Court backs I-69 group, state on issue over Bloomington-Martinsville section pay

After a deadline for Isolux Corsan to cure a notice of failure it received from I-69 Development passed, the I-69 group attempted to access the line of credit Isolux Corsan had procured as part of their agreement to build Section 5 from Bloomington to Martinsville. While I-69 Development is in charge of the overall Section 5 project, the company hired Isolux Corsan as the lead construction contractor. In an attempt to prevent that money from being accessed, Isolux Corsan filed a preliminary injunction request and restraining order against I-69 Development earlier this week. That restraining order was granted by Judge Timothy Oakes, according to court records, prior to a hearing.

After hearing from both sides, Judge Michael Keele ruled Isolux Corsan had not presented enough evidence to warrant the preliminary injunction. Keele denied the motion and dissolved the restraining order, allowing I-69 Development to move forward with accessing the $23 million. The money is expected to be available next week.

Keele ruled that I-69 Development was within its rights to access the line of credit after reviewing the contract. Court documents show counsel for Isolux Corsan argued the two sides had reached an agreement and there was no need to pull the line of credit but the judge disagreed. He said the evidence of an agreement was not sufficient and had no bearing on a credit draw since the agreement allegedly happened two days after the deadline to cure the failure to perform.

Court records show Isolux Corsan owes $22 million to subcontractors and received a notice of default on Aug. 3 for failure to perform work according to the Section 5 remedial plan, which was Isolux Corsan's latest plan to get the project done by June of 2017. Conservative estimates by the Indiana Finance Authority now have the project finishing in October of next year. I-69 Development also sent Isolux Corsan a notice of failure on Aug. 29 after missed payments to subcontractors led to at least one of them walking off the job site. As of Friday, neither of the notices had been cured. Indiana Finance Authority Director Dan Huge said if nothing changes by Oct. 3, I-69 Development will be able to terminate its contract with Isolux Corsan. The I-69 group could then search for a new company while work on Section 5 continues. A hearing is set Dec. 8 in Marion County on I-69 Development's motion to dismiss the case.