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- A Colorado welding company tried to pay $23,500 to a subcontractor in coins, CBS reported.
- A judge said the payment made with 6,500 pounds — or 3 tons — of coins was malicious and "in bad faith."
- He ordered the welding firm to make payment in a more conventional way, such as a check.
A Colorado welding company that tried to make a $23,500 payment in coins has been blasted by a judge for acting "maliciously and in bad faith," CBS News Colorado reported.
JMF Enterprises' payment method — which came in the form of a truckload of coins — was aimed at "frustrating and undermining" the receiver by making payment "cumbersome and costly," Joseph Findley, a Larimer County judge, wrote in his Monday ruling, per CBS.
Findley ordered JMF and its owner John Frank to pay Colorado-based subcontractor, Fired Up Fabrication, in a more conventional way — such as using a check or money order. He also ordered JMF to pay Fired Up Fabrication's lawyer fees and costs.
The dispute arose after JMF hired Fired Up Fabrication to work on an apartment building, per the local CBS station. It's unclear when the work took place.
However, the subcontractor later filed a civil lawsuit, claiming JMF did not pay it for the work in full, per the outlet.
The two companies then went to mediation to settle the dispute in July and JMF agreed to pay Fired Up Fabrication $23,500. Their agreement did not state how the payment should be made.
In August, JMF delivered the payment to Fired Up Fabrication's lawyer in a truck, transporting a huge box filled with loose coins — in the form of quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies — weighing over 6,500 pounds or 3 tons, per CBS.
A CBS tweet appears to show the massive delivery of coins.
—CBSColorado (@CBSNewsColorado) October 24, 2023
"Even if I wanted to take this box of coins, I had no way of doing so," Danielle Beem, the legal representative for Fired Up Fabrication, told CBS. The lift in the building Beem's office is located in has a 3,000-pound capacity.
Beem declined the delivery and told the outlet JMF's move was "petty" and a "waste of time." She also called the stunt "a symbolic middle finger."
After that, JMF tried to get the court to get her to accept the mountain of coins, but the judge agreed with the Fired Up Fabrication legal rep while delivering Monday's ruling.
Frank and JMF's lawyer Giovanni Camacho did not respond to requests from Insider for comment. Frank and Camacho did not respond to numerous requests for comment from CBS.
Fired Up Fabrication's legal representative did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.