One Ohio University subcontractor involved in the Schoonover Center renovation has filed a complaint against another contractor of the project for allegedly failing to pay employees for six months of work, court documents obtained by The Post show.
Spectrum Commercial Coatings Inc., of Columbus, filed a complaint in Athens County Common Pleas Court against Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based Quandel Construction Group, which is accused of withholding pay from Spectrum's employees for their work on Schoonover.
Quandel, which has branch offices in several states including Ohio, allegedly owes Spectrum a total of $123,670, according to court documents. About $100,000 of that is for base contract work that remains unpaid.
Judge L. Alan Goldsberry granted the complaint Dec. 9, according to court documents.
Chad Walters, vice president of Spectrum Commercial Coating, said that Spectrum workers were to receive their pay monthly, but Quandel hasn't paid them for their work in the Schoonover project since June.
OU spokeswoman Katie Quaranta said in an email, “This is a matter between Spectrum Commercial Coatings and Quandel Construction Group."
But Eric Bull, vice president of Quandel's branch in Westerville, Ohio, said the payment dispute stems from the university rejecting Spectrum’s work. As OU has yet to pay Quandel, Quandel cannot pay Spectrum.
Bull said it is a “quality issue regarding the work (Spectrum) did on the project.”
Walter said that the two companies have been working on the Schoonover project — a $40 million overhaul of the Old Baker Center — for about a year.
Some other problems include the delays in the opening of the center, foundation problems with RTV during construction and ordering cornices with the incorrect finish.
This isn't the first time Quandel has run into problems with projects at a public university in Ohio.
The firm currently has a lawsuit filed against Miami University in the Ohio Court of Claims regarding a residence and dining hall project.
According to court documents, Miami University allegedly owes Quandel more than $2 million and has failed to approve and process orders in the project.
While Quandel is fighting that battle, it has not filed a response to the complaint in Athens County Common Pleas Court, and Spectrum awaits the next steps of the legal process.
“We’re a small contractor just trying to make a living,” Walters said. “(But) we're not getting paid.”
kf398711@ohiou.edu
@KellyPFisher
— Danielle Keeton-Olsen contributed to this report.
