I Sued My $1,000,000 Bin Site Contractor 

I don't know anything about bin site construction but every time I see Daddy Cornstar up on the walk ways that are already falling apart, I pray, pray, pray for your safety. Good Luck, I hope you get what you are entitled to.

Have your lawyer show the court the video of your dad almost falling over the broken mess on the corn bins

Cole and all the Cornstar Fam, I’ve been following this build since you started. I’m a welder and fabricator and seeing the shoddy workmanship hurt my heart. Unfortunately, that’s the way a lot of companies are. They want to do things half-a$$3d and use cheaper and lighter equipment. I do a lot of repairs on logging equipment and 18’s here in NC. I’m not cheap. I don’t sugarcoat anything. My name and reputation are on the line, not to mention the fact that my kids and grandkids and a whole lot of others are going to be running the same roads as the stuff that I repair, and I would have an extremely hard time knowing that someone was hurt because of my negligence. Much love to you all and prayers that you come out on top of all this. You folks seem like some of the most genuine and hardworking folks that I’ve seen on here and I think that I speak for most on here that we only want you guys to be as successful as possible. 🤙🇺🇸

I love the line from their attorney " I don't understand why these issues don't come to light except when it's time to pay the final bill." That's like saying "I'm pretending to be stupid." Everyone who does construction knows that there is a final inspection and sign-off at the end of construction and if issues arise at that time they need to be addressed before the final bill is paid. Even if there is something found after sign-off it most times needs to be addressed before being paid.

I doubt it goes to trial when the contractor realizes they will most definitely lose. Hopefully in the settlement you can ask that they also pay your attorney and court fees. Good Luck and thanks for giving us an update 👍🏻

I went through one lawsuit over the death of my son. We were in court 5 times in 19 months. It wasn’t about money it was so nobody else would ever lose a child. So I believe it is for the protection of others as well! I saw daddy cornstar way up there and how unstable that rail is and if he was my dad I’d never allow him of the ground again!! You have a ton of footage on that build and your new lawyer should be able to see the problems.

I remember watching the progress of this and I remember you bringing up concerns at least twice, we once were a nation that took pride in our work. That is sorely lacking today and unfortunately you're not the only one dealing with issues of people who purport to be experts in their field but end up screwing things up in their process. I hope and pray you get full satisfaction from this ordeal and I pray nobody gets hurt before the bin site is fixed.

I really find it funny that they are fighting hard with this knowing you have documented everything with your RU-vid channel. You have dates and times of your concerns from the beginning when you started to use your grain bins.

I noticed way back during the summer some bad things were showing up at the build site. All the best to you all. You all work so very hard and are fair and trusting and this should not happen to you all. All the best!

Good on you for standing up for yourself 👍. This technique is often used by contractors, especially when they think their clients will just accept what has been put in front of them. So good on you!!!!!

Yes, I agree. As a former site superintendent working on building construction sites, I seen many errors occurred as I watched your podcasts on RU-vid. Hope this all turns out well for you in the near future.

You’re a 100% right in filing suit. Contractors that don’t meet specs should be hauled in for fixing their shoddy work. At our resort, we have had contractors hauled in for poor work or equipment manufacturers for warranty work on high end equipment. You have to identify early and seek remediation early because there are time clocks running under warranties or guarantees. Nice work Cole.

I have been watching you since you were a college kid, just wanting to show the world what goes on at a farm. The way you handle yourself in all situations has been awesome to watch. This includes your Dad and brother. You and your brother have been working on that farm like MEN since you were young. Apparently, they don't watch your channel. That company doesn't have a leg to stand on. You have so much documentation on the problems early on. The way you are conducting yourselves now shows how much integrity you have. You are a true Gentleman and Scholar.

Cole, you're extremely lucky in this lawsuit in the fact that your family has hours of video documenting the failures of the grain handling & bins. It's not just your opinion. Jurors will be able to watch the videos of the timeline of bringing the bins online at harvest season and the issues as the bins started to fail. Hang in there guys!

Almost sounds like the contractor has prior insurance claims and can’t afford another one

Alot say this should be private. Yet you have shared your entire farm even your financial part all to give your viewers an insight as to how a business like yours is run. The problems and challenges and how you you are handling them is an education to a lot of farmers from start ups to generational farms. Sometimes in business you have to get an impartial judge to sort out issues and that is part of running a large business. I appreciate that you aren’t naming names or trying to ruin a company’s reputation just trying to make sure the agreement you signed is completely completed as it was portrayed.

