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Home My WebLink About02-6197IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA AQUA TREATMENT SERVICE, INC., Plaintiff Vo HOFMANN WATER TECHNOLOGIES, INC. Defendant CIVIL ACTION--LA No. 2002- (, 'tt NOTICE You have been sued in court. If you wish to defend against the claims set forth in the following pages, you must take action within twenty (20) days after this complaint and notice are served, by entering a written appearance personally or by attorney and filing in writing with the court your defenses or objections to the claims set forth against you. You are warned that if you fail to do so the case may proceed without you and aj udgment may be entered against you by the court without further notice for any money claimed in the complaint or for any other claim or relief requested by the plaintiff. You may lose money or property or other rights important to you. YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP. Cumberland County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service 2 Liberty Avenue Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 249-3166 NOTICIA Le han demandado a usted en la corte. Si usted quiere defenderse de estas demandas expuestas en las paginas siguientes, usted tiene viente (20) dias de plazo al partir de la fecha de la demanda y la notificacion. Usted debe presentar una apariencia escrita o en persona o por abogado y archivar en la corte en forma escrita sus defensas o sus objeciones a las demandas en contra de su persona. Sea avisado que si usted no se defiende, la corte tomara medidas y puede entrar una orden contra usted sin previo aviso o notificacion y por cualguier quej a o alivio que es pedido en la peticion de demanda. Usted puede perder dinero o sus propiendades o otros derechos importantes para usted. LLEVE ESTA DEMANDA A UN ABOGADO IMMEDIATAMENTE. SI NO TIENE ABOGADO O SI NO TIENE EL DINERO SOFICIENTE DE PAGAR TAL SERVICO, VAYA EN PERSONAL O LLAME POR TELEFONO A LA OFICINA CUYA DIRECCION SE ENCUENTRA ESCRITA ABA JO PARA AVERIGUAR DONDE SE PUEDE CONSEGUIR ASISTENCIA LEGAL. Cumberland County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service 2 Liberty Avenue Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 249-3166 HANFT & KNIGHT, P.C. Gregory H. Knight, Esquire Attorney ID No. 30622 19 Brookwood Avenue, Suite 106 Carlisle, PA 17013-9142 (717) 249-5373 Attorneys for Plaintiff IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA AQUA TREATMENT SERVICE, INC., Plaintiff HOFMANN WATER TECHNOLOGIES, INC. Defendant CIVIL ACTION--LAW No. 2002- ~tq~7 COMPLAINT AND NOW, this ~ ~ day of December, 2002, comes Plaintiff, Aqua Treatment Service, Inc., by and through its attorneys, Hanft & Knight, P.C., and files the following Complaint, and in support thereof states as follows: 1. Plaintiff, Aqua Treatment Service, Inc. (ATS), is a Pennsylvania corporation with its principal place of business located at 194 Hempt Road, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania 17050. 2. Defendant, Hoffmann Water Technologies, Incorporated (HWT) is a Connecticut corporation, with its principal place of business located at 970 Kings Highway West, Southport, CT 06490. 3. On or about March 23, 2000, Defendant sent to the Plaintiff, by facsimile, a letter to document and "followup" a verbal order made March 21, 2000 for a packaged water treatment deionization application appliance to be drop shipped to Norton Company, 1 New Bond Street, Worchester, MA 01615 (Norton Company). A copy of Defendant's March 23, 2000 letter is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 4. Beginning in 1994, HWT and ATS established a course of dealing of one or more transactions each year with payment conditions, including interest of 1½% per month on any balances, as agreed to and documented specified in an Application for Credit dated April 5, 1994. A copy of that Application is attached as Exhibit B. 