AMM - by Kirk Maltais
New York 03/10/2016 - Revolution Aluminum has been hit with another lawsuit alleging a contractual violation - this time coming from a consultancy firm hired by the company to develop its $2.4 billion aluminium plant.
According to a complaint filed in US District Court for western district of Louisiana last week, Integrated Project Resources LLC (IPR) alleges that Revolution, along with company founder and CEO Roger Boggs, failed to remit payment for services rendered “related to the coordination and development of an aluminum plant project in Pineville, Louisiana.”
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 27, seeks to recover $346,011.94 - it alleges that in 2015 through 2016, Boggs engaged in “fraud and deceit encompassed in the disregard of corporate formalities of Revolution, while also asserting that Boggs should be held individually liable for the corporate debt.
Revolution’s website revaluminumfacility.com lists IPR as a consultancy firm in charge of “engineering, procurement and construction management” services - although much of the information listed on the website has been questioned as to its accuracy.
Notably, Danieli Corp was listed as the “equipment manufacturer” on the website, despite refuting claims of involvement earlier this year.
IPR’s lawsuit is the latest in a recent flurry of legal activity undertaken against Revolution - creditors are attempting to force Revolution into a Chapter 11 case filed a case in the US Bankruptcy Court in western Louisiana late last month
In a similar case, consulting firm Environmental Resources Management Southwest (ERM) filed a case in August - it contends that Revolution failed to pay multiple invoices totalling $132,720 for services rendered.
In the bankruptcy case, Judge John Kolwe signed an order Sept. 30 barring Revolution from “alienating, selling, hypothecating or further mortgaging” the Pineville site without court approval. It also can't take any further advances on a mortgage from a private commercial lender or engaging in any payments and transfers “for the benefit of any insider or affiliates for any purpose,” even those alleged to be “in the ordinary course of business.”
Pineville mayor Clarence Fields told AMM in March that Revolution had purchased the land, which is the former site of a plant operated by International Paper Co in an agreement with other manufacturing tenants to construct an industrial park on the site.
A motion to enforce a settlement agreement was filed Sept. 27 in a case filed by former employee Joseph Frimpong against Revolution and Boggs - that case was filed in the US District Court for the middle district of Alabama last year. No such agreement has been reached in the case filed by ex-employee Lawrence Hickman.
Revolution, previously known as American Specialty Alloys, previously stated that it intended to build a $2.4 billion aluminum mini-mill on the property, with plans to produce 1.3 billion pounds of aluminum per year to service the automotive industry.
Records with the Louisiana Secretary of State show that Boggs has registered multiple separate entities that list him as an officer. The companies include Tetron LLC, Tetron Propco LLC, NH3Chem LLC, and Revolution Scrap LLC. Tetron, NH3Chem and Revolution Scrap are registered in Alexandria, while Tetron Propco lists him as an officer in Metairie, Louisana.
Boggs did not respond to AMM’s request for comment.
(Editing by Tom Jennemann)