Pingree Grove settles lawsuit with former engineer
Pingree Grove trustees have agreed to settle a lawsuit the village filed last summer against a former village engineer.
The board voted 5-1 on Monday night to settle for $26,750 the village’s lawsuit against Jeremy Lin, principal of Lintech Engineering, officials said.
The village had alleged fraud, overbilling, breach of contract and more. Lin was hired as village engineer in 2004, and was fired in April 2012, although he stopped doing work for the village months before that.
In the lawsuit, the village alleged Lintech overbilled by more than $291,000 for work related to the Cambridge Lakes subdivision.
The lawsuit also stated Lin believed the village owed him $308,750 for work related to the wastewater treatment plant, but the village claimed it didn’t owe that money. The village also wanted back $115,000 it already paid Lin.
Village Attorney Dean Frieders, who advised the board on the matter, didn’t return a call for comment.
Lin couldn’t be reached for comment. Telephone numbers listed for Lintech in Algonquin and Crystal Lake were not in service.
Trustee Bob Spieker said he wasn’t happy with the settlement amount, but it was the best that could be done under the circumstances.
“We had hoped we would be able to recoup the money that we spent, but obviously that was not the case,” he said.
Also, the settlement takes care of Lin’s claim that the village owed him money, as per agreements made with the previous village board, Spieker said.
Pingree Grove spent money correcting problems created by Lin, Spieker said.
The village paid a $10,000 fine to the IEPA after Lin failed to apply for the proper permits for a sewer connection related to the annexation of a business just outside town. The village also paid to remedy problems at the wastewater treatment plant related to Lin’s work, he said.
“I’m glad it’s over. I’m glad we moved on,” Spieker said.“I hope we’ve put enough safeguards in place to prevent future incidents like this.”
Trustee Bernie Thomas, who cast the dissenting vote, refused to comment.
Village President Greg Marston also declined to comment, other than to say, “This closes the door on a mess left from the previous administration.”
Former Village President Wyman “Clint” Carey said Lin was hired before his time. “I don’t have any insight into this,” he said.