Pingree Grove sues former village engineer
The village of Pingree Grove has filed a lawsuit against a former village engineer alleging overbilling, fraud, breach of contract and more, and seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.
The 13-count lawsuit filed Thursday in Kane County Circuit Court names Jeremy Lin, owner and principal of Lintech Enginering, as well of the company, which had been based in Kane County. The company now might be operating out of Crystal Lake, Village Attorney Dean Frieders said. Lin could not be reached. for comment.
The lawsuit alleges a pattern of shoddy and undelivered work from when Lin was first hired as village engineer in 2004 until his termination in April.
Over the years, the village paid Lintech more than $1.2 million for engineering services regarding the Cambridge Lakes subdivision, the lawsuit states. The village alleges Lintech overbilled by more than $291,000, and the village wants that money back, Frieders said. “That’s just an initial estimate,” he said.
The lawsuit states that Lin claims the village owes him $308,750 for work related to the wastewater treatment plant, but the village claims it not only doesn’t owe the money, but wants back the $115,000 it already paid Lin.
Lintech was maintaining documents on behalf of the village, but Lin told village officials it accidentally shredded them while moving offices, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit also states that Lin failed to apply for the proper IEPA permits for a sewer connection related to the annexation of a business just outside town. The village is now facing IEPA sanctions, the lawsuit states.
Village officials tried to work with Lin to resolve the issue, but eventually determined that a lawsuit was inevitable, Frieders said.
Village officials said in a news release that the lawsuit is the culmination of months of investigation by the village into Lin’s practices.
“The investigation into Lintech was undertaken at the direction of Village (President) Greg Marston and the village board,” the news release stated. “While all were hopeful that the investigation would result in a positive outcome, unfortunately, that was not to be.”