(Oct. 27, 2016) The Virginia-based contractor ExPlus, hired to build the Wally Gordon River Otter exhibit that opened to the public in July, has filed suit in Worcester County Circuit Court against the Delmarva Discovery Center, alleging nonpayment of the more than $178,000 in construction costs.
Documents related to the case, and the signed contract for the work was provided by DDC President and CEO Stacey Weisner, because of her personal commitment to transparency, she said.
According to the contract, payments were due on the 30th of each month according to the percentage of work that had been completed by the contractor, with the final payment due within 30 days of completion.
Additionally, work was to begin on April 5 and to be finished by June 24. The amount of the contract was not to exceed $200,000. The agreement also included provisions for the center to accept a 20 percent markup on plumbing, stainless steel and electrical subcontracts.
The contract was signed by Weisner, board chairwoman Susan Pusey and a representative from ExPlus in April.
ExPlus, in court filings, accused the Delmarva Discovery Center of reneging on the deal.
Weisner said after the first invoice came due after 30 days, she had a meeting when the parties agreed to wait until the project was finished for the center to pay the bill in full.
“The original contract was for $200,000, and the reduction was because we dealt with one sub-contractor directly instead. Although it did not exceed the amount of the contract, in our opinion, it also does not accurately reflect the work they performed,” Weisner said.
Weisner said there were several “large discrepancies” with the work that was done versus the charges on the invoice.
“One specific example is they charged $21,730 for project management and were only here for four hours,” she said.
The center was charged $4,100 for a kickoff meeting, about $11,300 for detailing and almost $104,000 for delivery and installation. The three items that allowed a 20 percent markup came to a total of almost $35,000. The two remaining itemized entries on the invoice are discounts, one for about $17,400 listed as “deduction for acrylic” and another for about $1,500 for “use of Parker’s lime/materials.”
“We take donors money seriously, and in this case a large part of the money is from the State of Maryland. If we pay them for work they have not done, we are not being good stewards of those funds. We are hopeful to settle this out of court,” Weisner said.
During the 2016 session, the state awarded the Delmarva Discovery Center an amount not to exceed $200,000 for capital improvements.
ExPlus is seeking the amount of the invoice, plus interest, attorney’s fees and any other relief the judge sees fit to grant. Also, it is requesting the court establish a trust for the benefit of the plaintiff in the amount it may have been unjustly enriched via the work completed by the plaintiff.
“We owe ExPlus and want to pay them, and we have met with them and thought we could work it out,” Weisner said. However, in the complaint ExPlus’s lawyer, Bruce Mann, said the center has been unresponsive to requests for contact to this point.
No trial date has been set.
Documents related to the case, and the signed contract for the work was provided by DDC President and CEO Stacey Weisner, because of her personal commitment to transparency, she said.
According to the contract, payments were due on the 30th of each month according to the percentage of work that had been completed by the contractor, with the final payment due within 30 days of completion.
Additionally, work was to begin on April 5 and to be finished by June 24. The amount of the contract was not to exceed $200,000. The agreement also included provisions for the center to accept a 20 percent markup on plumbing, stainless steel and electrical subcontracts.
The contract was signed by Weisner, board chairwoman Susan Pusey and a representative from ExPlus in April.
ExPlus, in court filings, accused the Delmarva Discovery Center of reneging on the deal.
Weisner said after the first invoice came due after 30 days, she had a meeting when the parties agreed to wait until the project was finished for the center to pay the bill in full.
“The original contract was for $200,000, and the reduction was because we dealt with one sub-contractor directly instead. Although it did not exceed the amount of the contract, in our opinion, it also does not accurately reflect the work they performed,” Weisner said.
Weisner said there were several “large discrepancies” with the work that was done versus the charges on the invoice.
“One specific example is they charged $21,730 for project management and were only here for four hours,” she said.
The center was charged $4,100 for a kickoff meeting, about $11,300 for detailing and almost $104,000 for delivery and installation. The three items that allowed a 20 percent markup came to a total of almost $35,000. The two remaining itemized entries on the invoice are discounts, one for about $17,400 listed as “deduction for acrylic” and another for about $1,500 for “use of Parker’s lime/materials.”
“We take donors money seriously, and in this case a large part of the money is from the State of Maryland. If we pay them for work they have not done, we are not being good stewards of those funds. We are hopeful to settle this out of court,” Weisner said.
During the 2016 session, the state awarded the Delmarva Discovery Center an amount not to exceed $200,000 for capital improvements.
ExPlus is seeking the amount of the invoice, plus interest, attorney’s fees and any other relief the judge sees fit to grant. Also, it is requesting the court establish a trust for the benefit of the plaintiff in the amount it may have been unjustly enriched via the work completed by the plaintiff.
“We owe ExPlus and want to pay them, and we have met with them and thought we could work it out,” Weisner said. However, in the complaint ExPlus’s lawyer, Bruce Mann, said the center has been unresponsive to requests for contact to this point.
No trial date has been set.