Another volley has been fired in the Siemens case, this time with one of the subcontractors filing a motion to dismiss.
Recently, Garrett Enterprises Consolidated filed a motion to dismiss charges against the firm, in part, because the contract was between Siemens and Jackson, not Jackson and Siemens’ subcontractors.
Attorneys for Garrett go on to state that Jackson has imagined a conspiracy by the parties commit fraud against the city, but “has not alleged any facts that would constitute such a conspiracy.”
Jackson filed suit against Siemens Industry, Siemens Company, an employee and its subcontractors this summer. The city is seeking $225 million in damages.
The case was filed in Hinds County Circuit Court, years after Siemens completed work on a $90 million overhaul of the city’s water billing system.
Garrett Enterprises was among subcontractors brought on by Siemens. Jackson alleges the company was paid “$4.6 million to perform construction management and quality control services. However, it was unclear what services, if any, Garrett actually performed.”
The city states that Garrett was one of several firms that participate with Siemens in a “fraudulent EBO pass-through scheme” and that Siemens “hired sham contractors and middlemen to inflate its EBO numbers and deceive the city’s residents,” according to court documents.
Garrett, though, countered by saying that Jackson’s claims are not backed up by evidence, and that the city does not provide any “specific allegation as to Garrett’s alleged role in the city’s imagined scheme.”
The motion was filed on November 1, two weeks after Siemens Industry and Siemens Corporation filed for a partial dismissal in the case.
In its motion, Siemens is asking that seven of the eight counts brought by Jackson to be dropped.
Parties include Siemens Industry and its affiliates and parent company, U.S. Consolidated Inc., M.A.C. & Associates LLC, Invision It Consultants LLC, Garrett Enterprises Consolidated, individual Chris McNeil, and John Does 1-10.
According to the suit, Siemens guaranteed $120 million in savings as a result of the work, which included installing new meters, building and implementing a new billing system, and making some repairs at the city’s water treatment plants and sewer lines.
The city, though, states that the work has yet to live up to the promises. Jackson also states that the contract was overpriced by millions, in part, because of the use of “sham” minority contractors as pass-through for millions of dollars, and was costing the city around $2 million a month in lost revenue.
Copies of the court filings can be found at northsidesun.com.
