J.F. Ahern sues to recover $672K for unpaid pipe infrastructure

J.F. Ahern is suing an Illinois contractor to recover more than $600,000 it contends it is owed for building parts used on a West Virginia construction project.

In December, Graycor Industrial Constructors, of Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, asked Ahern to produce $4.4 million worth of pipes to be used in the construction of a natural-gas project at the Oak Grove Gas Plant in Moundsville, West Virginia.

Ahern, which has its headquarters in Fond du Lac, performs fire-protection and mechanical work in addition to pipe fabrication. Graycor is out of the Chicago area and has a number of offices throughout the country, operating them under its subsidiaries Graycor Construction, Graycor Industrial and Graycor Southern.

According to the lawsuit, Graycor was working as the general contractor on the Oak Grove project, which is owned by the Williams Companies, a firm that processes natural gas. Ahern signed the purchase for the order for the $4.4 million worth of pipes in February, and delivered the project in stages, making the final delivery of parts in early August.

Ahern, however, claims Graycor failed to pay for five of the 15 deliveries it sent to the company, each issued between mid-July and early August. The lawsuit cites five unpaid invoices Ahern had sent Graycor between mid-July and early August, ranging in value from $56,063 to $280,315.

Ahern claims it is owed a total of $672,748 for unpaid work. The terms of the deal required Graycor to pay invoices within 30 days. The case was originally filed in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court in early September and moved to federal court last week. Ahern’s lawsuit seeks to recover costs it contends it is owed, in addition to attorney’s fees.