By DAVID YATES
Discovery is still ongoing in a suit brought by an area contractor company alleging it was not paid for construction work at a church.
Capitol Crew filed a lawsuit Oct. 21 in Jefferson County District Court against True Vine Missionary Baptist Church of Port Arthur, Michael L. White II and CommunityBank of Texas, citing breach of contract.
Court records show the latest filing in the case came on April 9 – a certificate of discovery showing CommunityBank had responded to Capitol Crew’s requests for disclosure, production and interrogatories.
According to the complaint, Capitol Crew entered into a contract with True Vine on Aug. 1, 2012, to construct a new worship sanctuary, hall and other improvements on True Vine’s property in Port Arthur for $850,300.
The complaint states True Vine requested various additions, bringing the cost to $913,970, and Capitol Crew completed a substantial amount of the project, working until May 2013, when work was stopped due to True Vine’s failure make payments, paying only $540,000.
The plaintiff says it entered into a contract with CommunityBank and True Vine on Jan. 31, 2012, wherein CommunityBank agreed to provide $600,000 in construction loans but it has failed to pay its agreed upon amount or secure the loan and verify that True Vine had the funds to provide its portion of the fees.
Capitol Crew says representatives of the defendant, including White, alleged that the necessary funding was obtained to finish the project but when Capitol Crew approached them in May 2013 regarding the unpaid fees, it was informed True Vine did not have the funds to pay for the rest of the project, proving those original representations false.
Capitol Crew says it is owed more than $206,000 and has obtained a mechanic’s and materialmen’s lien on the property upon which it seeks to foreclose. The defendants are accused of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraudulent inducement, fraud, negligent misrepresentation and negligence.
Capitol Crew seeks more than $200,000 in actual, exemplary, punitive and nominal damages, attorney fees, lost profit, interest, court costs and the foreclosure of the lien.
It is represented by attorney Scott Renick of Renick Law Firm in Beaumont.
Case No. E-196288