Airport dispute set for June trial

The legal troubles involving Oconee and the contractor it chose to extend the runway and taxiway at the county airport is set for trial the first week of June. An officer of the Common Pleas Court says Plateau Excavation versus Oconee County and others is set for a jury trial to begin Monday, June 2 at the Oconee Courthouse in Walhalla. Three years ago Plateau, an Atlanta area contractor, filed a claim for $1.9 million. The $1.9 million is an addition to the original agreed on price of $3.4 million. Plateau alleges Oconee County breached the contract and, after half the job was completed, ordered Plateau to stop work which Plateau says forced it to incur costs and expense. A month after the lawsuit was filed, Oconee County filed a counter claim. The case has been deemed “complex” litigation, and Judge Alex Macaulay of West Union has been assigned as the presiding judge.