City of Birmingham sues Trane for $25 million over unmet energy savings promise
The City of Birmingham filed a lawsuit March 30 against Trane U.S. Inc., asking for $25 million in damages, reported AL.com. The city is suing for $102 million in promised energy savings that never happened. The lawsuit states that financing and maintenance costs resulted in the project costing more than $100 million. The city also alleges that the cost shortfall and damages will exceed $25 million. “Trane engaged in nothing short of a bait-and-switch scheme that promised massive savings the company knew it could not deliver,” stated Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. “We entered into this energy performance contract in good faith based on promises from Trane. Unfortunately, Trane has violated that trust, and the city now seeks full restitution from Trane for the citizens of Birmingham and the financial losses they have caused.” Trane promised energy-efficient upgrades to 119 city facilities that would be paid for by $80 million in energy savings. It promised an additional $22 million in operational savings over 18 years, for a total savings of $102 million. “Since entering into the contract, the city has discovered that Trane gave illusory savings estimates in order to secure this deal and avoid the public bidding process,” commented attorney Ashby Pate, a Lightfoot partner and counsel to the City of Birmingham. “As alleged in our complaint, Trane and its representatives had no intention of providing actual savings to the City but had every intention of enriching themselves in the process. The city has also incurred additional maintenance and operating expenses because Trane failed to provide fully functioning improvements.”
