July 11, 2017

Contractors claim Trump Hotel owes them $5 million

NPR - Documents obtained by NPR show three Washington-area companies have filed liens against Trump International Hotel totaling more than $5 million.

One company, Joseph J. Magnolia Inc., filed a $2.98 million mechanic's lien in December. According to the filing, the firm worked on the hotel from September 2014 to December 2016 and "completed all plumbing, mechanical and HVAC work, along with site sewer, water, storm and water services."

AES Electrical Inc., based in Laurel, Md., says it's owed $2.075 million for its work on the hotel for the same period of time as Magnolia.

Sterling, Va.,-based A&D Construction filed a lien in November saying it was owed $79,700. The firm's lawyer, Richard Sissman, says A&D is a small, Hispanic-owned company that was subcontracting on the Trump hotel project.

"The nature of the work was ... trim and casework and architectural millwork, wall base, crown molding; this is all fine carpentry," he says.

Trump has faced many liens — and lawsuits — for alleged nonpayment for work in the past.

Steven Schooner, a contracts specialist with the George Washington University law school, says resolving the liens in this case could ultimately involve the federal government because it holds the lease on the building where the Trump hotel is located.

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