Suit faults county for lost pay

A small Dade City subcontractor, who provided sod for financially troubled Grubbs Construction Co. as a part of a Hernando County road paving contract, has sued the county in attempt to collect for unpaid work.

Teresa Sanderson of Dade City Sod & Landscaping filed a lawsuit in Hernando County Circuit Court last week, claiming that Hernando County is responsible for what Grubbs Construction owes her: $30,396.

Grubbs Construction filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, citing more than $10-million in debts to banks, equipment suppliers, subcontractors and state and county taxing authorities.

In the lawsuit, Sanderson said the county should pay her company, because Hernando County did not require Grubbs Construction to be bonded for the road paving work, for which her company laid grass and sod.

The lawsuit sites a Florida Statute that requires any person entering into a formal contract with a public authority to complete "public work" to get a performance bond with a surety insurer.

Contractors are often required to be bonded for work contracted through government agencies as kind of a fail-safe insurance policy, which kicks in if the job is not completed - including when subcontractors are not paid, said John Reddin of Economy Insurance Mart, a Spring Hill insurer, which bonds contractors.

However, Hernando County has not required contractors to be bonded for the county's pavement management program, because it's a different kind of project, said James Gantt, who directs the county's purchasing department.

The pavement management program contract is not bidded out with any specific sums for each road repaving, Gantt said. It is bidded and awarded on an annual or semiannual basis as an ongoing project based on the contractors' rates on materials and labor.

The county pays the contractor as the work is completed, Gantt said. The county had paid Grubbs Construction for its work.

Grubbs Construction was the secondary contractor on the pavement management program, which often draws more work than one contractor can handle, Gantt said. The primary contractor - and now the only contractor - for the county's road paving project is D.A.B. Constructors, an Inglis company with a Brooksville location.

But an attorney representing Sanderson said the county's pavement management project should be considered public work and the county should have required Grubbs Construction to be bonded when it awarded the contract.

"Why would they think (Grubbs Construction) wouldn't need a bond?" asked attorney Larry Hersch of Dade City.

Hersch said that Pasco County required Grubbs Construction to be bonded for a similar road paving contract. Times' calls to Pasco County purchasing and attorney's offices were not returned Monday.

Sanderson runs a small business and the $30,000 debt has severely affected her ability to work, Hersch said.

Hernando County assistant attorney Kent Weissinger said he hasn't seen the lawsuit and wouldn't comment specifically on the case.

Weissinger said the department had reviewed the county's responsibility in its contracts with Grubbs Construction, since the company declared bankruptcy.

The county has not faced any past problems with not requiring contractors to be bonded for the ongoing road pavement contract, Gantt said. But recently, the county has received several inquiries about the bonding issue from Grubbs subcontractors seeking payment.

The pavement management contract will likely go out to be rebid early next year, Gantt said.

- Jennifer Liberto can be reached at 848-1434 or liberto@sptimes.com

Past 14 Days March 16, 2008 March 15, 2008 March 14, 2008 March 13, 2008 March 12, 2008 March 11, 2008 March 10, 2008 March 9, 2008 March 8, 2008 March 7, 2008 March 6, 2008 March 5, 2008 March 4, 2008 March 3, 2008 Search further back

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright