Former Boomerang Owners Come Back to Car Washes, Sue Constructor

A sign at a construction site promotes a new Speedy Splash Car Wash location.

The McLain Group of Fayetteville filed three lawsuits in recent weeks against a construction company it hired to build a Speedy Splash car wash facility in Lowell and another Speedy Splash in Tulsa.

The lawsuits were filed in Washington County Circuit Court by attorney Gary Jiles of Millar Jiles in Conway. The McLain Group is led by founder Scott McLain and managing partner Christian Baldwin; the group develops Speedy Splash properties in northwest Arkansas.

On Thursday, the group sent Whispers — and we assume other media outlets — a news release that The McLain Group was getting back into the car wash business after selling 30 Boomerang locations in 2012.

The group bought 11 Speedy Splash locations, eight of which were in northwest Arkansas and included the Lowell site that is the subject of the lawsuits.

The McLain Group filed one lawsuit in May, through its Arlow Bloomington LLC, against W. Wheat Construction and its owner, Warren Wheat, alleging that Wheat “misappropriated” payments made for the construction of the Speedy Splash Car Wash on Bloomington Street in Lowell. The McLain Group said Wheat took $100,000 in progress payments from the group and spent it on other projects and on his personal expenses.

McLain and Wheat agreed in July 2018 on a $832,000 contract for Wheat to build the car wash. McLain acquired the property, which had a self-service car wash, in July 2018 for $370,000.

Earlier this month, McLain filed another suit — also through Jiles — alleging similar misappropriation of funds on a $799,000 contract to build a Speedy Splash in Tulsa. McLain also sued W. Wheat Construction and Wheat as guarantor for a three-day, $48,000 loan the two parties agreed to April 30, 2019.

Meanwhile, Wheat is facing a legal challenge from another quarter: Jerry Box of Dallas sued in Washington County Circuit Court through attorney Max Deitchler of Kutak Rock of Fayetteville and alleged that Wheat and his company have defaulted on two loans Box made. One was for $30,000 and the second was for $250,000. Box claimed that he is still owed more than $213,000 on the two loans.

Wheat declined comment on the first two lawsuits when contacted in mid-May, saying he wanted to meet with his attorney. His attorney, Stanley V. Bond of Fayetteville, has since filed answers to all but Box’s lawsuit in which Wheat denies the allegations and asked for the suits to be dismissed.