5. The packaged water treatment deionization appliance ordered by Defendant consisted ora 24" Vessels Twin Alternating Two Bed Deionizer, which carried a purchase price of $43,615.00 that Defendant agreed to pay. See Exhibit A. 6. On or about June 23, 2000, Plaintiff contracted with a third party for the packaged water treatment deionization application appliance to be drop shipped to Norton Company, as requested by HWT. 7. The freight costs to have the packaged water treatment deionization application appliances drop shipped to Norton Company totaled $1,891.15 as evidenced by the June 20, 2000 invoice from ATS to HWT and attached hereto as Exhibit C. 8. On or about July 13, 2000, Defendant paid Plaintiff the sum of $2,465.29 from deposit on account and paid the additional sum of $18,383.53 by Defendant's check number 7908. 9. On or about September 26, 2000, Defendant paid Plaintiff the sum of $6,233.04 by Defendant's check number 8099. 10. On or about October 10, 2000, Defendant paid Plaintiff the sum of $5,000.00 by Defendant's check number 8106. 11. COUNT I: BREACH OF CONTRACT Paragraphs 1 through 10 above are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 12. At all times relevant hereto, Plaintiff performed all obligations required of it pursuant to the order placed by Defendant. 13. As of December, 2002, Defendant owes Plaintiff the sum of $21,420.49. 14. Plaintiff's claim is less than the compulsory arbitration limit specified at Rule 1301-1 of the Cumberland County Rules of Procedure. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests the Court find in its favor and against Defendant in the amount of Twenty-One Thousand Four Hundred Twenty and 49/100 Dollars, ($21,420.49) which includes interest at the rate of 18% per annum, plus costs of suit and reasonable attorney's fees. COUNT Il: QUANTUM MERUIT In the alternative, Plaintiff pleads the following cause of action: 15. Paragraphs 1 through 14 above are hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein. 16. The charges and fees charged by Plaintiff for the packaged water treatment deionization application appliances ordered by Defendant are just and reasonable and are comparable to charges and fees charged by other companies of similar quality and reputation and for similar work product and services. 17. Defendant befitted from the packaged water treatment deionization application appliance ordered by Defendant and delivered by Plaintiff to Norton Company pursuant to Defendant's request. 18. Despite Plaintiff's prompt delivery of the packaged water treatment deionization application appliance ordered by Defendant, and repeated demands by Plaintiff, Defendant has not paid the balance due on its order. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests that the Court find in its favor and against Defendant in the amount of Twenty-One Thousand Four Hundred Twenty and 49/100 Dollars ($21,420.49), which includes interest at the rate of 18 percent per annum, plus costs of suit and reasonable attorney's fees. Respectfully submitted, HANFT & KNIGHT, P.C. ~rego~r~. Knight, Esquire Attorney ID No. 30622 19 Brookwood Avenue, Suite 106 Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013-9142 (717) 249-5373 Attorneys for Plaintiff F:\User FolderWirm Docs\Gendocs2002\16085 Complaint wpd Exhibit A I-'age I ol 1 Hofmann Water Technologies, Inc. 970 Kings Highway West, Southport, Connecticut 06490 FAX COVER SHEET DATE: 3~23~00 PHONE: TO: DAVID RISHELL FAX: COMPANY: AQUA TREATMENT SERVICES (717)697-4998 (800)787-01976 FROM: JIM MURPHY PHONE: (978) 337-2361 FAX: (978) 392-4426 RE: NORTON CORPORATION MAKEUP DEMINERALIZER SYSTEM Number of pages including cover sheet: 1 Message David This is a followup to my verbal order of 3/21/00 for the FBi 24" VessetsTwi~Altemafing Two Bed Deioni-zer. T~e deionizer will be designed to use 50% sulfuric acid for cation regeneration and 50 % caustic for anion regeneration. The caustic regeneration