Morgan County and Lexington company battling over $1 million bill for equipment used after tornado leveled town
In its response,
The county says Lundergan entered into a questionable deal with
"We don't think that one Port-A-Potty is worth
"Unfortunately, when this was originally done, there was no contract. There was only an oral agreement between
Conley was convicted last year of taking more than
Last week, Lundergan said his company provided the help that Conley requested when
"We built them a temporary courthouse on the edge of town that housed the sheriff, the PVA and the county clerk for over six months, and we cleared that site and hooked it up with water, sewer, electricity -- everything," Lundergan said.
"To be fair," Lundergan added, "I don't think the people currently in office, like their current judge-executive, even really knows what went on."
Conley awarded EDS two projects in
EDS itself was sued for nonpayment of
The second project -- rental equipment -- is the source of the current controversy.
The tornado badly damaged or destroyed local government offices in
EDS trucked in and set up an assortment of trailers, portable bathrooms, storage units, light towers, four-wheel ATVs, electrical generators, tables and chairs.
Then it started submitting bills in the tens of thousands of dollars, and then the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"A number of questions remain regarding these charges," Underwriters claims manager Lee Money wrote to EDS on
In separate letters to Conley, Money called some of EDS' charges "exorbitant" and said he found far cheaper prices at other
Billing disputes
Last week, Lundergan defended his company's prices. EDS delivers any equipment a client needs at any hour of the day or night, operating in chaotic disaster zones, he said.
"It's not like you're renting something on normal business terms," Lundergan said.
This isn't the first time EDS has been criticized for its billing.
In 2007, the U.S.
This was a misunderstanding that's currently on appeal, Lundergan said. Ultimately,
"They called here and said, 'We need a public service set-up in
"Later, they came back to us and said, 'You couldn't possibly have fed that many people,'" he said.
Last summer, Special Agent
"I can't comment on an ongoing investigation," Nutt said by phone last week.
Lundergan said he had never heard of Nutt or her investigation. EDS did work in the Northeastern U.S. in response to Hurricane Sandy, but not in
"That's
'Exceeded his authority'
In other instances,
"Attached are the revised copies of the invoices for services rendered by EDS to
On
The county deposited the check
"I don't think anything ever was put in writing, and then
In its response to the suit, filed in February,
A deal's a deal, Lundergan said.
"We want to work with
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