Company allegedly used security guards as construction workers

A construction firm is suing a company for allegedly providing workers that are not construction workers at all but are security guards and other non-employees, delaying nine projects on Saipan.

H&H Small Project Construction is suing Five Star G General Construction for breach of contract, fraud for intentional misrepresentation, and violation of the Consumer Protection Act.

H&H wants the Superior Court to hold Five Star G liable to pay damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs.

As of press time, Saipan Tribune was still trying to get comments from Five Star G.

According to H&H, through its counsel Victorino DLG Torres, the company entered into a contract with Five Star G for construction services.

Under the contract, Torres said, H&H would provide unskilled workers and Five Star G would provide skilled workers.

Torres said there were five contract services in which Five Star G will provide manpower for the building construction and other related work.

Torres said that from 2016 to 2017, H&H had five projects—renovation/concrete roofing of a house in Kagman, renovation/concrete roofing of a house in Dandan, repair of 12 pavilions, construction of one-story commercial building in Garapan, and construction of a two-story house on Navy Hill.

Torres said Five Star G also provided construction manpower services to four other H&H projects—Saipan Southern High School, 10 apartment units in Garapan, two-story concrete house on Navy Hill, and a semi-concrete house in Dandan.

Torres said these nine projects were delayed because of Five Star G’s breach.

Torres said Five Star G represented to H&H that it has the experience, skills, and knowledge necessary to perform construction services that are consistent with industry standard when in fact it did not have construction workers.

Torres said some of these workers were security guards and non-employees of Five Star G placed on the jobsite to make a quick earning and never vetted by Five Star G as qualified construction workers.

The lawyer said Five Star G failed to properly ensure that the construction services were consistent with industry standard, provided unskilled construction workers, failed to properly protect and store cement bags delivered to the jobsite, and have workers sleep on the jobsite.