shall be designed to utilize heated demineralized water at 70 to 80F, 3.5 gpm at 40psig. The two trains will be skid mounted with one Allen Bradley controller. Skids Shall be furnished complete including but not limited to face piping, valves, electrical and control conduit programmable control etc., within the limits of the skid. The automatic valves shall utilize water pressure for actuation; valves shall be fail safe. Deionizer shall be as shown on the furnished drawings. Price: $41,021 base unit, plus the Allen Bradley PLC makeup of $2594 Total Price: $43615 POt18900 · Thank You Jim Murphy ceil (978) 337-2361 Exhibit B · ~,~ ,~ . ~.,.'. .~.~.,,.~ ~ ~- .~ --- : ~ ~ APPU~ON FOR CREDff ?~ ~.>~ ~ '//COMP~ CHECK OR ~ DAY TER~,:- ~',-~-~-/ ~-~.,, ~. ' m~me ( ~ 2o3) 256~o8oo. Fax ¢ Corpcx-~l~n~X p~~ P~rtnetah~p, /:Late IF_nsni3~hedj~_ 1967 Federai Tax LID. Number 06--08h]h78 _ _ Tax ExemlxNumb~ ..... BUSINESSES WHO EXTEND YOU CREDIT invoke cl~e}. Exhibit C AQUA TREATMEI IT SERVICE, INC. 194 HEMPT ROAD MECHANICSBURG, PA 17055 (717) 697-4998 · FAX (717) 697-5035 06/'20/'00 INVOICE DATE 00052644 INVOICE NO. 0E038684 ORDER NUMBER j~ ,ST(~.~ ~UMBER ~dT~,IN WA'[ER TECHI',iOLOGZES INC: 970 KZNGS HIGHWAY WEST SOUTHPOR]', CT NEW BOND S]'REE'r' WORCHESTER, MA 06490 0 i 615 PAGE FDZ 24 0.00 R,~'~rnit Payment To: /0/~' ~f~.00 ~/''~lo(o ¢;'-,.b ~ ,'t a 1 4 ?d, 'i, 5.0¢'' 194 HEMPT RD Sales Tax 0.00 MECHANZCSBtJRG, PA 17055 Freight IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA AQUA TREATMENT SERVICE, INC., Plaintiff Vo HOFMANN WATER TECHNOLOGIES, INC. Defendant CIVIL ACTION--LAW No. 2002- _AFFIDAVIT OF VERIFICATION I verify that the statements made in the Complaint are true and correct. I understand that false statements are subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C. S. Section 4904, relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. AQUA TREATMENT SERVICE, INC. Date: December 30t 2002 .14hn R. Filson, II S ecretary/Treasurer F~\User Folder~Firrn Docs\Gendocs2002\ 1608-5verification wpd SHERIFF'S RETURN - U.S. CERTIFIED MAIL CASE NO: 2002-06197 P COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA COUNTY OF CUMBERLJtND AQUA TREATMENT SERVICES INC VS. HOFFMAN WATER TECHNOLOGIES INC R. Thomas Kline , Sheriff of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, who being duly sworn according to law served the within named DEFENDANT ,HOFMANN WATER TECHNOLOGIES INC , by United States Certified Mail postage prepaid, on the 6th day of January ,2003 at 0000:00 HOURS, at 970 KINGS HIGHWAY WEST SOUTHPORT, CT 06490 and attested copy of the attached COMPLAINT & NOTICE with receipt card was signed by LYON 01/08/2003 Additional Comments: , a true Together The returned on Sheriff's Costs: Docketing 18.00 Cert Mail 4.88 Affidavit .00 Surcharge 10.00 .00 32.88 Paid by HANFT & KNIGHT Sworn and subscribed to before me this /~ day of~ ~ A.D. / / 'P~othonotary Sheriff of Cumberland County on 01/13/2003 · Complete items 1, 2, and 3. Also complete item 4 if Restricted Delivery is desired. · Print yo~ name and address on the reverse so that we can return the card to you. · Attach this card to the back of the mailpieCe, or on the front if space permits. 1. Article Addressed to: Hofmann Water Technoloqies, 970 Kings~ighway West Southport~ CT 06490 Inc A. Signature ~1 ,. J rl Agent X k,,,,._~"--.J [] Addressee B. Received by ~' Printed Name) I C. Date of Deliver~ Is delivery address different from item I? l~J Yes if YES, enter delivery address below: [] No ' ~5~'Form 3811, August 2001 Domestic Return Receipt 1 Service Type J~ Certified Mail [] Express Mail [] Registered [] Return Receipt for Memhandise [] Insured Mail [] C.O.D, · Restricted Delivery? ~__xtra Fee) [] Yes 0,2-6197 civ 102595-02-M-0835 1N THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA AQUA TREATMENT SERVICE, INC., Plaintiff Vo HOFMANN WATER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Defendant CIVIL ACTION - LAW No. 2002-6197 NOTICE TO PLEAD TO: Gregory H. Knight, Esquire Hanfi & Knight, P.C. 19 Brookwood Avenue Suite 106 Carlisle, PA 17013-9142 YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED to file a written response to the enclosed New Matter within twenty (20) days from service hereof or a judgment may 'be entered against you. BY: / !