Lawdermilk
A Nederland man is suing a Colorado company claiming he was overcharged for water damage remediation the company was supposed to perform on his hurricane-flooded house.
Ronald J. Prince filed a suit March 30 in Jefferson County District Court against 1-800-FLOODED.
Prince says the company charged him an exorbitant amount to clean his flooded home at 11158 Hickory Lane in Beaumont after Hurricane Ike struck on Sept. 13.
The complaint says Prince found out about 1-800-FLOODED through a friend. Once Prince called the company, it presented him with a contract for services, which Prince signed. He also paid the company a $1,000 down payment to begin the flood remediation process, according to the complaint.
However, the contract did not provide Prince with a detailed estimate before beginning work on his home.
When the work was finished, 1-800-FLOODED billed Prince $20,984.96, according to the complaint.
Prince attempted to discuss the bill with 1-800-FLOODED because he believed the company was taking advantage of him, he says. The company also did not perform a "great percentage" of work it was supposed to and further damaged his home while remediating it, Prince alleges.
However, the company allegedly refused to discuss the bill with Prince and filed a lawsuit in Colorado against Prince on Feb. 5 to attempt to recoup Prince's unpaid bills.
Prince insists the contract should not be considered valid because the company did not provide a detailed estimate before it began working on his home.
He also says the company violated numerous provisions of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and made false representations.
"Plaintiff has had his life substantially disrupted by the Defendant's conduct and has suffered mental anguish," the suit states.
Prince is seeking unspecified damages, plus interest at the legal rate, costs and other relief to which he may be entitled.
Jessica L. Hallmark and Rocky Lawdermilk of the Law Office of Rocky Lawdermilk in Beaumont will be representing him.
The case has been assigned to Judge Donald Floyd, 172nd District Court.
Jefferson County District Court case number: E183-687.