Emerick Construction, a suburban Portland contractor that has been in business for more than 80 years, faces a string of allegations of nonpayment from lenders and subcontractors, according to lawsuits and state regulatory complaints.

The allegations from a long line of unhappy business partners and clients add to other signs of financial distress and project mismanagement.

Emerick Construction has faced at least 18 lawsuits or claims in Oregon courts since August 2024. Emerick’s pursuers include banks, and subcontractors such as Skyles Drilling Inc., Santiam Heating & Sheet Metal, and Black Line Glazing. The projects in dispute involve schools, fire stations and a rural hospital. Amounts range from a few thousand dollars to more than $5 million.

Court filings and state records indicate Emerick is working to pay its debts. Several of the cases have been closed or settled with payments made, but others remain open.

Also, since August, Emerick has been the subject of three complaints to the Oregon Construction Contractors Board, the state body that licenses contractors. Emerick’s license was suspended for 18 days from May 30 to June 16, requiring the contractor to stop working, CCB spokeswoman Leslie Culpepper said. The suspension was lifted on Tuesday when Emerick paid $24,867 to settle a construction debt, according to the CCB.

Emerick has a long legacy in the Portland area. Based in Tualatin, the company traces its history to a concrete subcontractor founded by Paul B. Emerick in 1943. The entity was renamed Emerick Construction Co. in 1974, according to state records.

Corey Lohman has served as Emerick’s president since 2012, after joining the firm as a project engineer a decade earlier. He was named a 91��Ƶ Rising Star in 2013.

Lohman declined to comment. An attorney who represents Emerick, Dan Duyck of Duyck Law in Portland, did not respond to messages seeking comment. An attorney who represented Emerick’s insurance companies in some of the lawsuits, Paul Friedrich of Friedrich & Dishaw in Seattle, did not respond to messages.

‘When can we expect this check?’

Court and state regulatory records show numerous creditors pursuing Emerick. Among the red flags:

• Umpqua Bank filed a lawsuit in Clackamas County Circuit Court against Emerick and its insurer in April, alleging the contractor owes $5.3 million on a loan in the original amount of $5 million.

Umpqua alleges Emerick failed to make monthly payments in January, February and March on a loan agreement dated Sept. 24, 2024. Umpqua is seeking the $5 million principal, plus interest, late fees and attorneys’ fees.

Umpqua’s attorney in the suit, Garrett Ledgerwood of Miller Nash, said the firm does not comment on pending litigation. The loan agreement was signed by Lohman, according to a court filing.

• U.S. Bank filed a lawsuit in Washington County Circuit Court against Emerick Construction and Emerick Logistics on June 2, seeking $168,000 for alleged breach of contract. The bank alleges Emerick failed to make any lease payments on a piece of construction equipment, a 2023 Manitou telehandler. “Emerick Logistics has not paid the sums due,” the lawsuit states.

U.S. Bank’s attorney in the matter, Brian Born of Selby Morgan & Born PLLC in Fircrest, Washington, declined to comment.

• In December, West Linn-Wilsonville School District fired Emerick as general contractor of Frog Pond Primary School. The district at the time stated Emerick “repeatedly failed to pay its subcontractors for work related to the Frog Pond Primary project despite receiving regular payment from the district.”

The school district in April hired Woodburn-based Triplett Wellman Contractors to complete the job.

• Aurora Landscape filed a lawsuit against Emerick, Corey Lohman, Stacy Lohman and others alleging Aurora is owed $149,495 for extensive landscaping work at the Lohmans’ home in Canby.

The Lohmans instructed Aurora “to send all of its bills to Emerick,” according to the complaint. Aurora later filed a construction lien on the property and attempted to foreclose.

• In August 2024, Black Line Glazing filed a lawsuit in Clackamas County Circuit Court against Emerick, seeking $65,356. The subcontractor’s attorneys alleged that Emerick had paid the company, also known as BLG Inc., only in part. The lawsuit was dismissed without judgment in October, court records show.

• Subcontractor Rich Holland Painting filed a suit against Emerick and other parties in September, alleging it was owed more than $140,000 for a capital improvement project for the city of Wilsonville.

• In January, a mover filed a lawsuit seeking more than $1 million, alleging Emerick and subcontractor MC Interiors were liable for negligence and personal injury because a handrail collapsed at a West Linn middle school job site, resulting in the mover suffering a meniscus tear and other knee injuries.

• Beginning in summer 2024, Emerick was the subject of three complaints to the CCB. All three have been closed. The complaints came from Christenson Electric of Portland for work at Santiam Memorial Hospital in Stayton, Petrichor Constructors of Junction City for concrete work at fire stations in Corvallis and Lebanon as well as a middle school in Dallas, and Consurco of Meridian, Idaho, related to work at four schools in Portland.

In October, Consurco told the CCB that payment was received in full, according to public records obtained by the 91��Ƶ.

But before Emerick made good, a long thread of emails shows Consurco repeatedly demanding payment.

“When can we expect this check?” Consurco Chief Financial Officer Christina Walters wrote on July 15.

Meanwhile, a parade of subcontractors complained to state regulators of delayed payments but were later satisfied, withdrew their claims or had their complaints dismissed by the CCB for lack of jurisdiction, according to hundreds of pages of CCB documents obtained through a public records request.

At least nine more subcontractors complained to the CCB of late or missing payments from Emerick, including Black Line Glazing of Salem, Babb Construction Co. of Eugene and T. Gerding Construction Co. of Corvallis.

• The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality fined Emerick $43,200 in 2022 for water quality violations related to construction at New Athey Creek Middle School in West Linn (the contractor also faced nonpayment claims from a subcontractor on that project). The DEQ stated that Emerick’s activities, including land clearing and grading, “resulted in multiple, significant discharges of turbid stormwater to wetland and the Tualatin River.”

A contractor under scrutiny

The root cause of Emerick’s troubles is unclear from the lawsuits and public documents. Commercial contractors like Emerick often operate on thin profit margins. It’s a durable model, as long as the work keeps coming.

Mike Salsgiver, executive director of the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter, declined to comment on Emerick’s situation.

“Things shouldn’t have gone as far wrong as they have for Emerick,” said Robert B. Coleman, a Portland construction attorney who represented Rich Holland Painting in its lawsuit against Emerick.

Emerick faces stiff competition in its market. With private-sector construction slow, contractors are hungry for public and institutional jobs.

Last year, Emerick sought sub-bids as construction manager/general contractor to build a new City Hall and police station for Cannon Beach. But the city switched contractors as cost estimates came in, City Manager Bruce St. Denis said. Cannon Beach is now working with P&C Construction.

“It was a cost decision,” St. Denis said.

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