WILLIAMSPORT - A local meat market has filed suit against an Indiana company claiming its mistake cost $70,000 in product last year.
The suit, filed by Irish Isle Provision Co. Inc., Shamokin, in U.S. District Court, Williamsport, claims Polar Leasing Co. Inc. set up a mobile walk-in freezer to instead operate as a refrigeration unit, causing the loss.
Irish Isle, owned by Earl Sheriff, is asking for a judgement for lost inventory, lost profits and benefits, lost future profits and benefits, humiliation, emotional distress and other relief as deemed appropriate.
According to court documents filed by the Irish Isle attorney Richard C. Callahan, Williamsport, the Shamokin firm decided to repair the floor of its walk-in freezer in May 2011 and contacted Polar Leasing to inquire about rental or lease of a mobile walk-in freezer.
A deal was struck, with Sheriff saying in the filing that before and after the agreement was executed, an agent of Polar Leasing assured him that if anything went wrong or losses were sustained because of renting the unit, Polar would "make it right."
The freezer was delivered June 3 and a Polar agent checked it to make sure it was operating properly, assuring Sheriff that it was. Employees then transferred the store's frozen inventory to the leased unit that same day, the suit states.
Two days later, Sheriff checked on the mobile freezer and discovered it was not operating to the agreed-upon specifications.
"On Monday, June 6, 2011, (Sheriff) became aware that the unit delivered and prepared by (Polar) was not set up for a freezer unit, but for a refrigerated unit," the suit reads.
Irish Isle claims it suffered losses of inventory and customer base because of not having sufficient inventory, and was not able to obtain replacement inventory, thereby losing more customers.
Irish Isle also claimed that it lost a favorable credit rating with local banks, and the incident damaged the business's reputation.
The suit charges Polar Leasing with breach of contract, negligence, negligent misrepresentations and fraud.
"The defendant's agents knew that (Polar Leasing's) representations were false and that they did not stand behind their product and that (Irish Isle) had no legal remedies," the suit reads.
According to the filing, Polar's agent "proudly told Sheriff that the company had no insurance and (Irish Isle) had no rights - 'read your contract,'" he was allegedly told.
Polar Leasing had not filed any answer to the suit as of Monday afternoon.