Cole, you’re very fortunate that you have so many recordings of the bin site going up. I remember you having some concerns before the bins even going up. I know you showed the faulty welding well before any bills coming due.

A fix. Pour the phase 2 set of slabs. I sent you an email with a video showing the reasons a concrete silo fell over. Including how much additional concrete needs to be calculated. Take apart the bins and move them to site 2. Eventually pour bin site 3 and then 4. If needed rip out the slab at bin site 1 to complete all 4 phases.

Prayers for a good outcome. Your family is hard working and honest people. Your ethics are better than most.

There was a video I watched awhile back ago you and your brother were gone, daddy corn star was alone on the farm and he climbed to the tip of the bin and the railings weren't even properly attached. I said a prayer he wouldn't fall cause that freaked me out so bad. I pray none of you get hurt from their negligence!

The contractor is lucky he isn't being sued for a serious accident.

You are handling this situation with honesty, integrity, and respect.

I just want say, Cole, you are , with out a doubt a true inspiration to myself and I’m sure many others. You are a so smart,honest, hard working, extremely knowledgeable guy and in EVERYTHING you take on you exude such enthusiasm, respect and a type of sentimental loyalty to the hard working generations before you with such pride. I love to watch how you handle life’s challenges. You so likable, shit, Im PROUD of you!! lol. I wish only the BEST in life for you and yours, keep up the amazing work! 👍🏻

Kills me such amazing people get trampled. Honeslty I wish I was more like Cole and his dad. I have never seen a better representation of what a family should be.

you and the family had issues with the Bin site well before the final payment was requested and it is documented in your own Video's as the site was being constructed, glad you went and talked with a true construction Litigator not wishing the contractor bad things but in reality THEY SCREWED UP

Do what you need to! At this point it's a health and safety Hazzard, I would do the same, especially before someone gets hurt, or even killed.

Copper great job showing and explaining the issues with the planters, love seeing the working on the equipment. Cole good luck in this Journey lawsuit. Hope the contractor is held accountable for the things not done correctly. 🙏🇺🇸🙏

This what comes out of my mouth or fingers so to Speak Isn't towards the Bin's Contractor at all. Way back when talking about this bin site project,before ya all even started I could have told ya that chances are super great the contractor would be sued over 1 thing or another. I hear these Sue happy stories all the time. I live in the middle of Farm Country USA. Is this a coincidence??? Yeahhhh adly I don't think so.

Keep taking the high road when representing this problem. I've been on construction management teams. When stuff starts falling apart and basic safety codes are obviously violated, so long as the specs are correct, then the builder has some explaining to do.

I really hope you have an excellent law team because this will boil down to who has the better lawyer. I really hope you win and get what is deserved. Honestly I think the whole thing should be torn down and redone even the cracking concrete.

You are an honest guy, Cole. We had seen on your postings that there are structural weaknesses. You also have a problem with rate of flow of your grain transport equipment. You must first try to work it out with the contractor. When they refuse, then go to the lawyers. We hope you have success in your quest. You folks have worked diligently to make this happen. You deserve the best for your investment. Honesty and careful gathering of fact will get you home. Amazing how much your grandfather resembles your father. I am certain I speak for all when I wish you ultimate success in your quest for completion of the job. Perhaps this is a gigantic misunderstanding and it will all work out to everyone's benefit.

You might have to get 2 new bins . Don’t forget that the builder will have insurance to cover your claim . You need to get the bins sorted

Cole that was well put. Taking the high road is the best path brother. You guys are so talented and I pray you Cooper and your DAD can fix this issues as faster quit resilution as fast as possible. All I can say is farmers are hearty breed that can fix most issues. The goal has to be maximizing grain storage maximizing profits and of course safety first. You have grow well past your years, I can see you were raised right son. Never let it get you down. You sure have a strong team you are on. Being a part of Any lawsuit does bring you down but its a necessary evil. Cheers. Neal Lee Apollo Beach Florida.

So sorry it had to come to this Cole. Hopefully they don't play the " let's just drag this out until they run out of money " tactic.

Dude basically said "It is so weird people do not notice construction issues until the job is done, and they finally have a chance to completely inspect it"

This is one of the reasons why I try to get my interactions in writing and/or record everything. It's amazing how suddenly people forget what they promised when the lawsuit arrives.