/////I./ ~ ~ / ~a~rho~ I-l'.'Haverstick, Esquire Attorneys fbr Defendant Hofmann Water Technologies, Inc. 126 East King Street Lancaster, PA 17602-2893 (717) 299-5201 Court I.D. No. 85072 MHH/1151316.1 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA AQUA TREATMENT SERVICE, INC., Plaintiff crVIL ACTION - LAW : v. : No. 2002-6197 : HOFMANN WATER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., : Defendant : DEFENDANT HOFMANN WATER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.'S ANSWER AND NEW MATTER TO PLAINTIFF'S COMPLAINT Defendant Hofmann Water Technologies, Inc., by and through its attomeys Barley, Snyder, Senft & Cohen, LLC, hereby answers the Complaint of Plaintiff Aqua Treatment Service, Inc. as follows: 1. Admitted. 2. Admitted. 3. Admitted and averred that the March 23, 2000 fa:xed letter speaks for itself. 4. Admitted and averred that Defendant's April 5, 1994 application for credit is a document that speaks for itself. 5. Admitted. 6. Defendant denies knowledge and information sufficient to respond to the allegations of this paragraph. 7. Defendant denies knowledge and information sufficient to respond to the allegations of this paragraph. 8. Admitted. MHH/1151316.1 10. 11. stated herein. 12. 13. 14. Admitted. Admitted. Defendant incorporates its responses to paragraphs 1 through 10 as if more fully Denied. Denied. This paragraph states a conclusion of law to which no response is required. WHEREFORE, Defendant Hofmann Water Technologic, s, Inc. respectfully requests this Court grant judgment in its favor on all claims. Defendant incorporates its responses to paragraphs 1 through 14 as if more fully 15. stated herein. 16. This paragraph states a conclusion of law to which no response is required. To the extent a response is required, Defendant denies the allegations of this paragraph. 17. This paragraph states a conclusion of law to which no response is required. To the extent a response is required, Defendant denies the allegations of this paragraph. 18. Denied. WHEREFORE, Defendant Hofmann Water Technologies, Inc. respectfully requests this Court grant judgment in its favor on all claims. NEW MATTER 19. Defendant incorporates its responses to paragraphs 1 through 18 as if more fully stated herein. MHH/l151316.1 2 20. In or about March 2000, Hofmann contracted to purchase a demineralizer from Plaintiff Aqua Treatment Service, Inc. ("ATS"). Hofmann issued a purchase order and provided ATS with a deposit in the amount of $8,668.38. Hofmann ordered the demineralizer for its client Norton Company ("Norton"), based in Worchester, Massachusetts. Norton ordered an automated demineralizer to automate its water treatment operations, and to obviate the need to use Norton personnel to monitor the regeneration process (the process by which the demineralizer draws acid and caustic to regenerate certain ion exchange resins used in the water treatment process). 21. Shortly after Hofmann issued its purchaser order, Itofinann's client Norton requested a change of specifications, and the changed specifications were provided to ATS. 22. Upon information and belief, as the demineralizer with the revised specifications was beyond the ability of ATS to manufacture, ATS contracted with Lakeside Water Treatment Inc. ("Lakeside"), based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to manufacture and deliver the demineralizer to Norton. 23. On or about June 2000, the demineralizer was delivered to Norton by ATS or its subcontractor Lakeside. 24. Norton installed the demineralizer in its facility with the assistance of an engineer who upon information and belief was doing business with Lakeside (but not ATS). 