Several filings have been made over the past few months in Mathews County Circuit Court regarding a dispute between David and George Jones of JB Property Development in Mathews and the Mathews County Board of Supervisors.

The filings relate to a claim David Jones made during the July board meeting that the county owed JB Property Development $22,112.46 for a home elevation project that was funded by a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Program Grant. The property is located at 674 Morse Point Road in Peary.

The board addressed the claim in September, following the advice of County Attorney Andrea Erard (on a 3-1 vote with one abstention) to refuse payment. Erard had explained that Jones had provided an invoice and a supporting document to support the claim, but she said that research revealed that the work was incomplete and that the county had to hire another contractor to finish the job. Erard said the county had paid JB Property Development 90 percent of the contract price, but had not paid the remaining 10 percent.

Also in September, Erard filed an Action for Damages against JB Property Development in Mathews County Circuit Court regarding the same contract, stating that because the project had not been completed, the county had to hire another company to complete it at a cost of $20,243.79 to date, with continued costs. Attached invoices from the company hired to finish the work totaled $41,700, while there was an invoice from a survey company for $656.25 for an updated elevation certificate.

The county has asked the court to award it “an amount in excess of $20,243.79 as determined by the court,” along with interest on all damages assessed until the amount is paid in full. The county also asks for payment of attorney’s fees and costs and “such other relief as may seem appropriate to the court.”

Counterclaim

JB Property Development filed a counterclaim against the county in October for breach of contract. In it, JB stated that there had been work delays beyond the company’s control, such as a stop order placed by the homeowners when they became dissatisfied with the floor coverings that were made available to them based on price ranges provided by the county. The company asserts that all of the work was completed except work that neither the county nor the homeowners had authorized them to complete.

JB charged that the county approved an invoice for the completed work and received a check for it from FEMA but did not deliver the check to JB. In addition, JB charges that fraudulent paperwork was submitted to FEMA and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management showing that the job had been completed and that the homeowners had signed off.

This allegation of fraud is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Virginia State Police. The results of this investigation have yet to be released to the public. JB is asking for compensatory damages in the amount of $22,112.46.
County’s response

In its filed response, the county asks that the counterclaim be dismissed with prejudice because, it claims, JB did not comply with the mandatory process used in bringing a claim against a county and therefore “fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” It states further that Jones had not filed an appeal to the court of the county’s disallowance of his claim for $22,112.46, and is “therefore barred from maintaining an action against Mathews County.”