Goodness Cole! On this channel you are talking about your lawsuit....where as on Nave channel, you are WEARING A SUIT AT YOUR WEDDING!!!! Wow! So special!

Good luck Cole. I pray for you and your family. Nobody deserves to be taken advantage of

Cole, let me first say, Congratulations on the MRS. & the new BUNDLE OF JOY💙 (my guess) Second: please allow me to commend you on the extremely knowledgeable level of your rights at your stage in adulthood! I sincerely applaud you in every aspect of the process! You, my friend, are a Devine Gift from ABOVE! You’ve restored this 54yr old woman’s faith in humanity! You and yours will be in my prayers for Supernatural Blessings and Abundance along with Guidance and Protection, In the Mighty Name of CHRIST JESUS

First video I have tuned into but I will definitely be sticking around to hear what happens with the case. Best of luck Cole

You are an honest and humble man Cole.. I am happy to hear you ask for people on here to not try to get involved with your law suit.. It shows a level of humanity and maturity not seen in a lot of younger adults of your generation.. God bless you and your family! God will guide you through this mess!

The engineering group who signed off on the spec’s is another group you will have to include as the performance of the elevators aren’t performing as designed. The back and forth between the engineering group and the contractor is to be expected. Don’t back down and include any third parties involved.

Git em. Companies need to be held to the standard that is paid for. Ya'll deserve it, and they deserve what's comin' to em.

I’m so glad you had this on video. It helps to prove what happened and what didn’t happen. God bless.

Cole, one huge thing you got going for you is your video evidence from start to finish on that bin site. It was so smart of you and DC to document everything. I would not stop until they tore everything down to bare bones, re-done everything the way its suppose to be. This means from the pit, to the bin concrete. They need to redo it all. Then have a third part safety inspector inspect everything down to the last bolt and weld. If it takes quite awhile so be it. That previous contracting company should pay for the storage of your grain at the local co-op also including the trucking. I would also sue for the mental anguish that it caused you, DC and Cooper during harvest when you had to stop and fix the pits problems as well as others. You all deserve this. I am a man that believes in doing a solid good job from start to finish. You do what is fair and right to your fellow man. This project was nothing but shady dealings and poor craftsmanship on there part from the start. I hope you guys get all you deserve. I run my shop with the motto, "The Difference Between Good and Great Is 2%!" I wish you the best of luck Sir.

I feel for ya, I went through a nasty business lawsuit about 15 years ago, the only thing I can say definitively for my case, the only one who "won" in that case was the lawyers! In hindsight it would have served me better to just walk away but at the time my pride had the better of me and though I knew I was in the right, it all comes down to who has more money / better attorneys.

TBDH many of the "welds" in the upper structure _were never done_ as tack-plates were left in place without the correct cut and fitted then welded on brackets work completed. The work wasn't finished.

I definitely wouldn’t be climbing around on that bin site without a climbing harness it’s a pain in the butt but it’s not worth losing the ones you love money can’t replace family and friends

I hope you win the suit, Cole. That bin site has been dangerous for awhile.

Hope everything turns out in the best way for your family. Cudos to you for asking for grace for the contractor so that their business is not subject to unfair treatment from involved parties. That is classy and generous. In the meantime seeing people up on those bins scares me to death. God’s Grace and protection on y’all going forward.

Good luck with getting this sorted out and to be honest you should show those videos that have been taken by you. It shows just how dangerous it was for your family. Is and many others worried every time we saw any one off you going up to the top of the bin site. Let’s hope you get it sorted out soon and you can get it all fixed.

Absolutely take it to jury trial I can’t even believe their attorney would suggest it

My husband and I will keep you in our prayers. I have watched the videos of the bin project from when you started it. You did your homework, it's horrific how awful the work was. Be strong and be calm, even if calm is difficult

...Also, if it gets to trial, imagine the jury watching some of the videos you have shown us of the safety rails failing 😱😱 it has been nerve-racking for sure

Wow I'm so sorry to hear that & I hope you & your family & contractor Can get things settled ❤

I really appreciate all you Farmer families do for our country. It's so much hard work and yall make a lot of sacrifices. Thank you so much and I hope you get relief in what you are asking for from our court system. My family appreciates you ❤💪👑

Thats good that you put this up. A bad contractor will certainly try and disparage a good company/farm like this

I can’t watch this anymore.

