Jackson Jambalaya

After going through more than 1,700 works of art from Mississippi students, we are able to announce the winners of this year's College Savings Mississippi Art Contest! Each winner will take home a Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) scholarship worth between $100 and $500! So, let's get to the good stuff. THE 2022 COLLEGE SAVINGS MISSISSIPPI ART CONTEST WINNERS ARE...

Watson Quality Ford won a $80,870 judgement against  Renna Fisher.  Watson sued after Fisher stole two vehicles from the dealership.

Same song, second, third, and fourth verse.  Our old friend, Fisher Construction, is back with more claims of discrimination after it was fired for not performing work for the contractor that has the Jackson sludge-removal contract.  The Clarion-Ledger reported Tuesday:

Update: The Secretary of State reinstated the company's status to one of  good standing at noon today.

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors paid $12,000 to a company that does not exist.  The board hired KSA Professional Services in May for consulting services for the Continental Tire project.  The contract states the county would pay $6,000 per month to KSA.  The company is owned by none other than Jackie Andrews and Rena Fisher.  However, the Secretary of State dissolved the company on November 30, 2016 after KSA failed to file its annual report.

One name popped up in the fight over the Jackson biosolids waste-removal contract:  Fisher Transportation.   Where have we heard that name before? Oh yes. 2009.  Check out these earlier posts on JJ about these con artists:

Seems as though someone listened to The Kingfish about Fish & Fisher after all. Back in June, the local firm won a $1.3 million arbitration award against Toyota. I wrote in my post about the award that the Fish & Fisher creditors should "GET YOUR MONEY WHILE YOU CAN" as I documented there were nearly $2 million in liens and judgements held by close to thirty individuals, businesses, and government agencies (These were completely omitted by the media.). Post about Fish & Fisher's troubled record.

Merchants and Farmers Bank filed a complaint on July 10, 2009 in Hinds County Chancery Court a Complaint for an Injunction, Declaratory Judgement, and for Other Relief against Fish & Fisher, Renna Fisher, Jaqcueline Williams, and L & T Construction for collection of $607,028 in defaulted notes and seeking a portion of the $1.3 million award. Copy of complaint

The complaint states M&F has a claim on the award and that "as shown by the correspondence attached here to as Exhibit "F", Fish & Fisher, Inc. apparently intends to put the arbitration award proceeds to something other than full payment of Bank's debt." Copy of exhibits. "F" is on page 43. Included in exhibits are copies of notes. M&F asked for an injunction to keep Fish & Fisher from spending or transferring any of the money without court approval until the "Bank's debt has been paid." Fish & Fisher is represented by Jackson attorney Precious Martin.

The complaint was removed to federal court as there was a federal question (the arbitration part of the promissory notes are apparently governed by federal law). Notice of Removal Meanwhile, an Involuntary Petition for Bankruptcy was filed (Chapter 7) in the Bankruptcy Court on August 7, 2009 by M&F Bank and other creditors ($693,450 in claims). Petition for Bankruptcy. The Court issued an Order for Relief in an Involuntary Case on September 23, 2009, stating the debtor was "served on August 26, 2009 and has failed to file any timely defense or pleading to the petition as required..". Thus Fish & Fisher was forced into bankruptcy.

Fish & Fisher filed Motion to Dismiss in the Bankruptcy Court claiming it was never served and that "it is not insolvent" and that the petition was an attempt to "circumvent" the case filed in Chancery Court in Hinds County. Eileen Shaffer represented Fish & Fisher. the Service of Process was filed with the Court on August 31, 2009 and stated a copy of the petition was mailed to Fish & Fisher on August 26, 2009.Copy of Service of Process filing.

There are currently other lawsuits pending against Fish & Fisher in Florida and Tennessee. They repeat the same pattern as the other suits and judgements mentioned in earlier posts. Contracts are made with Fish & Fisher. Fish is paid and either is accused of not doing the work or keeping money meant for others. Fish rarely responds in court to any of these complaints. Hence, judgements and liens are issued against the firm and the creditors stand in line with everyone else waiting for a Fish & Fisher to come into some money as they did in the arbitration award so they can attach it. Meanwhile the media takes up Fish & Fisher's cause against Barbour and Toyota while ignoring all of the businesses and individuals it stiffs.

UPDATE II: There is another judgement against FF. SOUTH CENTRAL LABORERS’ HEALTH AND WELFARE FUND v. Fish & Fisher, Inc., (Civil Action No. 3:08-0337,
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE, NASHVILLE DIVISION). The Plaintiff sued FF as well as Renna Fisher and Jacqueline Williams for failure to pay contributions as part of a collective bargaining agreement.

The defendants did not file an answer, did not appear in court, and lost a default judgement. For their repeated truancy from all legal proceedings, a contempt of court hearing was scheduled but the case was settled just before the hearing. Fish & Fisher was ordered to pay $4,800.06 with an interest charge of .5% for every month of non-payment. FF was given until August 1, 2009 to pay South Central. The judge also ruled that Williams and Fisher were jointly and severably liable for the entire amount.

