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A WELDING company has tried to pay out a $23,000 settlement entirely in coins, but the frustrated recipient took the matter to court.
In Northern Colorado, subcontractor Fired Up Fabrication claimed it worked with the welding company JMF Enterprises on a project and was owed for its services.
The welding company refused to pay the amount, resulting in a subsequent lawsuit from Fired Up Fabrication, per CBS News.
A settlement was ultimately reached in the legal dispute, with JMF owing the subcontractor a total of $23,500.
According to court documents, JMF sent its payment over to Fired Up Fabrication in August, which came in the form of a specially designed box filled with loose coins that totaled the amount owed.
The quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies included in the box weighed over 6,500 pounds when they arrived at the Denver office of Fired Up Fabrication’s attorney, Danielle Beem.
Beem called the effort made by the welding company “a symbolic middle finger,” along with “petty and a grand waste of time.”
The “major F-U” couldn’t even be accepted by the attorney if she wanted, as the office’s freight elevator held a maximum of 3,000 pounds.
Now, JMF Enterprises is seemingly facing the legal ramifications of the controversial gesture.
Larimer County Judge Joseph Findley ruled on Monday in a court hearing that the company’s owner, John Frank, pay the settlement through a conventional method, preferably a check.
It can also be paid through a certified bank check or other standard payment method — not coins.
The welding company has 14 days to comply with the court order.
The judge added that JMF Enterprises would also be responsible for covering the attorney fees and costs of Fired Up Fabrication due to its coin payment decision delaying the closure of the case.
Findley noted that the actions by JMF Enterprises were “malicious.”
“The defendants apparently obtained the coins in various denominations in neatly organized boxes but then took the extra step of removing the coins from the boxes and dumping them loosely and randomly into the large metal container,” the judge said at Monday’s hearing.”
“The court finds that the defendants acted maliciously and in bad faith.”
He continued that the coin payment was “a tactic aimed at frustrating and undermining the Plaintiff’s ability to receive the full benefit of its bargain by making payment so cumbersome and costly as to reduce the net amount of the settlement.”
Beem was satisfied with the judge’s ruling.
“I appreciate the judge’s order,” she told CBS News.
“I am hopeful that this will resolve this matter so all parties can move on.”
The additional incurred legal costs that JMF Enterprises will now have to pay on behalf of Fired Up Fabrication reportedly total over $8,000.
A Facebook post on the company’s page on Thursday included a clip of comments from some residents online supporting the coin payment move.
A caption read: “Thanks to all the ‘keyboard warriors.'”
An animated dancing representation of what appeared to be former President Donald Trump was also included.
The U.S. Sun has contacted JMF Enterprises’ attorney, Giovanni Camacho, for further comment on the dispute.
