Siemens Lawsuit Against Monticello Tossed

The city of Monticello recently received an early victory in its legal fight with the Illinois contractor hired for a $10 million water project.

U.S. District Judge D.P. Marshall Jr. ruled on a motion for summary judgment earlier this month that the contractor, Siemens Industry Inc. of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, didn’t have a valid contract with the city because it wasn’t competitively bid. So he tossed Siemens’ lawsuit it had against the city for breach of contract.

But the judge kept the city’s counterclaim for fraud, and that case is moving forward to its October trial date, said one of the attorneys representing the city, Cliff Gibson of Monticello.

“The city wants its money back and wants damages for fraud. And we’ve requested punitive damages as well,” Gibson said.

The city paid Siemens $6.7 million in 2014 to replace some water meters and water mains in the city of about 10,000 people. After the project started, complaints flooded the city about the quality of the work, according to the city’s court documents.

Siemens will ask to be paid for the work it did do, Gibson said. But it hasn’t said what the value is, he said. “The bottom line is Arkansas law requiring competitive bids of public construction projects in cities and counties is alive and well,” Gibson said.

A spokeswoman for Siemens wasn’t immediately available for comment Thursday afternoon.