Mar. 21—A pending lawsuit against the city of Crossville for breach of contract has been dismissed for failure to prosecute.

Chancellor Ronald Thurman ruled Cantrell Construction Co. Inc. had failed to retain new counsel as ordered by the court.

Though the president of the company had requested additional time, Thurman said Tennessee case law requires corporations to act through an attorney.

"Based upon the fact that Cantrell Construction Company, Inc., is a corporation and cannot maintain this lawsuit pro se, the court finds that the case should be dismissed with prejudice for failure to prosecute and failure to comply with the previous order of the court," Thurman wrote.

Cantrell Construction Co. of Oakfield, TN, had been hired by the city of Crossville for a 2018 paving and sealing project at Crossville Memorial Airport. The company submitted the low bid of $608,130 for the project. The project was funded by a Tennessee Department of Transportation Aeronautics grant, which covered 95% of the cost, with the city responsible for the remaining $33,528.

In December 2018, the city council canceled the contract with the company, stating it was in default with contract specifications. The city contacted National American Insurance Co., the company's insurance representative, which inspected the work completed to that point.

City Attorney Will Ridley told the council at that time he recommended terminating the contract based on the recommendation of the engineering firm for the project, Atkins Engineering, and the insurance company's determination.

The city claimed Cantrell Construction had failed to "timely and correctly complete the contract scope."

The paving and sealing project had to be rebid, at a cost of $20,637. The new low bid, submitted by Axtell's Inc., was $661,452.50.

National American Insurance Co. paid the difference in the bids, the cost of rebidding the project and $3,024.57 for work city crews completed, with a payment of $76,984.07.

TDOT later amended the grant amount to cover 95% of the costs, providing an additional $9,874 in funds.

Cantrell Construction Co. filed suit in April 2019. The suit claimed the city and its engineers "began attempting to get Cantrell to deviate from the project's plans and specifications." That included additional pavement and paint markings removed, ordering additional work and, "in general, refusing to reasonably comply with the project's plans and specifications and the terms and conditions of the parties' contract."

The company claimed it had incurred losses from hiring subcontractors and employees for the project, purchasing materials and moving equipment to the site. It also claimed much of the work had been completed by Oct. 15, 2018, but had not been paid.

"While Cantrell was in full compliance with the terms and provisions of the contract, the city wrongfully terminated Cantrell's contract without cause."

The company had sought unspecified damages, including the cost of materials and subcontracted labor, the value of work performed prior to the contract being canceled, and future economic losses and damages resulting from the claims to the insurance company.

According to the order of dismissal, the company was to retain new counsel within 30 days of its prior attorney withdrawing from the case Oct. 25, 2021, nor did it retain new counsel after the city filed a motion to dismiss Jan. 19.

Thurman's ruling was issued Feb. 17.

Heather Mullinix is editor of the Crossville Chronicle. She covers schools and education in Cumberland County. She may be reached at [email protected].

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