Subcontractors sue LA contractors board member and son alleging unpaid construction work

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A member of the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors and his son are facing two lawsuits from subcontractors who say they are owed money for construction work. One subcontractor claims he is owed nearly $350,000.

Harvey Honore Jr., a gubernatorial appointee, sits on the state board. He and his son, Aaron Honore, are in the construction business.

An attorney for the Honores said there is a reason one of the litigants has not been paid. The first of the lawsuits is scheduled to be heard in court later this month.

Subcontractor claims he is owed $349,344.40

Shane Grimmett owns Construction Specialties LLC in Baton Rouge.

“We’re a drywall, metal stud, acoustical ceiling subcontractor. We’ve been in business over 20 years,” Grimmett said.

Grimmett said making ends meet recently has been next to impossible. In his lawsuit, he claims Harvey Honore Jr. and Aaron Honore hired him to do construction work on a local private high school, a car dealership in Baton Rouge and a project in Lafayette.

Grimmett said he received a check for $40,000 for his work at the dealership, but the check bounced. He said he texted Aaron Honore in January: “Hey that 40 grand check bounced.”

Grimmett said the reply was: “F*** lemme see what happened. I’ll get with cashiers check Friday.” Grimmett said he responded: “10 four just let me know what to do, please.”

Grimmett said he received the cashier’s check and deposited it with no issues.

He said he is still waiting for payment for other work. He claims the businesses fully paid the Honores, but the Honores did not pay him his share. He puts the amount at $349,344.40.

Grimmett said it is the Honores that owe him for the work, not the businesses where the work was done.

“I was promised that I would receive my whole, my total amount owed to me by the end of May. And the end of May came and I never got my money. And in fact, I wasn’t responded to for three or four days. When I reached out to them asking, ‘Am I going to get my money?’ At which point I hired my attorney,” Grimmett said.

Grimmett said the lack of payment has left him owing vendors for materials he bought to do the work.

“I want somebody at the contractors board to do the right thing,” he said.

Honores’ attorney cites missing documents

In a statement to the I-TEAM, Harvey Honore’s attorney said Honore is “a well-respected contractor and community leader.” The attorney said a subcontractor “must perform certain tasks that were not done” before payment is due.

The Honores’ response to the Grimmett lawsuit, filed in court, gives a more specific reason for not paying Grimmett. They claim he has not provided documents required by their contract before payment, including a clear lien certificate.

Grimmett said the Honores have never required those items from him in the past. He said he will provide a lien certificate for the amount of any check they give him.

Second lawsuit seeks $85,000

Plumbing MD, a company in Baton Rouge, sued the Honores a month after Grimmett did. The company alleges it has not been paid $85,000 for work it was hired to do, despite repeated demands.

Different lawyers represent Grimmett and Plumbing MD. Both lawsuits include the same language:

“Given his position on the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, Defendant Harvey Honore Jr.’s conduct is particularly egregious, as he is specifically charged with knowledge of and adherence to Louisiana’s contractor licensing, ethical and regulatory standards and his intentional failure to pay Plaintiff despite receiving project funds evidences willful misconduct and bad faith.”

Aaron Honore was asked about the lawsuits when we caught up with him at the Honores’ office off Highland Road. He said Harvey Honore was in California at the time. Asked whether he was aware of the claims by Plumbing MD and Grimmett that the Honores did not pay subcontractors $85,000 and $349,000, Aaron Honore said, “Yeah, so that’s actually not correct. And I do know there’s civil litigation going on. I can give you our attorney’s number.”

Attorney says Honore should recuse himself

Andy DeJean is the attorney representing Grimmett. DeJean pointed out that Harvey Honore sits on the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, which can impose consequences on contractors.

Honore is a board member for the commercial side of the board. The agency’s website says its goal is to protect the general public from incompetent and fraudulent acts of a contractor. The board can issue fines, suspend contractors or revoke their licenses.

“It’s the height of hypocrisy, no question about it,” DeJean said.

DeJean said he thinks Harvey Honore should recuse himself from imposing discipline on contractors accused of the same thing until the matter is resolved.

“He has no business sitting on that contractor’s board. No business,” DeJean said.

Honore was not present at a contractors board meeting in October when roll was called. An employee there told the I-TEAM the board was aware of the situation but declined to discuss it because of the pending litigation.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed it has opened an investigation. The investigation is ongoing, and the sheriff’s office has filed no charges.

Honore serves on two state boards and was appointed by Gov. Jeff Landry. Records show he also serves on the Prison Enterprises Board.

The Honores’ lawyer, Steve Loeb, said they do not want to litigate the case in the media. He issued a statement to WAFB about the Grimmett lawsuit but has not addressed the claims in the Plumbing MD lawsuit.

As the attorney for Harvey Honore and Co., LLC, this statement is limited due to pending civil litigation. In that lawsuit, the Plaintiff originally named himself personally instead of his company (that) holds the license. The written subcontract agreements are between the two companies, not individuals personally. The money allegedly owed is for work pursuant to those subcontracts which requires that before payment is due, the Subcontractor must perform certain tasks that were not done and thus payment is not due. The Court will decide this issue next month. Honore seeks to have the Petition dismissed as payment is not due.

The lawsuit names Mr. Harvey Honore, Jr. personally. He is a member of the Louisiana Licensing Board for Contractors and a well-respected contractor and community leader. Given that at the heart of this matter is a commercial dispute between a contractor and its subcontractor for money on work per written subcontracts, any allegation made against Mr. Harvey Honore, Jr. personally should be dismissed. Mr. Harvey Honore, Jr. has no personal liability, and we consider the allegations against Mr. Honore as defamatory.

All allegations stem from an alleged failure to pay and the Petition has no merit if the money is not owed. While HHC denies that any amount is due, we are pursuing and will continue to pursue a commercial resolution instead of litigation.

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