Porter International Construction Fraudulent Company Porter Texas

We at Porter International Construction wish to resolve the conflict that occurred on the Camden St. Project.  We have been lied on and defamed by Ed Solary online through Google Reviews and Rip-off report.com.  This is unacceptable, and we wish to illustrate the history behind these false allegations.  On June 9^th 2015 we supplied Pinnacle Construction with 2 proposals for the Camden St. Project.  Proposals numbers P609 A for $56,765.00 and P609 B for $14,000.00 totaling 70,765.00.  We were hired by Pinnacle Construction around the 16^th of June 2015.  Due to Adverse weather conditions we could not start the project for 2 weeks.  It was understood and agreed on that we would start the work once the site was conducive. We received a down payment from Pinnacle Construction for 28,382.50, we also started 5 other projects for Pinnacle at the same time.  Pinnacle Construction hired another contractor to perform the dirt work that never finished.  Within the two weeks we received calls about when we could start.  When we went to the site we saw that the pads were not built up and continued to wait to be able to start the work.  We came in and as a favor to Pinnacle we performed the dirt work with the budget that they had of $8,200.  From day one we had a superintendent and representative Jose onsite every day.  Jose’s job was to make sure that the project went according to schedule and was being completed properly.  We entered into a subcontract with Aurelio P. Mondragon who started the work on July 7^th 2015.  We gave Aurelio the opportunity to complete the scope of work and complete his contract.  He was responsible for all Labor and equipment to complete the scope.  After the first couple of days we requested more man power so he could keep up with the schedule per the contract.  Unable to comply with the contract schedule he went into default and we replaced him with another contractor.  On July 14^th 2015 we hired Empire Construction (David Charles) to complete the project in 7 days. Per the Contract they were responsible for all labor and equipment to finish the project.  Per the Contract we gave him a down payment of 30%.  The Contract called for him to receive another 30% once the steel had been completed, 30% after the pour, and the remaining 10% after cleanup and approval.  Empire construction also fell behind schedule and we requested additional man power as needed as well.  After 4 days on site we received a request for another draw from Empire.  Already way behind schedule they were nowhere close to receiving another draw.  We were told that if we could help them out they would have double the man power on site and finish out the project.  On Sunday we agreed to meet them and give them another draw as long as they had the man power.  When we arrived onsite Sunday and kept our word even though he did not have any additional man power when we showed up.  That morning he had 9 men on site, however when we arrived there were only 5 men.  We paid him another draw and he gave us his word that they would have 10 to 15 guys on Monday to get us back on schedule.  On Monday July 20^th at 6:30 am I spoke with David at Empire and he assured me he was on his way to the site with 13 guys.  To our surprise Empire Construction never showed up on site.  I attempted to contact them for several hours.  We then issued a 24hr notice in writing for them to man the job or we would have them replaced.  We forwarded this notice to Pinnacle Construction the Prime that hired us and explained the situation.  They had also been in contact with David as well and informed us that he had been in contact throughout the project with the owner Mr. Solary too.  When I finally got a call from David Monday afternoon he gave us some excuse about his car being towed and his phone getting stolen.   Then he proceeded to lie to Pinnacle and say he never received payment and that is why he didn’t show.  We of course kept proof of payment and forwarded it to Pinnacle.  That Monday afternoon I met with Fermin Carrasco a Hispanic contractor that agreed to take over the project and complete it.  He had a crew of 14 guys that we lined up.  We gave David his due 24hrs to man the project and no one showed up on Tuesday.  That morning we signed with Fermin Carrasco and fired Empire construction for default of the contract.  They had ran way over the 7 day schedule and were not properly manning the project.  We contacted Pinnacle Construction and let them know that we terminated Empire and had another Contractor lined up for Wednesday.  Scott informed me that David with Empire contacted him directly and was trying to get a contract directly with the owner.  Porter International Construction expressed our concern in writing and assured Pinnacle we would have another crew onsite the following day.  Wednesday July 22^nd  Fermin Carrasco showed up with the 14 men we agreed on.  Our Superintendent Jose was on site and started to get them lined out.  At that time David with Empire showed up on site with his guys and ran off my new Sub-Contractor.  He lied and told them we did not pay our subs and that the project was there’s and they hadn’t finished it due to not being paid.  David scared Fermin and caused so many problems that Mr. Carrasco decided to withdraw from the agreement.  