Judge issues $335,533 judgement against company

A circuit court judge on Tuesday handed down a $335,533 judgement against a Gaffney firm sued in 2007 following a verbal contract dispute.

A firm called Thunder Industries Inc. had sued Sanders Brothers Inc. last year claiming it was owed additional money for its efforts in helping the mechanical and industrial fabrication business gain new customers.

Circuit Court Judge J. Derham Cole heard the dispute during a non-jury trial and handed down an 11-page decision Tuesday that said Thunder Industries Inc. was entitled to payment, but apparently not as much as it was seeking.

According to the judge's decision, Thunder Industries and its sole shareholder William Edwards had entered into a verbal agreement with officials of Sanders Bros. Inc. in which Sanders Bros. would pay Thunder Industries a 2 percent commission on the value of any contract work Thunder Industries helped obtain for Sanders Bros.

The relationship between the two firms started as a result of a 2004 meeting in Greenville and was terminated in October 2006, according to the court document.

Thunder Industries had been paid a total of $283,000 by Sanders Bros. during the course of their relationship but the firm claimed it still was entitled to commissions on four specific construction projects it procured or helped procure, according to the court document.

Sanders Brothers, meanwhile, countered that it had already paid a commission on one of the four projects, it disputed the percentage of commission owed on a second, and contended it didn't owe any commission on the remaining two projects because it didn't get those contracts as a result of Thunder Industries' marketing.

Judge Cole, after hearing testimony and arguments, determined Sanders Bros. owed Thunder Industries a $211,850 commission on a $10.6 million contract it obtained through the marketer's efforts for Hurricane Katrina-related work and a $406,682 commission on a $27.1 million contract for work Sanders Bros. obtained with U.S. Sugar Corp.

The judge agreed with Sanders Brothers it did not owe any commission to Thunder Industries on a $4 million contract it obtained with Howden Power and a $1.5 million contract it obtained with Synsil Inc.

The judge's computations on the commissions Thunder Industries was owed were reduced by the money Sanders Brothers had already paid the firm, leading to the $335,533 figure.