Stiffed for more than $1M?

A Kamloops contractor has filed a lawsuit alleging more than $1 million worth of unpaid bills for work on a North Shore development.

Orak Contracting Ltd. is claiming Active Care Alternative Housing Society hasn’t paid over $1 million for the construction of a 40-unit mixed-use building at 501 Tranquille Rd.

In a notice of civil claim, Orak Contracting says it entered into a contract to help build the development in July of 2022.

Orak Contracting claims Active Care has yet to pay $960,000 of its bill, which totalled more than $8 million. It filed a builders lien against the property in that amount last summer.

Orak Contracting also claims it agreed to complete landscaping work on the project for an additional $140,000, which it claims also hasn’t been paid.

The contractor claims it entered into a further verbal agreement to purchase an excavator for Active Care for over $32,000, and alleges Active Care agreed to reimburse the cost. The claim alleges the society is in possession of the excavator but still has not reimbursed Orak Contracting for the purchase price.

The lawsuit seeks a court order that it be entitled to a lien and a judgment worth $960,000 with interest for the contract, $147,000 for the landscaping work and $32,880.96 with interest for the excavator — for a total of $1,139,880.96.

The civil claim was filed in B.C. Supreme Court last month. No response has been filed.

None of the allegations in the claim have been proven in court.