Ellington

[Verbatim from the Attorney General's Office] Attached please find a copy of the Circuit Court lawsuit (645 KB) filed by the Office of the Attorney General against Facility Construction Management and Facility Holding Corporation in a case arising out of the failure of the Facility Group to perform its contractual and professional duties in the construction of a cattle slaughtering and beef processing plant in Yalobusha County, MS.

The lawsuit, filed more than a year ago and prior to the criminal indictments issued this week by the federal government, seeks to recover more than $9 million for Mississippi taxpayers and subcontractors of the Facility Group.

The lawsuit is currently being amended to include claims of fraud against the Facility Group.

Said Attorney General Jim Hood: "The efforts of our office and the federal government seek to ensure that all those involved in the failed beef plant are not only held criminally accountable, but are also made to repay the misspent dollars owed to the hardworking taxpayers of this state."

The lawsuit, filed in Hinds County Circuit Court on January 17, 2007, outlines the obligations and resulting broken promises of Facility Construction Management to the state of Mississippi. The lawsuit also asks the court to order the Facility Group to provide a full and complete accounting of all service fees paid to it, and seeks punitive damages in as yet an undetermined amount.