Galveston police chief among plaintiffs in suit against repair company

GALVESTON - The Galveston chief of police is among a group of local condominium owners who have filed a class action lawsuit against Paramount Insurance Repair Service Inc. and two of its agents over reportedly incomplete storm repairs at their complex.

Galveston Police Chief Charles Wiley, his wife, and 22 other complainants claim the company abandoned a post-Hurricane Ike restoration project at the Ashton Place Condominiums last year despite their concerns that the work was not going well, the suit filed Oct. 7 in Galveston County District Court says.

The condominiums sustained significant damage during the Category 2 storm's landfall on Galveston Island in early September 2008. In response, the Ashton Place Homeowners Association entered into a one-page agreement with the defendant about a month after the hurricane, the suit says.

Court papers explain that the parties agreed for repairs and reconstruction to start as soon as the estimate and scope were finalized. A company representative even volunteered to be the point man throughout the process, the suit adds.

The plaintiffs argue that Paramount started the project without any consent given to the estimate and final scope, additionally asserting the work moved slowly and exhibited poor quality.

The defendant then stopped all work in September 2009 and filed a mechanic's lien on the property about three months later, the original petition says.

It shows that the plaintiffs were likely to shoulder the costs to redo many of the tasks, stating the monetary damages are currently in the process of calculation.

Attorney Craig Eiland of Galveston is representing the plaintiffs, and Galveston County 122nd District Court Judge John Ellisor is presiding over the case.

Case No. 10-cv-3887