Court Grants Continuance To Randolph School Board
By ANTHONY GAYNOR, Staff WriterAttorneys for the Randolph County Board of Education were granted a continuance Tuesday in the case of a contracting company seeking an injunction against asbestos abatement at Elkins Middle School.
Mountainview Excavating Inc. (MVEI) filed the complaint seeking preliminary and permanent injunctive relief on the claim that although it was the lowest bidder for the project, it did not receive the contract and the company that was selected does not hold a West Virginia General Contractor's License. In addition to the Randolph County Board of Education, the West Virginia School Building Authority and Thermal Solutions Inc. are also named as defendants. In the complaint, MVEI is also seeking a hearing on the issues raised in relation to the award of the bid to Thermal Solutions and disqualification of MVEI as the lowest responsive bidder and to prevent any further harm or damage to MVEI as well as compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and costs and other equitable relief.
Tammy Defazio, an attorney representing the board, asked for the continuance on the basis that she had not had time to prepare for the case.
"I got this case yesterday before noon," Defazio said. "I did not have the ability to consult with Mr. Bailey (Greg Bailey, an additional attorney representing the board) or my clients."
MVEI attorney Kerrie Wagoner opposed the motion for a continuance stating that she had been in contact with the board and Bailey on June 16 and informed them a complaint would be filed. She also said she had spoken with Bailey the following week.
"The purpose of the hearing is to stop any work," Wagoner said. "We are seeking a temporary injunction until the board states its position on a hearing."
Randolph County Circuit Court Judge John Henning granted a continuance until 1:15 p.m. Monday.
Defazio also made a motion to replace Bailey as the board's attorney. Henning granted the motion and told Defazio to write the order.
During proceedings, the computer used to keep court records experienced technical difficulty and Henning asked all attorneys if they would proceed with a lack of record-keeping abilities. Defazio said she was concerned with the malfunction of the equipment.
Michael Graves, an attorney with Beckley's Pullin, Fowler, Flanagan, Brown and Poe PLLC, was in court Tuesday representing the SBA. After the hearing, he said Chip Williams from the same firm will be assigned to the case.
"We are going to file against the injunction," Randolph County Superintendent of Schools Sue Hinzman said following the hearing's conclusion. "Thermal Solutions is already working. MVEI did not file the proper paperwork to receive the bid."
According to the complaint, Mountainview submitted a bid on June 5 for the asbestos removal project. As part of the request for bids, a precaution was issued to the bidders to send a copy to Pinnacle Environmental Consultants Inc., the consultant for the board; however, the bid request did not specify the date and time it was required to be submitted to the consultant.
The complaint also states that when the bids were opened, it was determined that MVEI was the lowest responsive bidder based upon the bid amount.
"Another bidder, Thermal Solutions Inc., was not a responsive bidder based upon the lacking of the requisite West Virginia General Contractor's License which was required as part of the bid," the complaint states.
MVEI requested consideration of disqualification of Thermal Solutions, the complaint states, based upon its failure to comply with bid requirements of possessing and submitting a West Virginia General Contractor's License.
According to the complaint, on June 11, the board told MVEI it had been disqualified from the bid process because it had not submitted a copy of the bid to Pinnacle prior to bid opening.
