Federal judge rules Williamsburg pet treat maker, owner must pay $155,000

A federal judge has ruled a Williamsburg-based pet treat manufacturing company, and its owner, must pay one of its suppliers $155,000 — the second in a wave of lawsuits against the company for allegedly failing to pay its bills.

On July 3, U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove entered a default judgment against American Pet Food Manufacturing Company (APFM) and its founder, Kimberly Monday for the sum, plus pre and post-judgment interest of nine percent. Monday and her company were sued by Foodpros Marketing, Inc. on May 1.

According to the court filings, APFM received orders for tens of thousands of chicken breasts starting in Aug. 2013 into Sept. 2013. Foodpros claims the amount billed via invoices to APFM was due within 14 days of the goods being delivered and accepted.

APFM and Monday paid a total of $21,800, the lawsuit claims, in increments ranging from as little as $500 to as much as $5,000 between Oct. 2013 and March of this year. The balance of $155,000 is still due.

Additionally, the lawsuit also accused Monday of making “material false representation” to FoodPros in order for the company to provide it with goods.

Van Tatenhove entered a “default” judgment, because rules regarding civil lawsuits mandate that a defendant formally file a response to allegations within 21 days. The deadline for APFM and Monday to answer to the allegations expired June 11.
APFM has been a magnent for litigation since opening at the old Lion Apparel facility in Williamsburg last year.

In January, APFM was ordered to pay roughly $82,000 to settle a lawsuit brought against it by a local staffing service, The Job Shop, as part of a partial summary judgment. The Job Shop is owned by Impact Employment Solutions of Kentucky, LLC. The company provided temporary employees to APFM from February through July 2013.

The case was brought against APFM in Whitley Circuit Court. The Job Shop accused APFM of breach of contract for failing to pay money owed for supplying the employees.

The Job Shop also claimed in its lawsuit that APFMC was forbidden from hiring any of the workers it provided until at least “60 days after completion of assignment.”

According to court documents, seven employees provided by The Job Shop registered with Nesco Resource, another staffing service, on July 28, 2013, three days after their last assignment through the company.

Nesco Resource filed its own lawsuit against APFMC on Feb. 26 claiming the APFM owes it $146,016.65 for temporary employment services it provided. The outcome of that litigation is still pending.

APFMC is operating out of buildings that form the old Lion Apparel manufacturing facility in Williamsburg. The site was donated to the City of Williamsburg in 2012, and the city in turn did some work to upgrade them, then sold them to APFMC for $1.

The company is perhaps best known for its signature product, Dog Gone Jerky, which is a “human grade” jerky treat made with 100 percent USDA certified meats. It is marketed as a healthy alternative to other pet snacks. Dog Gone Jerky is currently being made in Williamsburg. The company has expanded its product line and is also in the process of producing “private label” pet snacks for other companies.