Texas firm claims it’s owed $2M for work on Maine solar farms

By Marie Weidmayer, Bangor Daily News Staff

A Texas-based company is suing multiple Penobscot County businesses for a total of nearly $2 million, claiming they did not pay for construction work it did at various solar installations.

Ox Services LLC has filed three lawsuits alleging multiple companies were unjustly enriched and violated their contracts by failing to pay for those services. The company provided labor for the installation of solar panels at three locations, attorney Greg Frame said.

Ox Services wants a judge to order the companies to pay $1.98 million, plus interest and attorney fees, according to the lawsuits filed in Penobscot County Superior Court.

AUI Partners, Smoke River LLC, and MN8 Energy Operating Co. are named in all three lawsuits, along with other defendants unique to each case. 

One of the lawsuits claims that roughly $871,200 is owed by the three companies and a fourth entity, Crane Bros, which owns a potato farm in Exeter.

In another lawsuit, Vambutas Land Company LLC is named alongside the three companies. They are accused of not paying roughly $694,100. 

Vambutas is just leasing the land, a representative for the company said when reached by phone. He said the company had no further comment. The company is registered to transport agricultural and bulk dry materials, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The final lawsuit claims Paula Whitney and those three companies owe $414,325, related to a solar farm in Glenburn. 

No other companies named in the lawsuits returned requests for comment.