Claims continue to pile up against a Penticton-based construction company which is alleged to have left contractors and suppliers out millions of dollars.
Okanagan Extreme Home Builders (OEHB) and its owner Jason Stutzke have been served with continuous lawsuits over the past year and have already been ordered to pay some debt claims against them.
Recently, Stutzke was ordered to pay close to $3 million for an unpaid mortgage and building materials.
The company owner has been alleged to have misappropriated funds to pay for the construction of his own home while contractors have claimed they were left completely unpaid for projects, and homeowners report facing liens on their homes.
Castanet first reported on the legal predicament last January. Since then, the number of alleged unpaid claims has mounted, and they are sitting at an estimated $9 million.
More contractors come forward
Canadian Aerothermal filed two lawsuits against Stutzke in mid-December, claiming that they have not received any payment for projects for which they were hired.
The company alleged that on Jan. 24, 2023, they had agreed with OEHB to supply and install a furnace and heat pump for a property in Naramata.
The company alleged they invoiced OEHB for $30,121.40 on that same day and again on Oct. 13, 2023, in the amount of $12,909.17, and have never been paid.
“OEHB has refused and/or neglected to make payment, despite demand,” their suit reads.
On Dec. 22, 2023, Canadian Aerothermal placed a lien for the non-payment, pursuant to the Builders Lien Act.
They claim they are owed $43,030.57 for their work plus costs and interest, along with costs of the legal action, and damages for breach of contract.
Canadian Aerothermal also filed against OEHB for work they did on a property in Penticton, claiming they had entered into an agreement on Nov. 1, 2023, after being hired to supply and install a furnace and heat pump on Aug.4, 2023, in the amount of $12,643.96.
They claim they invoiced OEHB on Nov. 21, 2023, as well, for $23,481.65. The company claims OEHB has refused to make any payment, despite demand.
The homeowners of the property in this civil case recently spoke to Castanet, expressing their frustration of being left dealing with claims of unpaid bills from contractors and liens placed on their property, despite alleging that they paid OEHB in full.
Canadian Aerothermal claims they are owed $36,125.87, plus costs and interest, along with costs of the legal action, and damages for breach of contract.
On Dec. 30, 2024, CK Creative Painting Services filed a lawsuit against OEHB, claiming that they had multiple unpaid invoices for services rendered.
They alleged their services were used from Oct. 10, 2023 until the present day, and that they are owed in the amount of $35,000, plus filing and service fees.
Southside Builders Mart also filed a lawsuit against OEHB on Dec. 12, 2024, alleging that they have unpaid invoices for building materials they supplied to Stutzke.
Projects were completed in Penticton and Oliver from May 1, 2023 to the present date, for which they claim OEHB owes $35,000, plus filing and service fees.
Ordered to start payments
Finish First Interiors was granted an application order for payment to begin from OEHB, with the courts awarding monthly payments of $1,000 on Jan. 1, 2025, and on the 12th day of each month thereafter.
The lawsuit, first filed in November 2023, claimed Stutzke and OEHB have a balance owing on an account for residential drywall and finishing work done in Penticton in December of 2022.
Finish First Interiors is seeking the balance owed for their completed work, which they say was invoiced at $20,509.50. They claim that OEHB paid $6548.25 towards total debt, leaving $14,042.25 owing to Finish First, which amounted to $15,011 including interest.
They also said OEHB had already been paid by the property owner for its work.
The court ordered for Stutzke to attend court in September and OEHB had to pay the costs of the appearance on that date of $350 to Finish First. Then on Oct. 8, a default order was submitted.
Since then, OEHB has filed supporting materials in its case and a default hearing commenced on Dec. 2, where the payment schedule was ordered.
Homeowners disparage supplier
The Penticton Home Hardware Building Centre has multiple lawsuits open against OEHB and Stutzke, with one case recently seeing a recent response from the homeowners.
Home Hardware first filed a claim against Stutzke back in January, starting with an estimated $166,000 owed for construction materials.
They filed a new notice of civil claim in July, alleging that as of June 20, 2024, OEHB owed them $403,027 for construction materials supplied to them, which includes interest totalling $58,953.
In October, the company filed another lawsuit claiming that they entered into an agreement with OEHB where they agreed to provide construction materials for various construction projects on May 20, 2021.
This time, they claim construction materials were taken under the supply agreement for three different building lots and have not been paid for, in the amounts of $22,624.25, $65,866.72 and $73,254.13.
One of their cases made progress against OEHB and Stutzke, with the court ruling that they were to be paid $403,027 at the end of October, plus $18,304 in interest and $1,270 in costs.
The court determined that with no response filed by OEHB or Stutzke, the default judgment was to be ordered.
In one filing from January 2024, the homeowners named in the suit allege that Home Hardware owes it to be more responsible in their choice to do work with OEHB.
The Websters filed on Dec. 23, 2024, stating that this is the fourth notice of civil claim to be filed against their property.
The homeowners claim they entered into a contract with OEHB and Stutzke on May 29, 2021, for a home build in Penticton.
“Not paying for materials that the defendant was responsible to obtain and pay for from the time they were delivered with the month the defendant received from us in appropriate draws, is not reasonable business administration and was beyond our knowledge,” their reply reads.