UPDATE: Here is ANOTHER recent judgement against Fish & Fisher found on PACER (all the local media outlets use PACER): The Big Red Can and Dottie Mother obtained a default judgement against F&F in federal court on March 25, 2009. Court said actions of F&F were "willful and malicious and rise to the level that would require this Court to assess punitive damages". Damages awarded were: $40,674 in actual damages, $5,000 in punitive damages, and $15,000 in attorney's fees for a grand total of $60,674. On top of the total amount listed below. Copy of judgement


Original Post
Fish & Fisher, a local firm, recently sued Toyota for racial discrimination. According to the lawsuit, Toyota did not invite Fish & Fisher to bid on a contract for site development work. WLBT reported last week:
"According to Fish & Fisher, Inc., vice president Jacqueline Williams, the company took every step to prepare to bid on the prime construction job for the Toyota plant, which is going up at Blue Springs. The company hired experienced project managers and supervisors, attended pre-bid meetings, and became certified under the National Minority Supplier Development Council.
But they claim they were never informed when the bidding process took place.
"No African-American companies were allowed to bid on this job because it was a closed bid, a private bid, to the job. You had to be invited," she says....
The lawsuit says, if the bidding had been open and fair, Fish & Fisher would likely have gotten the prime job for several reasons: it was the only company certified by the National Minority Council, and the company that was awarded the contract was not even bonded.
Once on the job, company President Renee (should be Renna) Fisher says his employees were subject to racial slurs and vandalism by workers from other companies.
"Trac hoes, different debris stuffed in the mufflers, rags. Water in the fuel," he says.
WLBT News asked for pictures of the vandalism, but we were told we couldn't see the pictures because they're evidence.
This ten-year-old general contracting company is seeking lost profits, punitive and compensatory damages. No dollar amount was given.." http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?s=10153349

Some serious charges but they don't tell the entire story, as a quick check of the Secretary of State's website and a call to the Hinds County Circuit Clerk's office would have shown a series of judgements and tax liens against Fish & Fisher. (Brace yourself, this is going to get ugly):

Company/Enrollment Date/Amount
Bonds Company/12-20-08/$77,168.03
Bancorp South/12-20-08/ $80,182.34
Puckett Machinery/7-26-08/ $54,682.97 - Attorney's fees: $18,227.65
Krystal Fravel Company/7-5-03/ $16,174
Transplatinum Service Corp/10-6-01/ $2,293.32
State Tax Commission/9-29-07/ $2.504.15
State Tax Commission/ 7-19-08/ $1,550.00
Ryder Truck Rental/ 1-5-02/ $21,366.21
State Tax Commission/ 7-19-03/$78.74
State Tax Commission/ 5-7-05/ $485.40
G.E. Capital Financial Services/ 3-24-01/ $3,471.24 Attorney's fees: $842.48
H&E Equipment Services, Inc./ 12-20-08/ $287,407
Mississippi Employment Security Commission/ 8-30-08/ $613.60
State Tax Commission/11-3-07/ $1,503
IRS/ 9-29-09/ $139,619
IRS/3-12-08/ $95,701
IRS/ 4-15-08/ $18,229
IRS/ 5-25-07/$242
IRS/" " " /$10,292
IRS/ 9-28-07/ $7,105

If all of these liens and judgements belong to Fish & Fisher, the total is $839,737.82. There were other judgements on the SOS website such as one filed by Merchant's & Farmer's Bank, but were not in the Hinds County databases. The liens were either on the SOS website and/or verified at the offices of the Hinds County Chancery Clerk or Circuit Clerk. If these liens do in fact belong to Fish & Fisher, it could be argued this is not a financially sound company (the SOS website listed its status as "intent to dissolve") and one could see why Toyota did not invite this company to bid on its work.

It should also be noted there was once a Fish & Fisher Transportation Company dissolved in 2003. Ms. Jacqueline Williams, one of the principals of Fish & Fisher, was an officer of the company along with Renna Fisher. The Hinds County Circuit Clerk's office also has several judgements enrolled against a Fish & Fisher Trucking Company. It will not be surprising to learn Williams and Fisher are principals in this company as well. Given the nature of these companies and their financial instability, this lawsuit is probably an attempt by the plaintiffs to get a quick settlement out of Toyota. For some strange reason, this lawsuit doesn't pass the smell test.

By the way, all of this was public record and not one reporter bothered to look this up. Note to media: When a company is filing suit, check the judgement rolls at the Hinds County website and the UCC info search on the SOS website. That will usually tell you if there is something wrong.

https://business.sos.state.ms.us/ucc/soskb/SearchStandardRA9.asp

The Clarion-Ledger reports:
"A Jackson contracting firm has filed a racial discrimination suit in federal court against Toyota, the governor and other state officials challenging how the bid process for the $1.3 billion project was handled.
Fish & Fisher of Jackson allege Toyota and the state officials "conspired to deny minority and/or disadvantaged businesses ... the same opportunity to bid on the Toyota Prius plant contracts by inviting only white-owned companies the privilege to bid on the general or tier one projects with Toyota and to make a profit," according to the complaint.
Fish & Fisher, which is owned by Jacqueline Williams and Renna Fisher, says it met the requirements to be general contractors for the site preparation work but were not asked to bid..."

Mr. Fisher is an expert on being stiffed as a quick check of the Hinds County judgement rolls reveals:
Judgment:
Defendent:FISHER RENNA ET AL
Plaintiffs : BANCORPSOUTH BANK
Rendition Date:12/09/2004
Satisfied Date: 02/19/2008
Enrolled Date: 12/25/2004
Book & Page: 496-0338
Amount: 24,689.00
It's Da Man's Fault

Meanwhile, there are a string of judgements for a Jacqueline Williams and a Jacqueline Andrews (The Secretary of State's website has her listed as Jacqueline Williams Andrews): Jacqueline Williams' judgements, Jacqueline Andrews' judgements. Since these judgements could belong to someone of the same name, the rest of this post will be addressed to Mr. Fisher:

If you want business Mr. Fisher, take care of your own business first. Companies like Toyota generally don't award contracts to deadbeats.