A Superior Court judge on Monday ordered Apex Contracting Group of Raleigh to pay $236,142 to the City of Fayetteville after the company abandoned city construction projects in 2024.
Apex failed to complete the Mable C. Smith Community Center, the Mazarick Park Tennis Center building, and new tennis courts at Mazarick Park.
Apex Contracting Group must also pay the city’s attorney fees and costs, Superior Court Judge Doug Green said during a hearing in Cumberland County Superior Court. The city hired J. Scott Flowers of the Hutchens Law Firm to handle this litigation.
Apex Contracting was previously known as Mohammad Construction, and its president is Mohammad Mohammand. The city’s lawsuit against Apex accuses the company of abandoning the Fayetteville projects and committing fraud by creating a fictitious bonding company to cover the city’s losses should anything go wrong with the projects.
“The city suffered damages when Mr. Mohammad failed to complete the projects, in essence walked off all the projects,” Flowers told Green in court.
According to an affidavit from Fayetteville City Manager Doug Hewett, the matter cost the city $135,777 at the Mable C. Smith Community Center. “This amount includes additional construction administration costs, engineering reports and inspections, field inspection to identify deficiencies, inspection for deficiency repairs, equipment rentals, CCTV equipment and installation, and payment to subcontractors,” he said.
At the Mazarick Park tennis courts, the city incurred $100,366 in losses, Hewett said.
“This amount includes septic services, CCTV equipment and installation, engineering inspection and reports, and payment to subcontractors,” he said.
Mohammad was not present at Monday’s hearing to present an argument in his favor.
According to the city’s lawsuit:
- The city hired Apex for $3.87 million in June 2022 for a tennis center at Mazarick Park.
- In March 2023, the city hired Apex to build tennis courts at the park for $1.35 million.
- In April 2023, the city hired Apex to build the Mable C. Smith Community Center for $1.47 million.
- In March 2024, the city determined that Apex had abandoned the projects.
- The city said it also discovered that Apex’s bonding agent — a company that a contractor hires to pay the city should something go wrong with a construction project — was “a fictitious entity” that Mohammad operated, the lawsuit says.
The city sued Apex and Mohammad this past November. The city also sued New Life Fidelity Inc. of Raleigh, which was the bonding company that Mohammad first used, and that the city alleges was fraudulently serving as the bonding agent because Mohammad owned and operated it.
The remaining defendants are Wings of Eagle Fund of Raleigh and Ronald Batiste of Oakland, California, who allegedly operated Wings of Eagle. The lawsuit alleges that Wings of Eagle took over as the bonding agent from New Life Fidelity, but that Wings of Eagle was not licensed to serve as a bonding agent and it lacked the money to cover the bonds should any claims be made against them.
Mohammand did not file any response to the lawsuit until May 6. This followed with additional court filings in June.
Mohammand’s assertions, per court documents:
- He had been unaware of the lawsuit, so was unable to file any responses until May.
- He had spinal fusion and joint replacement surgeries in January, March and May and so was incapacitated and unable to respond. He says he is still medically incapacitated, that he has to use a walker and cannot ride in a vehicle for more than 10 minutes at time.
- The city withheld money it owed him and this “directly forced Apex into bankruptcy and Mr. Mohammad into personal insolvency.” He lists nearly $1.22 million in payments he said he was due.
- “City officials made false, racially charged accusations against Mr. Mohammad, destroying his reputation.”
Mohammand in a filing dated Friday asked the court to award him $12.84 million.
Construction resumed, nearing completion
The Fayetteville City Council in November hired a new contractor for $2.57 million to finish the Tennis Center building at Mazarick Park, and hired a contractor to finish the Mable C. Smith Community Center for $595,000. In February, the city council voted to spend $1.9 million for a contractor to finish the tennis courts at the Tennis Center at Mazarick Park.
The Mable C. Smith Community Center is nearly complete, and the city expects to have a ribbon-cutting in the first half of July, city spokesman Loren Bymer told CityView on Monday. A ribbon-cutting for the Tennis Center is expected this fall, he said.
“We look forward to the opening of these facilities so residents can enjoy everything they will have to offer,” Bymer said. “We enjoy when residents are engaging with city staff regarding projects and look forward to continuing to bring vibrant projects that make Fayetteville the best place to live, work and play.”
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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