A US-based welding company tried to pay a subcontractor a five-figure settlement in loose coins - a gesture that was later rebuked by a judge. According to CBS News, JMF Enterprises was ordered to pay subcontractor Fired Up Fabrication $23,500 in 2022 over an alleged breach of contract. The wielding company initially paid this amount in change weighing 3 tons. However, in a recent ruling, the court said that the welding firm acted "maliciously and in bad faith" when it paid the settlement in an unconventional way.
According to CBS News, Judge Joseph Findley on Monday ordered JMF Enterprise and its owner John Frank to pay the subcontractor by a more conventional method like a cheque. The court ordered the Northern Colorado company to pay Fired Up Fabrication's attorneys fees and costs as well. In the ruling, Judge Findley also noted that JMF's coin stunt only delayed the case being closed, and was intended to annoy and harass Fired Up Frabrication.
The case stems from a 2022 lawsuit filed against JMF over an alleged breach of contract. According to PEOPLE, Fired Up Fabrication was hired as a subcontractor to do welding work on an apartment building. The subcontractor alleged that JMF made only partial payments for the job, despite their repeated requests to receive the agreed-upon amount in full.
Over the summer, the two firms then agreed to settle, with JMF paying its subcontractor $23,500. However, in August, the welding company sent a flatbed truck loaded with a specially constructed box jammed with coins that weighed nearly 6,500 pounds. The box was filled with loose quarters, nickels, and pennies, the outlet reported.
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Fired Up Fabrication's attorney, Danielle Beem called this stunt a "pretty and grand waste of time" and said that the coin delivery was a "symbolic middle finger". Ms Beem also called the attempted coin delivery a "major F-U".
JMF's lawyers, on the other hand, claimed that the coins "constituted a tender of the settlement funds, and therefore, JMF has complied with the terms of the agreement. The settlement agreement did not outline any specific form for the payment". Lawyers for the company also added that they had no intention of harassing the subcontractor.
However, Judge Findley appeared to agree with Fired Up Frabrication's lawyers. He noted, "The defendants apparently obtained the coins in various denominations in neatly organized boxes but then took the extra step of removing the coins from the boxes and dumping them loosely and randomly into the large metal container. The court finds that the defendants acted maliciously and in bad faith."
The judge has now given JMF 14 days to pay Fired Up Fabrication using a certified bank cheque or some other standard manner of payment.