25. ATS breached its contract to manufacture and deliver a demineralizer to Norton in at least the following ways: a. The demineralizer's regeneration process ,aras unreliable, in large part because of an improper flow restriction device; b. The interface between the demineralizer and the PLC failed repeatedly, causing the regeneration process to fail and forcing Norton to use its personnel to monitor the regeneration process; MHH/1151316.1 3 Co ATS failed to service the demineralizer, or take appropriate actions to correct the problems with the demineralizer; do Lakeside failed to service the demineralize:r, or take timely actions to correct the problems with the demineralizer; and eo Norton was forced to log data regarding th{,- performance of the demineralizer and the regeneration process that required the use of more Norton personnel to run the demineralization and regeneration processes than was required before the installation of the ATS/Lakeside demineralizer. 26. ATS's breach of its agreement to provide a d~xineralizer with an automated regeneration process caused damage to Hofinann in the following ways, each of which was foreseeable to ATS: go Hofmann was forced to replace the exchange resins in the demineralizer that were lost because of the ATS/Lakeside demineralizer's improper flow restriction device at Hofinann's own expense; bo Hofmann was forced to purchase a replacement interface directly fi:om Lakeside; Co Hofmarm expended over 100 man hours of'labor in an attempt to resolve the problems with the faulty demineralizer at great cost and expense to Hofinann; do Hofmarm was forced to make concessions lin pricing as a result of ATS's failure to provide a demineralizer in compliiance with its contract with Hofinann; e° As a result of ATS's failure to provide a demineralizer in compliance with its contract with Hofrnann, Hotinann lost its bid to obtain a contract to provide cooling water goods and services to Norton Company, a contract worth approximately $25,000 per year to Hofmann. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES 27. The Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. 28. The Complaint is barred by the doctrine of waiver. MHH/l151316.1 4 29. 30. 31. 32. The Complaint is barred by the doctrine of estoppel. The Complaint is barred by the Statute of Frauds. The Complaint is barred by the applicable Statute of Limitations. To the extent Plaintiff is entitled to a recovery, that recovery is offset by monies owed by Plaintiff to Defendant because of Plaintiff's above-described breaches of contract. WHEREFORE, Defendant Hofrnann Water Technologies, Inc. respectfully requests this Court grant judgment in its favor on all claims. Date: BARLEyj, 8ff~.R, SENFT & COHEN, LLC ~' t~lVlat't{l~e~v I2I. H~'~erstick, Esq~ Attorneys fbr Defendant Hofmann Water Technologies, Inc. 126 East King Street Lancaster, ]?A 17602-2893 (717) 299-5;201 Court I.D. No. 85072 MHH/l151316.1 5 VERIFICATION DONALD S. HOFMANN, President of Hofmann Water Technologies, Inc., being duly affirmed according to law, deposes and says that the facts set forth in the foregoing Answer and New Matter are true and correct to the best of his knowledge, in:formation and belief. This Verification is made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. §4904, relating to unswom falsification to authorities. Donald S. Hofmann, President MHH/l151316.1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that a tree and correct copy of the foregoing Answer and New Matter was served this ~.b ~//day of /~'~l~l/~g~t , 2003, by first class mail, postage prepaid, upon the following: Gregory H. Knight, Esquire Hanfi & Knight, P.C. 19 Brookwood Avenue Suite 106 Carlisle, PA 17013-9142 l~at[he~-I. I-l/a~rstick, Esqu Attorneys tbr Defendant Hofmann Water Technologie 126 East King Street Lancaster, PA 17602-2893 (717) 299-5201 Court I.D. No. 85072 [-IEN, LLC ~re MHH/l151316.1