J.F. Electric Inc. and Ameren Illinois Company. The lawsuit was filed through attorney Stephen Murphy of Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard PC in St. Louis.
According to the complaint, Ameren intended to remove existing concrete foundation and install new foundation at its South Bloomington Substation in 2017. The work included foundation removal, foundation installation and backfill, site grading, storm sewer installation, gate addition, re-compaction of disturbed grade, and re-rocking of disturbed substation yard.
Because the workers were working near energized equipment, “safety was a paramount concern on the project and consequently, there were a number of specifications related to project safety.” Those specifications required a qualified person to supervise activities within the Minimum Approach Distance (MAD) of any energized equipment or wires and two spotters when vehicles or equipment were moving within the MAD. Also, soft-dig techniques were required for the first four feet of any excavation inside the fence or five feet beyond the fence line.
Zoie was subcontracted to furnish the labor, materials and equipment necessary to strip areas to be graded of rock, soil, and other debris, remove storm sewer inlets and certain concrete foundations, install new foundations, and recompact the disturbed sub-grade and cover it with rock.
Zoie claims it completed its work on May 21, 2019, after some additional costs and expenses were added. However, the plaintiff alleges the defendants breached their contracts and have “refused” to pay the full amount.
Zoie seeks a judgment in its favor in excess of $490,109.67.
J.F. Electric filed a motion to transfer venue to Madison County Circuit Court on June 25 through attorney James Nowogrocki of Summers Compton Wells LLC in St. Louis.
Nowogrocki wrote that the contract includes a forum selection clause, which would be enforced because the contract “was reached through arm’s-length negotiation between a general contractor and subcontractor, both experienced business entities. Thus, the Circuit Court of Madison County, Illinois, is the proper venue and transfer is proper under Illinois law.”
Additionally, the defendant argues that Zoie is located in East St. Louis and J.F. Electric is based in Edwardsville, meaning Madison County provides easier access than McLean County.
“Given that this is a contract dispute involving entities which have no corporate presence in McLean County, it would be unfair to burden the residents/jurors of McLean County with this case,” Nowogrocki wrote. “While the project outlined in the subcontract is located in Bloomington, Illinois, it is unlikely that a jury would make a site visit to an active power substation of Ameren Illinois.”
Nowogrocki also filed a motion to transfer on behalf of Ameren on July 19.
“The documentary evidence and potential witnesses for Ameren Illinois are located outside of McLean County, Illinois,” the memorandum in support of its motion states. “This is a breach of contract matter and the decisions of both plaintiff and defendant J.F. Electric are more likely than not made outside of McLean County. In total, the gravemen of this lawsuit favors transfer so as not to burden a McLean County jury with no connection to the litigation except for the location of a substation.”
The McLean County Circuit Court granted the motions to transfer without objections on Oct. 7.
Ameren answered the complaint on Oct. 22, denying liability.
In its affirmative defenses, Ameren argues that Zoie has been paid in full by the general contractor, J.F. Electric
Ameren also argues that Zoie “failed to fully comply with all the strict requirements under the Illinois Mechanic’s Lien Act in terms of time requirements and content of notice and lien recording and therefore the alleged lien is invalid as a matter of law because the filing of the lien was outside of the 120-day limit to record a claim for lien in McLean County, Illinois.”
J.F. Electric also answered the complaint on Oct. 22, denying liability.
In its affirmative defenses, the defendant argues that Zoie “failed to perform condition precedents to defendant’s liability under the contract at issue in plaintiff’s complaint in that it failed to adhere to the construction schedule, failed to complete its contractual obligations as to the substation control house; failed to properly staff the substation project and failed to pay its own subcontractors.”
J.F. Electric accuses Zoie of abandoning the contract, refusing to comply with its terms, failing to perform the work in a workmanlike manner and failing to furnish good and suitable materials for the work.
The defendant argues that it is entitled to an offset of $138,391.30 from any alleged damages for the amount it paid to various subcontractors after learning that “liens were imminent due to Zoie’s failure to make required payments to Zoie’s subcontractors.”
Madison County Circuit Court case number 21-L-1256