“If [OEHB] has not paid [Home Hardware] for the materials in a normal and reasonable time period, why did [Home Hardware] continue to extend credit and materials to [OEHB] after failing to pay for any materials received while [Home Hardware] repeatedly placed liens against ours and many other client’s properties demanding payment to be made.”
The homeowners alleged they believed this to be an “abuse” of the British Columbia lien process.
They went on to claim that even after having paid the full amount to OEHB upon completion of their home, it was not until November 2023 that many contractors started to tell them they had not been paid for their work.
“We were not aware before this time that there were any concerns about outstanding debts between [OEHB] and any trade or supplier that worked on our home.”
The homeowners claimed their build took longer than expected and they also dealt with unexpected invoices from Stutzke that were never given to companies that conducted the work.
They alleged Stutzke would also often leave on extended travel to Mexico, and the work would then be slow-moving or held up.
The Websters seek to have all the claims of liens removed from their property and oppose any payment or granting of relief from them to Home Hardware. They are also seeking to have all court costs and fees to be paid by Home Hardware.
“Both [Home Hardware and OEHB] have been negligent in their responsibility to conduct their business administration in a sound and honest fashion. They have used a system that is designed to protect any party from being cheated or rightfully paid for their service or product,” their reply reads.
Castanet previously reached out to Home Hardware, also known as Pro Builders Supply, for comment on the status of their working relationship with the OEHB and if the issues of non-payment have resulted in changes to that.
The CFO for Pro Builders Supply told Castanet in an emailed statement that the company does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation.
“That said, any lien placed on a property in favour of the company is done so in full accordance with the British Columbia Builders Lien Act. No further comment on this matter.”
Ongoing Cases
Midway through September 2024, Stutzke filed a civil claim against a group of property owners, who he had entered into a contract with to construct a home in Penticton in 2022.
Stutzke claims that there was a fallout between the parties in early 2024 when they halted his work on the property and he was seeking $133,979 plus interest for damages.
The owners filed a reply to the claim on Oct.1, denying many of Stutzke’s allegations and stating that OEHB did not attend to the timelines agreed upon.
They allege that OEHB did not pay its material suppliers, which caused the lien on their property, and no payments were in arrears or late or delivered upon material and services, and are not indebted in any manner.
They alleged that an amount of $75 is all that is due to OEHB, which they were willing to settle.
The property owners also filed a counterclaim, alleging loss of equity in the property, loss of potential rental income and additional mortgage costs, totalling close to $120K, which they are seeking payment for including damages.
On Dec. 5, 2024, the owners filed a default judgment against OEHB, claiming that since no reply was received for the counterclaim, asked the courts to order to pay for the damages and costs to be assessed.
TwinCon Enterprises filed a suit against Stutzke back in March, which included naming the owners of the land of six properties in Penticton they allegedly worked on, seeking money owed.
A few of the homeowners filed responses earlier in 2024, claiming that they were issued “extra invoices” by OEHB, which equal the claim amount against them from TwinCon. Further responses on this case have not yet been filed.
Naramata homeowners have filed against Stutzke and OEHB are seeking judgment in favour of the liquidated amount of $135,318 on account of the deposit, general damages, tracing to or disgorgement of the deposit, and a declaration that the Claim of Lien is an abuse of process, have yet to receive a reply.
A claim submitted by AMB Holdings and Panorama View Estates alleges they are owed more than $2.7 million from OEHB but have yet to receive a reply.
In the middle of May, Stutzke filed a lawsuit against Timeless Developments, claiming work done by the company on his home’s pool was poor and had to be fixed. He was seeking relief for damages, interest, costs and lost rental income.
With no reply filed by Timeless Developments, Stutzke went on to file for default judgment and requisition in August and is having the damage assessed.
A payment dispute between Stutzke and a Penticton homeowner, Randall Browning, continues to be battled out in civil court filings, through counterclaims and replies.
Browning filed an updated counterclaim in June, alleging unjust enrichment and claiming that Stutzke overcharged him and took deposits for work that was never completed.
Then on Nov. 21, Browning filed a notice of application to the courts, requesting to address a judge in December and have the certificate of pending litigation, as well as the liens against his property cancelled.
A lawsuit was filed by a local drywall work and services company from Kelowna, Lesperance Interiors, at the end of September, alleging that OEHB had refused or neglected to make payments, despite demand, and they are owed $33,505 for their work and materials.
OEHB filed a reply on Oct. 16, claiming that Lesperance Interiors invoiced the company three weeks before finishing the job, contrary to their terms of agreement.
They also claim that the invoice should have been submitted after the subcontract had been terminated. Further replies have not been received.
The Cambridge Mortgage Investment Corporation filed a petition in June and sought an order that the lands and any personal property of Stutzke be listed for sale by their own conduct, following a claim that he defaulted on his mortgage with them earlier this year.
The demand has been made for the payment of the money owing, but this money has not been paid and to date totals more than $2 million, plus interest.
At the end of October, the court ruled that the mortgage had defaulted and Stutzke would have to pay the $2.389 million he owes, plus interest, before April 24, 2025.
Court records from April 2024 show that Stutzke had been served with a foreclosure petition from another company, having defaulted on his mortgage with them as well.
The petition ordered that the lands and any personal property of Stutzke and OEHB be listed for sale by their own conduct, as he owes more than $2.5 million, plus accruing interests.
None of the allegations in the lawsuits have yet been proven in court, and all named parties have a right to respond with countersuits should they choose to do so.
