Harris Co. contractor sues Pearland woman to recoup nearly $95K for project

GALVESTON - A Harris County contractor claims a Pearland woman owes him nearly $95,000 and has filed suit in an attempt to recover the funds.

Recent court papers filed Feb. 22 in Galveston County District Court state that Kristine Barton incurred the debt on question in the amount of $94,684 when she terminated Harris County resident David Sanders from a project on a home in Friendswood.

The suit shows both parties executed a written owner-contractor agreement on April 12, 2012, and then a construction-permanent loan agreement four months later.

Sanders, doing business as Master Builders, asserts Barton breached their contract when she sent him a notice of termination last month, stating he was due the disputed amount at the time.

He says an individual named Damian Lopez, who is not a party in the case, attached a document which apparently certified "sufficient cause" for termination, however, the latter "had no personal knowledge of any facts that would support termination and only relied upon the untruthful statements [made] by the defendant."

The plaintiff later sought assistance from Compass Bank, the entity named as the lender in the Aug. 10, 2012, contract, to no avail as it declined to exercise any effort to "determine the appropriate amount due the builder."

Barton is also to blame, according to the original petition, for a purported instance when Sanders issued an $18,000 check to a subcontractor that turned out to be no good.

"The plaintiff has suffered a loss of his reputation and has, then and is now defending the claim of the subcontractor from the plaintiff's promise to pay that was made in good faith on the basis of the expectation of the performance by the defendant," the suit says.

Attorney F.B. Harvie Jr. with Novelli, Harvie & Maduzia PLLC in Houston is representing the complainant, and Galveston County 56th District Court Judge Lonnie Cox is presiding over the case.

Case No. 13-CV-283