JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Another lawsuit has been filed against a troubled Jacksonville car dealership, the I-TEAM learned Wednesday.
A marketing company is suing Riverside Chevrolet's owners for more than $107,000.
The suit filed June 19 comes nearly two months after the I-TEAM began reporting on the dealership, with dozens of customers -- many of them active-duty military and veterans -- worried that their credit scores were ruined after Riverside Chevrolet did not follow through on its promise to pay off bank loans on their trade-in vehicles.
The owner of Paxon Automotive Marketing claims Riverside's general manager, Damon Ferguson, hired them to design and produce advertising materials and send out mailers to customers.
The suit claims that Riverside paid only $8,000, even though the bill was more than $100,000.
The marketing company demands a jury trial to get its money back.
The new management team, with Beaver Toyota, is also named in the suit because it took over running the dealership.
The I-TEAM discovered the second suit against Riverside Chevrolet just days after the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles filed an 888-count complaint against the dealership’s owners for a number of violations that could result in nearly a million dollars in fines and revocation of its license.
Last month, the Florida Department of Revenue filed court documents saying Riverside Chevrolet had unpaid taxes and fees totaling $450,000.
A Jacksonville plumbing company is also suing Riverside over an unpaid notice.
An attorney for Aldridge and Sons Plumbing filed the lawsuit last month. At the time, it was the first lawsuit filed against the dealership since it opened in 2016, according to court records in Duval County.
The I-TEAM reached out to Riverside’s owners on multiple occasions to provide comment, but they have not responded.
Nick Reuther, with Beaver Toyota, told the I-TEAM on Wednesday that he was aware of the new suit, but said his company had not taken over during the time the bills are owed.
Reuther said if Beaver is able to purchase the dealership, it will do its best to pay off all the past due bills for Riverside.