A residential management company filed suit Friday in 3rd District Court against Boyer Hill Military Housing, a Salt Lake-based company hired by the government to privatize housing at Hill Air Force Base. The lawsuit claims wrongful termination of a contract.
Boyer first hired Nationwide Management Corp. to help maintain more than 1,100 residential housing units at HAFB, consisting of single-family homes, duplexes and four-plexes.
When the corporation began to work under the management agreement it had established with Boyer, the housing units were in "deplorable condition," the lawsuit says. Nationwide claims that many of the units were "poorly constructed and maintained, some even in need of demolition." The homes had no blinds, forcing military families to cover the windows with sheets. Many major appliances in the homes, including swamp coolers and dishwashers, were in need of replacement.
From Oct. 2005 to Nov. 2006, Nationwide states they transformed the homes into "safe and habitable" conditions for military personnel and their families.
During that period, both companies met on a weekly basis to discuss their agreement and the budget, which Nationwide officials believe Boyer either failed to examine or misinterpreted. The company "acted secretively with respect to all of its reporting" to the U.S. government, the lawsuit says.
Boyer's final report was submitted without Nationwide's review to assure accuracy of the reports, according to the lawsuit, which also says that several discrepancies were reported in the projected revenues.
Last September, Boyer sent a letter to Nationwide declaring that it was in default under the management agreement and cut Nationwide from the project, which Nationwide believes was a breach of their contract.
Nationwide is seeking $1.6 million in damages and asking for a trial.
E-mail: abreton@desnews.com