Disney Vacation Club is facing some heat in court related to the ongoing refurbishment of Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. In a lawsuit filed in Orange County Circuit Court last month, Validus Construction Services is suing for unspecified damages related to breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation as part of their agreement with DVC for renovations at Saratoga Springs.
As initially reported by Gabrielle Russon at the Orlando Sentinal, Validus was hired by Disney to complete the work on Saratoga beginning in April 2019. Shortly after the project started, however, construction crews uncovered a series of fire code defects and violations that significantly changed the project’s scope, timeline, and overall cost. Validus’s owner, Nicole Wickens, claims that tensions arose due to Disney’s attempt to hide and remain silent regarding these violations rather than taking the necessary steps to increase the project’s scope and timeline as a result of the discovery.
Wickens has also accused Disney of misogynistic comments and belittling throughout the construction project. Examples of this include text conversations in which Disney’s team would respond to questions about the project using various insulting images and memes.
Tensions came to a head in April 2020 when Disney elected to terminate its construction contract with Validus, claiming that the contractor had not promptly paid subcontractors working on the project. Multiple subcontractors have also filed construction liens in Orange County against Validus for lack of payment totaling well over $350,000. Wickens states that these cash flow problems are the result of Disney refusing to pay for additional construction expenses due to the fire code violations, as well as added costs from other delays and mistakes caused by Disney.
Disney has since hired one of the project’s previous subcontractors to complete the remaining work planned for Saratoga Springs.
Stay tuned to DVC Fan, the DVC Fan Facebook Group, and The DIS for more information as it becomes available!
Source: Orlando Sentinel
