A solar panel company in Salt Lake County is suing Wohali Builders for unpaid debts totaling almost half a million dollars in the fourth lawsuit filed against the luxury real estate business this year.
The 5,000-acre Wohali property is located approximately five minutes west of Coalville and Echo Reservoir. Interested homebuyers can select semi-custom units of varying sizes, floor plans and architectural styles intended to serve as the pinnacle of luxury real estate, according to the company. The largely undeveloped private valley boasts 3,400 acres of backcountry trails in addition to a golf course.
But behind the scenes, the community promising to help property owners imagine their “perfect living experience without compromise” is embroiled in legal troubles.
Eave Solar, a company committed to “delivering cutting-edge solar technologies” in Utah, filed a lawsuit in Third District Court on Thursday. The complaint alleges Wohali Builders and Wohali Land Estates — the two companies in charge of the construction and management of the property — owe Eave Solar approximately $489,492 for work on six different lots within the development.
The complaint details documentation of the company’s attempts to contact Wohali for payment, including six preliminary notices filed in February and March with the State Construction Registry, a government agency intended to “protect public health, safety and welfare by promoting a fair working environment for construction projects in Utah.”
Eave Solar requested a judgment as part of its lawsuit against Wohali for “the principal amount of $489,492.63 plus interest at the rate of 10% per annum” and a foreclosure on all properties the company reportedly worked on without receiving payment.
Furthermore, the solar company claims Wohali is obligated to pay “all reasonable attorney fees, expert fees, costs and expenses incurred,” as well as “reasonable costs of travel, legal research, investigation and copying,” due to a provision in all six of the signed contracts related to the company’s work on the Wohali property.
Knight Trucking, a transportation services company with a terminal in Salt Lake City, filed a similar lawsuit last month. The trucking business claimed Wohali hired it to haul materials to and from the construction site between Jan. 10 and May 28 of this year, but Wohali allegedly failed to pay for the services, which totaled approximately $119,255.
The lawsuit additionally alleged Wohali was paid by a third-party service for the work Knight Trucking performed, but the development company “failed” to pay despite having the money in hand. The complaint then accused Wohali Builders of outright refusing to pay the bill.
Thomas Cottone, a founding member of Wohali Builders, also filed two separate lawsuits against the company and two key executives earlier this year. In addition to financial mismanagement allegations, Cottone claimed the executives engaged in coordinated retaliation efforts to defame him and remove him from his position on the board after he attempted to voice concerns and re-establish oversight through further financial controls.
John Kaiser and Matthew Galioto, the two executives named as defendants in Cottone’s litigation, have been working to bring their vision of the multi-million dollar project to life in eastern Summit County for the past eight years. Cottone, however, claimed Kaiser and Galioto accused him of misconduct “in a series of emails, meetings and calls with the project’s investors” after Cottone encouraged the development company to agree to an audit, improve financial controls and provide transparency regarding business transactions.
Cottone said his reputation was “irreparably tarnished” as a result, and he was subsequently removed from his leadership position with the project.
Throughout the lawsuit, he also alleged that Kaiser has a history of fraud connected to similar development projects across the country, including a 2015 civil case in Arizona in which Kaiser was ordered by a judge to pay defrauded investors $515,000.
In 2013, Kaiser testified against his former business partner, who was ultimately convicted of defrauding investors in New York. The criminal case was Kaiser’s introduction to Galioto, an FBI investigator who worked the case and used him as a source and witness.
“On information and belief, it is highly irregular and against standard practice for a law enforcement officer and his former source — in a complex fraud action involving real estate developments — to enter into a substantial business relationship, also involving a development project, with a key witness,” the lawsuit said.
Cottone became involved with the project in 2017. He grew the investor pool to 65 members and $25 million in contributions, as well as securing a $79 million loan, before he voiced concerns about financial mismanagement in late 2022. He was then ousted from the company and the project in retaliation for becoming a whistleblower, Cottone’s lawsuit alleged.
“Cottone would later learn that months before Kaiser shut him out, he also tried to inhibit Cottone’s ability to maintain the required checks and balances — and justify his own obstruction — by initiating a smear campaign against Cottone amongst Wohali Builders employees, generally accusing Cottone of being a bad guy who was untrustworthy and committing nefarious and potentially ‘illegal’ acts,” the complaint said.
Cottone asked for a total of $195 million in damages — $65 million for each claim of defamation, invasion of privacy and interference with Cottone’s economic relations — as well as attorneys’ fees.
The libel lawsuit involving Kaiser and Galioto has a motion hearing scheduled for 2 p.m. on Nov. 18. No dates are set in the other three cases as of Monday afternoon.
Attorneys representing Wohali Builders have not yet filed responses in court to any of the ongoing litigation.