Hall-Irwin Construction Hall Irwin HALL IRWIN DOES NOT PAY SUBS - WE ARE OWED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS Milliken, Colorado

The person who posted this report didn't identify himself, so we can't respond with specifics about the job. However, the posting was made only a few days after we learnedthat there wasa subcontractor that was trying to get a bunch of other subcontractors together to file a lawsuit. That subcontractor was owed retainage on a project, and was trying to convince other subcontractors that filing a lawsuit was the quickest way to get paid the retainage.

If this is the same subcontractor, here is the situation:

The truth is that on that job, Hall-Irwin hasn't been paid retainage from the owner. So this subcontractor isn't entitled to any additional payment right now. Our subcontracts are pay-when-paid: we pay the subs their retainage after the owner pays the retainage to us.

All of us want the retainage to be released, Hall-Irwin most of allbecause we are owed far more than anyone else on this job. But filing a lawsuit doesn't speed anything up. It only slows down the day the subcontractor will get paid. A lawsuit tells the owner that there might be something wrong with the closeout documentation. So instead of releasing a check, they take another look at the documentation, and ask for more releases, indemnifications, and other documents. And that doesn't happen quickly. And even when the retainage is finally released, we have to hold it if there has been a lawsuit filed, because now we have to defend ourselves in court, and nothing gets paid until it is settled.

The other truth about that subcontractor is that he has been paid everything we have been billed except the retainage. So there is no breach of contract, or any other claim that can be turned into a lawsuit. No other payment is due from us until we receive the retainage from the owner.

The truth is this subcontractor is trying to be the 'squeaky wheel', hoping that by causing enough trouble he'll get paid before he's entitled to be paid. But that's not how things work today. There aren't as many jobs as there used to be, and money and credit are tight.General contractors can't afford to upfrontpayments to subcontractors. This sub, and all of the other subs, will be paid per the terms of the subcontract--after we get the retainage released to us from the owner.