We were furious and called Scott Coleman and his Superintendent Matt.  Matt and Scott both apologized as they knew that David was planning on showing up and instead stopping him they allowed him to proceed.  At this point the Owner Mr. Solary had been in close contact with David at Empire and bought that load of BS he was feeding him.  Pinnacle called us back the same day and informed us that the Owner only wanted Empire Construction to finish the project.  The same contractor that put us behind schedule and didn’t man the project.   Mr. Solary proceed to call our office that same day and spoke with me accusing us of not ever performing concrete work before and being a fencing contractor per David.  I was insulted and surprised at these ridiculous accusations.  Our experienced firm with over 30 years in commercial construction was being replaced by a pickup contractor that didn’t even have an office.  We spoke with Pinnacle and could not believe that we were being replaced by our own terminated sub.  They informed us that they worked for Mr. Solary and their hands were tied.  So we continued to work on the other projects with Scott and awaited the outcome of Camden St.  I sent Pinnacle a copy of the contract we had with David and the proof of payments.  Mr. Solary proceeded to enter into a new contract with David offering him more compensation and gave him yet another substantial draw.  Our original Contract with David was only for $12,455 and he had already received 2 draws from us with the steel still incomplete.  After Mr. Solary gave Empire a new contact, more money, and another draw Empire worked a few more days and abandoned the project.  Our Firm then got a call from Scott asking us to complete the project and help them get out of this mess.  He apologized for the way we were treated and explained how David was a crook that stole Mr. Solary’s money and ran off.  Mr. Solary also contacted us directly asking us to finish the project.  So we went to the site and met with Matt Pinnacle’s Superintendent to see the condition that Empire had left it. Wow!  All the steel was tied incorrectly, some of the beams weren’t in the right location.  The forms had been moved.  I couldn’t believe how this man butchered the site.  Matt acknowledged that Empire tore up this project and wondered what we could do.  So we went to work and had more than a dozen contractors come to look at it.  Everyone said the same thing that the steel had to be redone and it would cost us double to finish.  We lined out a contractor to get started however we needed to get some clarification on where the additional compensation was coming from.  Scott with Pinnacle told us to just get it done and we would work everything out on the backend.  We don’t walk into a situation blindly.  We then spoke with Mr. Solary and Scott and they did not want to pay any additional compensation and furthermore wanted to deduct what they paid Empire directly from our original contract?  So you replace us with someone that put us behind in the first place.  Don’t honor the contract we had with them.  Construct a new agreement, give him more money in hand, and expect us to cover it plus the additional cost to fix his mistakes.   I personally spoke with Scott and Ed Solary and explained that would not happen and we would be willing to finish his project as long as they could be realistic.  These were the terms that were presented to us and they never changed.  Porter International Construction showed up for this project.  We didn’t steal any money from Pinnacle or Mr. Solary, and did not Pad any invoices for Phantom work.  The Dirt work was completed and we went above and beyond to perform a scope that wasn’t in our contract to help get the job done.  If anyone should be upset it should be us.  We have been lied on, defamed, and attacked by the very individuals that put themselves in this situation. As is stands we have been attacked and as a Minority owned company we feel that if it had not been for the color of David’s skin this would have not taken place.  We are a company of integrity and would have still finished if Pinnacle and Mr. Solary had been reasonable.  We are attempting to put this behind us as this is the only negative publicity regarding our firm in over 30 years.  We could have easily defamed Mr. Solary and his company after the negative and racial based abuse we received, however we have illustrated integrity.   This has cost us contracts and future relationships and if it is not addressed soon we will be seeking council to Sue for defamation of character.   

Not only did Porter International not perform any work but they didn't pay for the steel materials which were sent to the jobsite. Porter claimed they didn't receive payment for the materials and pocketed the $7,500. They submitted a false address to the steel company on the job sheet so the certified mail was returned to sender. In 2016 there have been 2 more lawsuits filed against Porter International Construction in Harris County District Court so far for their actions. Beware of LJ Smith and his company.

Porter International Construction has another pending lawsuit for breach of contract in Harris County filed January 2016 by ADB Commercial Construction for over $200k, Yet another example of the fraudulent business practices of this company which hides behind the church and charity. Be warned this company are thieves!!!