After one day of a two-day trial, a defunct Indiana company settled a lawsuit with Northern New Mexico College over an alleged $603,195 debt.
Northern President Rick Bailey said in a Tuesday telephone interview that the College and Monument, LLC settled for $126,500.
Court documents state, the trial was scheduled for May 9 to 10.
Bailey said the attorneys met at the end of the first day of trial, which led to settlement on the second day.
“In my opinion, the College was represented very well in that first day of the trial and, perhaps that opened the door to settlement negotiations,” he said.
Bailey sat through the first day of trial.
“I felt confident after the first day of trial, that the College was in a good position,” he said.
The parties filed an official joint motion to dismiss on May 25, which District Court Judge Gregory Shaffer granted the same day.
Monument owner Timothy Pitcher testified, May 9, followed by Athletic Director Ryan Cordova, former vice president for institutional advancement Ricky Serna and former regent Alfred Herrera.
“The parties, by and through their undersigned counsel, move the Court for a dismissal, with prejudice, of the case and all issues in controversy between the parties,” the motion states. “WHEREFORE, the parties pray that the case be dismissed with prejudice.”
Costly venture
The settlement, excluding attorneys fees, brings the total cost of Northern’s failed attempt to build a dormitory to $453,398.
Bailey said he did not know how much Northern spent on the lawsuits but he did know that the attorneys fees were paid by Northern and not its insurance company, the state’s Risk Management Division.
“I will tell you, that question has already been asked and we’re pulling that up,” he said.
The project was initially projected to cost $12.2 million but the New Mexico Board of Finance denied Northern’s request for funding during its July 2014 meeting.
Northern already paid Monument $326,898 under an Agreement for Preliminary Development Assessment.
After the Agreement for Preliminary Development Assessment, Northern entered into a Development Agreement with Monument.
Northern’s attorneys alleged that the College only had to pay for services under the Development Agreement if it was able to secure funding.
Monument alleged that Pitcher and his employees worked under the Development Agreement and were owed $603,195, although the invoices submitted for the Development Agreement had no itemization.
Instead, Pitcher’s invoices listed $80,000 to $97,000 for “Pre-development & project management Fee and overhead for the proposed Student Housing Facility,” as well charges for schematic designs, a master plan, and “geotechnical engineering services.” In his deposition, he said he was charging a flat fee.
Northern initially sued Monument, Jan. 30, 2015, seeking a judge to find that they did not owe the additional money that Monument was trying to bill for.
Monument then hired its own attorney and counter-sued on Oct. 22, 2015. The two lawsuits were then consolidated.