A company with a history
of filing mechanics liens and suing customers over their business practices has
found itself on the other end of the stick.A bitter dispute over the improper
installation of pipes by Mechanical Systems of Dayton, Ohio has resulted in a
lawsuit charging Mechanical Systems of Dayton with engaging in the same type of
unscrupulous business activities that the company often accuses its customers of
doing.
Mechanical Systems is quick to file a mechanics lien or sue a customer when
it feels it does not get paid fast enough. But Mechanical Systems of Dayton is
not always quick to pay its own bills, according to the findings of a company
hired to figure out what went wrong when Mechanical Systems of Dayton installed
three air intake valves on a heating and air conditioning system on a public
works project in the City of Keetering.
Mechanical Systems of Dayton found itself back in court earlier this year
when Advanced Sewer Technology, Inc. claimed that Mechanical Systems not only
failed to correctly install 10-inch and 16-inch air intake pipes, but failed to
pay Advanced Sewer Technology, Inc. for trying to fix Mechanical System’s
mistakes.
The air intake pipes were part of the Fraze Pavilion improvement project for
the City of Kettering. Unfortunately for the city, three of the pipes leaked,
allowing water to fill the air intake system.
The city called Mechanical Systems of Dayton. They called in a company to
conduct an investigation. That’s when things went from bad to worse.
Advanced Sewer Technology on two occasions conducted video inspections of the
pipe, finding three leaks. The company pressure grouted the exterior of the
pipes and installed internal liners.
When the pipes continued to accumulate water, Advanced Sewer Technology spent
56 additional hours inspecting the pipes using closed circuit TV and was unable
to find any leaks in the repairs that it had performed.
Advanced Sewer Technology offered to pay $1,000 toward a third-party
independent inspection of the pipes in order to prove that improper installation
of the pipe system by Mechanical Systems of Dayton was the problem, and not more
leaks.
According to legal documents, Mechanical Systems "did not respond to
Advanced’s offer for a third-party inspection. Furthermore (the company) has
failed to identify any of Advanced’s work as being defective." In fact, the
legal documents state, Mechanical Systems of Dayton, Ohio, "failed to correctly
install the PVC pipes which resulted in the pipes filling up with water."
Not only did Mechanical Systems have another unhappy customer, it had a
lawsuit on its hands.
Mechanical Systems of Dayton refused to pay Advanced Sewer Technology for the
work that had been performed, leading to yet another lawsuit involving
Mechanical Systems.
Lawsuits against companies Mechanical Systems performs work for and lawsuits
by companies who perform work for Mechanical Systems. This is a company that
clearly needs to work on its customer relations program.
