Contractor didn’t use American steel in streetlight work. Now it has to pay California city
The city of Fresno won a lawsuit worth $322,000 from a local contractor that did not complete construction work up to the required standards, which included buying American-made steel, the city of Fresno said in a news release on Monday.
Kertel Communications Inc., also called Sebastian, was awarded a streetlight contract in 2018 that included improvements to the lights around Blackstone Avenue and Abby Street between Shields Avenue and Divisadero Street, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
The work was done behind schedule and the contractor did not use steel made in the U.S. though the contract required it, the news release said.
A request for comment from the contractor was not immediately returned to The Fresno Bee on Tuesday.
City Attorney Andrew Janz praised the city’s Public Works Department and Director Scott Mozier for their work on the case.
“The City Attorney’s Office will continue to enforce ‘Buy American’ provisions in our city contracts,” Janz said in the news release.
The city of Fresno sued the contractor beginning in October 2023, the release said.
An initial agreement by the contractor to re-pay $142,000 fell through when the city and Sebastian disagreed on whether the remaining $180,000 in the contract was owed to the firm, the release said.
A tentative decision handed down July 31, sided with the city of Fresno in both arguments, the news release said.
