The developer for a dual-branded hotel at 290 Lowes Boulevard, along with four other defendants, are being sued for breach of contract for allegedly failing to pay an electrical contractor in Raleigh for its services during the construction of the two new hotels.
DPRBS Hospitality (DRPBS), the developer for the two hotels, a LaQuinta Inn & Suites and Hawthorn Extended Stay, is based in Scott County, Iowa but also has an office in Guilford County, according to the lawsuit.
The developer has said that its Mebane project is unique in that two different brands will operate under a single roof: Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham, an extended-stay hotel; and LaQuinta, a midscale hotel brand that’s also part of the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts group.
Rexel USA, an electrical supply distributor that is headquartered in Texas but has a registered office in Raleigh, filed a lawsuit late last year against the developer and the other four defendants, claiming it had not been paid for materials and labor it provided for the construction of the LaQuinta Inn & Suites in Mebane.
A hearing in the dispute is currently scheduled for Monday, April 13, in Alamance County superior court.
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Construction began on the first phase of the project in early 2023 but stalled amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mebane’s city council had approved plans in 2019 for a phased construction of two hotels, as well as a mixed-use commercial building, on the approximately seven-acre site that fronts I-85/40.
The site plan was revised in 2021, expanding the number of rooms that Hawthorn Suites will have to 103 but reducing the number of parking spaces.
The revised site plan calls for 210 parking spaces to be shared between the office/retail building and the second hotel (LaQuinta), which is the sole focus of the lawsuit that Rexel has filed in Alamance County superior court.
The four other defendants to the suit are: Pel Construction, a general contractor licensed in North Carolina but based in Michigan; MSP Superior Services, a subcontractor for the project that is based in Baltimore, Maryland and has an office in Raleigh; Electrical Services, LLC of Maryland and its president, Bryant Edward Alexander.
Rexel claims to have supplied materials and services for the construction of LaQuinta Inn & Suites along Lowes Boulevard between March and April 2025, under a subcontract with Electrical Services, LLC, according to the company’s suit.
Rexel alleges that Electrical Services and its president, Alexander, agreed to pay Rexel $165,293.93 in 12 monthly installments for “multiple projects,” of which $85,848.75 was for labor and materials furnished for the LaQuinta project, the lawsuit alleges. Alexander made a partial first monthly payment of $10,000 for Electrical Services LLC but none thereafter, the complaint states.
Rexel further alleges that Alexander and Electrical Services LLC subsequently breached a purported “settlement agreement,” in which Alexander agreed to pay the outstanding balances due in 12 monthly installments of $13,000, with each payment due before the 23rd day of each month, and made a partial first payment but none thereafter, according to the complaint.
Rexel is seeking multiple judgments against the defendants under alleged claims of breach of contract and unjust enrichment, including: joint and individual judgments of $75,848.75 against each of the defendants; and two separate, joint and individual judgments of $155,293.93 and $75,848.75 against Electrical Services, LLC and its president, Alexander. The electrical supply distributor is also seeking an award for interest, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.
The plaintiff is also asking for a superior court judge to declare a lien in favor of Rexel on any funds that DRPBS and Pel Construction, the general contractor, are due to pay Electrical Services, LLC in order to satisfy the alleged outstanding debt for labor and materials furnished by Rexel.
DRPBS and Pel Construction acknowledge in their responses to the complaint that they had entered into standard agreements under which MSP agreed to serve as a “first-tier subcontractor” for the project, referred to in court documents as “the LaQuinta + Hawthorn project.”
Both the developer and general contractor deny having entered into any agreement with the defendant Electrical Services, LLC in connection with the Mebane project, according to responses that both DRPBS and Pel have filed in superior court. The developer and general contractor also deny that they are liable to Rexel for any alleged outstanding debt under the subcontract with Electrical Services, LLC.
The city of Mebane’s development map continues to list the project status of the dual-branded hotel as “under construction.”
Construction of the LaQuinta Inn & Suites in Mebane appears to be complete, but it has not yet opened.
A default judgment against MSP Superior Services, Electrical Services, LLC, and Bryant Alexander was granted in Alamance County superior court earlier this year, after those defendants failed to file a response to the lawsuit.
Rexel is being represented by the Conner Gwyn Schenck law firm in Raleigh. DRPBS Hospitality and Pel Construction are being represented by the Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton law firm in Raleigh.
