Lexington Blue update: Roofing subcontractor out after ‘hateful phone calls’
In another blow to the former customers of failed roofing company Lexington Blue, the company announced Thursday that a subcontractor will no longer take over its unfinished work as previously announced.
When Lexington Blue, owned by Brad Pagel, announced it was closing on April 26, the company said it had partnered with Skyline GC to take over all outstanding projects.
Now, according to the latest email to customers, “While Skyline GC was able to complete a small number of installations, they informed us they are no longer able to move forward with the remainder of the projects as they have been bombarded with hateful phone calls and emails coming from multiple sources, some customers, many not.”
Ironically, customers also received yesterday an apparently automated email from Lexington Blue saying, “Happy May from all of us at Lexington Blue, we’re excited to keep your project moving smoothly.”
Skyline GC is operated by a former Lexington Blue worker, Cesar Gutierrez Arreaga, 21.
He said in a phone interview he’d received threats and calls from former Lexington Blue customers asking for their insurance deposits back.
Except he doesn’t have it; Lexington Blue took all of that, he said.
Lexington Blue and Pagel “tried to make me responsible for everything,” he said. He said he did not understand the scope of the problem when he agreed to help Pagel.
Now Lexington Blue said in the new email that they are “actively in legal discussions with other reputable, licensed, and insured providers who meet the same or higher standards Lexington Blue upheld before its recent insolvency. The right provider will be fully equipped and capable of stepping in where Skyline backed out, and will be able to ensure that your project is completed properly.”
Lexington Blue said in the email, “WE HAVE EVERY INTENTION OF COMPLETING YOUR PROJECT.”
But the company also asserted that its contract gives the company “right to retain up to 100% of deposit on all cancellations, as none of this situation was intentional and we would have made the transition much sooner had we been fully apprised of its effects on us and our valued customers.”
However, multiple customers have told the Herald-Leader they’d been calling and emailing the company for months for updates on when their roofing work would be done.
The company is facing a potential class-action lawsuit, filed by lawyers in Louisville, over roofing work never completed, apparently hundreds of jobs partially paid for but never done.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office also is investigating Lexington Blue. The Attorney General’s office’s in March subpoenaed business and financial records dating back to Jan. 1, 2023, for the company.
