Albion Staffing Solutions Inc. said it had no recourse but to file a lawsuit against the city of Fort Lauderdale to collect more than $187,000 in unpaid invoices. The staffing firm, headquartered in Miami, alleges the city mismanaged billing codes for staffed positions.

“We want city officials and taxpayers to know that as the staffing vendor to the Great City of Fort Lauderdale, this was the last thing we wanted to do, but sometimes unfortunately it takes a lawsuit to get action on resolving a problem that was not our fault,” said Albion President Peter Santangelo.

This lawsuit claims Albion is still owed $187,100.97 for unpaid invoices for temporary staffing services provided to the city under a temporary employment services contract, and says the city’s audit report acknowledges the debt owed to Albion.

The lawsuit alleges Albion entered into an agreement for temporary services in early 2014, and the city paid the invoices without objection until July 8, 2014. However, beginning with the June 8, 2014, invoice, the city has failed and refused to pay any of Albion’s invoices despite never objecting to its services or invoices and continuing to request additional services, according to the lawsuit.

“We don’t want to see taxpayers affected by having to pay the possible legal cost and consequences for the city’s mismanagement, so we hope the city does the right thing and pays for the services it requested and that we provided,” Santangelo said. “The City Manager seems to forget that Albion paid our staffing employees on the signed timecards authorized by the city.”

Santangelo continued: “It’s not just a question of unfairness in our not being paid. Even though we’re one of the area’s largest staffing firms, taking a hit this large would be a setback for most local companies and could affect our efforts in providing needed jobs in Broward County.”

Albion, headquartered in Miami, was incorporated in 1999 and operates four offices serving the South Florida area. It targets the clerical and light industrial sectors.

The lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County (Case No. 15-018760-CACE-09).