I pray that you are able to get all this cleared up and fix so your farm works as you hoped it would. Praying for a good outcome for your family.

Document, Document, Document.......Your videos have clearly shown the safety concerns.

A smart man proceeds with caution and both his eyes and ears open. I am glad you are smart.

Yes, I would definitely get OSHA/insurance involved. When I saw Daddy cornstarch up there the other day I was having a fit and saying prayers as well. Stay safe all of you. God bless ⚘️

Good job DC. you raised some great humans….❤

always have a signed contract and understand it, if you don't understand it have it explained too. without one it makes it makes it really tough to take them to court. agreeing on a hand shake are a thing of the past. good for you Cole and family for stand your ground and going after them.

I know that construction laws do change per state but I would see if the following would help you (Especially if a Permit was involved): If they had any calculations they needed them stamped by an engineer - This would usually generate into something called a Submittal for a final review which you should have seen. Another item is if there was welding and the plans may have mentioned requiring a special inspection (3rd Party Inspector), that means they need to provide welding certs and inspection reports for welds completed, this would show that either they did not pass or were not inspected per the plans. What is really concerning is them not sending you the plans, now I have seen this be the case in some residential projects say you buy a track home and those are only transferred over after final payment. Another way this could be the case is they have not yet sent you the close out documentation which discloses their warranties (usually applied at substantial completion) Hopefully you were able to get somewhere on this!

When someone spends that much money it needs to be done perfect. Sometimes things do go wrong but I hate to see things go to this level. Good luck and I do hope things turn out for the better.

The cost of doing business laddy, stay in honor and keep your paperwork squared away, files backed up, accounts in order, your families investment (sweat, blood and tears) is on the line. Keep a big wall chart of activity of your suit so you all can see it at a glance and it's not stuck in your head!!! Blessings and light to you and your family 💥💫💦💨

I don’t know how the algorithm got me to your channel but I love your tenacity and my goodness the name of your channel corn star is amazing

Just listening to this is making ME anxious! Conflict is never easy. Hopefully you can get through this without too much stress. It may be a long time, but I hope everything is resolved and your bin site eventually works correctly.

Seems hard to believe they wouldn't rectify this without a lawsuit being filed unless they hard a good reason not to.

Much Respect to You and Many Families who have ever been wronged by corrupt Contractors who abuse Customers

I'm a residential contractor. I do change orders for everything. I don't surprise anyone with even 159 dollars in extras at the end, let alone 160k.

Look back in cole vids when he’s trying to sell dirt to pay for this bin set up @ who’s he’s sueing

Glad to see you will have your day in court. It was frustrating to me watching the construction because I’m a construction inspector by trade. I thought you were being taken advantage of then, and I hope the lawsuit results in an equitable settlement. On a happier note, congratulations to you newlyweds! You’re a lucky man to have found such a great partner for life.

Cole, thanks for the info. I have been through similar lawsuits before, and the advice to us was not to discuss the case with anyone until the case was settled. And it worked out ok. I look forward to hearing the final result of your suit. Good luck.

Cole, in this world it always warms my heart to see a Justice Warrior at work. It is tempting to just think of these situations as “My Farm Against Unfair Vendors”. But, when you stand up for yourself and your family, you are also (indirectly) standing up for everyone - standing up for all of us. A swindle is only contemplated if the swindler thinks they can actually get away with theft. When Cornstar Farms is victorious in court, your actions will inform them that NO, you cannot swindle us, you cannot get away with this. And, I’m betting the entire county knows what’s happened. Good luck to the contractor in securing new business in your area.

Did the change orders include the extra materials?

20-03-2023.Congratuations to both of you newly weds.Cole much to talk about get a DNA check with Nave, and get ready for a supprize. Keep your Dad off that cat walk.Did you have a model of the grain silo bin site?

Come on everyone let’s buy out cornstar merchandise so Cole has the cash he needs to fight these crooks!!!!!!

Thank you to all the farmers out there!!!

A little while back I wrote comments that I was hopeful you would read to find helpful, prudent as actions to take when trying to resolve disputes. My experiences have been this best defence is always a strong offense, so lawyer up. Your best lawyers will never let you go to trial. There’s a beautiful strategy of quiet diplomacy. . As much as you can take the emotion out of it,words matter. Be incredibly resolute and attentive, but also understanding it’s a process . Best of luck you look in good hands .

