Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 26, 1994 TAG: 9408260021
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Since then, Stewart's regular Thursday livestock auctions have continued.
So has a legal squabble between Stewart, an Elliston farmer who is also the longest-serving member of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, and the Christiansburg-based general contractor he hired for the reconstruction.
On Aug. 1, the contractor, Curtis Coleman, sued Stewart in Montgomery County Circuit Court for $36,600 he claims he's still owed from the job. Stewart's lawyer B.K. Cruey, fired back Tuesday. He denies Stewart owes Coleman and his company, Construction Services of the New River Valley Inc., a dime; instead, he made a counterclaim against Coleman for $45,000.
Stewart said the dispute boils down to Coleman's failure to finish the $109,000 job, and the contractor's failure to pay for the materials he used. Stewart said he paid Coleman $89,500 before the work stopped in late 1992. "We had no complaint with the work he did, but he just walked off and didn't finish it," Stewart said.
The 79-year-old county native said he was forced to hire another man to finish the building. Stewart and his staff built the livestock pens themselves.
Coleman has an unlisted number and could not be reached for comment. No one answered a knock on the door of the Construction Services office in Christiansburg on Thursday.
The dispute doesn't end with the recent lawsuit. The other elements include:
Liens. In February 1993, Marshall Concrete Products of Christiansburg Inc. filed a $10,400 lien against Stewart's livestock market property for materials it supplied for the rebuilding but for which it was never paid. Stewart responded that he owed no money to Marshall Concrete. In June 1993 Marshall Concrete filed a civil suit to enforce the lien; it is still pending.
Four other businesses filed liens against Stewart because they weren't paid for materials or work that went into the building. A lien allows a creditor to stake a legal claim on a debtor's property. If a court enforces a lien, the property can be sold to satisfy the debt.
State licensing action. In February 1993, Stewart filed a complaint against Coleman's company with the state Board for Contractor.
This March the board revoked Construction Services' contractor's license after Coleman failed to respond when notified of the complaint, according to the board secretary.
Construction Services also is no longer a registered corporation in Virginia. Coleman, who was the corporation's president and treasurer, let the registration terminate as of Sept. 1, 1993, according to the State Corporation Commission.
by CNB