A lawsuit filed in the Lone Star State claims that a government contractor has failed to pay approximately $4.6 million for customized Chevy vehicles built by dealership Caldwell Country Chevrolet.
As reported by Automotive News, the Chevy dealership has presented 115 allegedly unpaid invoices for upfitted vehicles, averaging $40,000 per invoice, which it says is proof of breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
Caldwell Country Chevrolet and Acquisition Integration, the government contractor, started doing business back in 2021. The dealership and the contractor company signed a “teaming agreement” at that time. Acquisition Integration received orders from the government and then passed these on to the dealership to fulfill with the properly modified or “upfitted” vehicles.
The dealership alleges the contractor failed to pay $4.59 million that it owed despite repeated billing reminders. The Chevy dealership’s lawyer Brandon Renken claims that after about 18 months of the arrangement working smoothly, Acquisition Integration continued getting money from the government, but failed to pay Caldwell Country “for whatever reason.” Renken added the assertion that “they know they owe the money.”
Acquisition Integration fired back by saying the dealership is “not squeaky clean.” Its own attorney, Jeffrey Prudhomme, states that deliveries by Caldwell Country were riddled with unspecified issues, and that, on multiple occasions, the Chevy dealer failed to correctly modify the vehicles in the way the government office instructed.
Prudhomme indicated some kind of negotiations are taking place between the contractor and the dealership, raising the possibility that a full-scale legal battle between the two can still be avoided. However, he indicated his client is ready to “put [its] case forward” if a resolution can’t be reached outside the courtroom.
Prudhomme and Acquisition Integration have moved to dismiss the case. However. Mark Lane, a U.S. Magistrate Judge, says there are sufficient grounds for the lawsuit to move forward. The District Judge, Robert Pitman, will now decide on whether to follow Lane’s advice and let the suit go forward or dismiss it.
The dealership’s attorney claims district judges usually follows magistrate judge recommendations, indicating the lawsuit will likely proceed.
Comments
What kind of ‘uplifting’ cost 40Gs??
Its a government contract, 40 G’s could be just for wheels and tires.