| Long Mechanical, inc., Issue No. 1 |
January 2000
|
The Contractors Critic
LONG MECHANICAL Reporting on Safety, Productivity, and Honesty in the Construction Industry.
|
NOT "LONG FOR FOCUS: HOPE
|
LONG MECHANICAL LIENS
charitable organization
| Long furnished labor and
materials to Hale Engineering for the installation and piping of fan coil units
on a project at Focus: HOPE. Hale Engineering was two weeks overdue on the
$83,732 it owed Long, so Long promptly filed a lien, not against Hale, but
against Focus: HOPE. In the Critic’s opinion, that puts Long Mechanical in a
league with Ebenezeer Scrooge, or the Grinch that Stole Christmas.
If you are looking for saints right here on earth, you might try learning
about Focus: HOPE, which operates several programs for low-income
residents in the greater Detroit area of Michigan. According to published
accounts, Focus: HOPE provides free monthly food to pregnant women, postpartum
mothers, children up to age six, and senior citizens
over 60 years old. Their commodity food program is the largest in the nation,
feeding 19,000 at-risk mothers and 27,000 low-income seniors.
Focus: HOPE also manages CHILDCARE PROGRAM, and a community arts program. To
many people, Focus: HOPE would be an appropriate place to give donations.
Obviously Long Mechanical had other ideas.
If you would like to learn more about Focus: HOPE, they are located at 1300
Oakman Blvd., Detroit, Michigan, 48238. (313) 494-4600.
|
long installs
defective heating & cooling units in schools
| The River Rouge School
District recently sued Long Mechanical and others. The suit started when Long
purchased and installed nine heating and cooling units for the School District.
"Our contention is that the units were substandard in their manufacture and
this was a breach of contract. The units have experienced many difficulties,
repeated breakdowns, and many service calls," says Robert Hahn, attorney for the
School District.
|
"The school has had nothing but
trouble with the system, including overheating and overcooling systems.
Pipes have even frozen." |
The original complaint stated, "Long agreed to provide certain
construction…including but not limited to providing and installing nine air
conditioning/heating units…the units were expressly warranted to be free from
de-fects…and fit for their intended purpose of which Long had specific
knowledge. Long obtained and caused to be installed (the) nine air
conditioning/heating units…The units that were provided and installed were not
free from defects…and they experienced numerous and continuous breakdowns."
Hahn, the School District’s attorney, told the Critic that Long has since
been dropped from the suit but the case is still pending against the
manufacturer of the units that Long purchased for the School District.
Although Long has escaped any liability in the River Rouge School District
suit, that litigation is similar to another controversy over a malfunctioning
heating and cooling system installed by a Long subcontractor at the Milford High
School for the Huron Valley, Michigan School District. In both cases, Long was
involved in the installation of malfunctioning heating and cooling systems.
In Huron Valley, Long was the general contractor for the installation of a
$3.1 million computerized heating and cooling system installed recently in the
Milford High School.
"The school has had nothing but trouble with the system, including
overheating and overcooling systems. Pipes have even frozen," said Assistant
Superintendent Patrick Donahue in published accounts. The School District was
unable to get the problem addressed until the school board voted to pursue a
court suit. Only the threat of litigation prompted the debugging of the system.
Both Long, who was the general contractor on this job, and their subcontractor,
Thermalnetics, were involved in the negotiations to avert a lawsuit. | | | | | | |
