A multi-national chemical company has filed suit against the village of Dixmoor, claiming the municipality bilked them for millions of dollars in water bills for its plant in the village, and is now threatening to shut their plant down for disputing the charges.
A new lawsuit seeking a temporary injunction on a stop work order was filed in Cook County Circuit Court on July 31 by Solvay USA, Inc., against the Village of Dixmoor. The complaint alleges Dixmoor has an extended history of improperly inflating water usage by Solvay, resulting in overcharging for actual use. Solvay is alleging a breach of contract and unjust financial benefit by the village stemming from the alleged misconduct and a stop work order against the plant.
In the complaint, Solvay states Dixmoor has a history of inflating water usage. Upon discovery of this, Solvay reached out to Dixmoor for a resolution which included a refund some type, full or partial for the overcharged water usage, according to the complaint.
On March 8, 2022, Dixmoor installed a brand new water meter at the Blue Island Plant allowing Solvay to determine the exact amount of water which flowed through the meter compared with the volume of water Dixmoor was using to calculate Solvay’s bills. Solvay attests that they have been able to confirm that Dixmoor has been overcharging it for water usage since at least 2013.
From the date the meter was installed until July 15, 2022, the water meter indicated that the Blue Island Plant used about 10.2 million gallons of water compared to 76.1 million gallons for which the village billed Solvay. This amount appeared to be more than 7 times the actual volume used by Solvay from March 2022 through June 2023, according to the complaint.
Solvay attests they have been overcharged by more than $3.3 million for its water usage by Dixmoor from 2017 through March 7, 2022. Solvay claims it brought the discrepancy promptly to village officials for a resolution through numerous phone calls and several meetings with Dixmoor utility contractor LOCIS. Solvay claims their efforts failed to come to fruition, alleging Dixmoor refused to engage.
The complaint said Dixmoor's silence on the matter forced Solvay's hand, refusing to pay future water bills after the August payment. In response, Dixmoor issued and posted a “Stop Work Order” on July 21, 2023 at the Blue Island Plant, shutting down work until the building commissioner signed off on work at the plant. Additionally, the village delivered a cease and desist letter to Solvay's Blue Island plant with a violation notice, telling Solvay that Dixmoor would shut down the plant until Solvay paid its outstanding water bills, as billed by the village.
Solvay has operated the Blue Island facility since 2011. Solvay manufactures chemicals for agriculture, automotive, aerospace, building, construction, consumer goods, healthcare, electrical, electronics resources, environment, and other industrial applications.
Solvay is requesting a trial by jury and is seeking injunctive damages, and a declaratory judgment for a temporary restraining order on the stop work order until the court rules on a motion for permanent injunction, court costs and legal fees.
Solvay is represented by Attorneys Joseph R. Vallort, Kathryn C. Thomas, and Bethany E. Wedmore of Chilton Yambert Porter, of Chicago.