Cole & family. You all take pride in your work. You care more about your work & reputation than you do money. All anyone in life expects is the same. Unfortunately not everyone out there shares those same beliefs. Anyone who has watched your channel kmows this already. I have no doubt you gave them plenty of opportunities to make this right. (We’ve seen it on this channel). You all work hard to make your family farm & ventures successful. You are doing what needs to be done. There are contracts for a reason. You have to protect yourselves & the future of your families farm. I’m sorry you all have to deal with this. If only every person out there cared about their quality of work & take pride in what they do in life. Not only in their personal life but there professional life as well. It’s unfortunate you had to go the legal route but this is what needed to be done. They were not going to accept responsibility & make it right. Thank goodness you are so good with documenting everything. That will be very helpful with the legal battle. Plus your videos will help set a timeline. Just goes to show these videos are so much more than entertainment for those of us watching. It’s also documentation for you & your family.

There is no engineering plans, that cost money. A lot of lawyer talk to say we don't have them.

Hope u got a performance and payment bonds from them when they were hired

What’s insane to me is that these people KNEW the whole thing was going to be filmed and they still let some of this product happen. I know we don’t know everything but there’s definitely stuff wrong here. I’m also sure the family didn’t do something they wished they would have at first, Huns sight being 20/20. We all know they made changes on the fly to some pieces of this. Also Cole is super detail oriented and will notice anything and everything and once you find one thing you find lots more. The biggest thing to remeber is that cole only shows us what he wants us to see. I’m not saying he’s wrong, it certainly appears as though there are major problems but we do not and will not know the full story.

Now that they’ve responded it goes to the judge to set a date then onto DISCOVERY this is where you should be able to get your hands on them plans cole, go after them hard, don’t let them drag it out, request a speedy trial, dig up the dirt, hire a investigator to look into their previous jobs and customer complaints all of which can be used at trial to prove negligence

Thanks for the explanation on the bin site situation. I was really looking forward to the finished product, and disappointed when it didn’t happen. Good luck in your law suit. Damn shame y’all have to go through this!!

Hey I talked too your contractor yesterday I believe he's in the right the way he told the story

I had this happen to me when we built a huge log home. I had to pay for the logs when the two 18 wheelers showed up with them. When the house was done the were logs left over and I told the contractor that I was going to use them for landscaping and he promptly told me the logs was his because it was material left over. I told him that the logs were paid for by me so it wasn’t like lumber he had ordered and had delivered. The next day the logs were gone so I called the Sheriff and he arrested the builder for stealing materials. I filed a law suite on the builder and he brought the logs back all damaged so I had photos of the logs when delivered and again I took pictures of the damaged logs. The suite drug on and his lawyer told him he was in the wrong plus his son and daughter came to me saying I was hurting their dads reputation and I shower them the logs delivered then a photo of what he did to the logs. Four weeks later before the trial a load of twenty new logs were delivered to my house. I had a letter saying they were paying my lawyers bill and his insurance company paid me $25,000 compensation. Back in 1979 that was a lot of money. I just don’t understand what motivates people and after that he quit being a home builder because everybody said he was wrong doing what he did. I stood up to him and this had never happened to him before. He is a janitor at the school now.

Contract detail is interesting, no design responsibility by the contractor carries more risk for Cole. Well done on getting a construction specialist contractor involved. Talk of theft, is emotive BS which followed a monologue on not slating the contractor. You have a contract dispute consisting of one or multiple breaches of contract, by any definition it is not theft. What this video shows is get everything in writing, even a conversation, even if you are on good terms with the contractor, and it should always be your record of events. In the construction industry the mantra is “Records, Records, Records”.

It is about time. That build wouldn't have flown with me after seeing they used rusted metal in some of it. For the price you paid it all should have been new steel. Pray this gets resolved quickly.

Oh yes. I remember you asking the viewers to send you free money to help cover the extra expenses.

You have put up with this crap way better than I ever would have. I applaud you guys for your professionalism.

I had a feeling that when you were doing your videos previously about this this was going to be a problem. I'm sorry that you have to go through that and I hope you can get through all this and hopefully it works out for everybody involved and I hope that one day you can get silo's that's will be properly installed and working correctly and are not a safety risk.

I'm so sorry you have to go through that headache Cole, wishing a quick resolution. We'll pray for an quick and equitable resolution.

Praying for a perfect outcome. I’m so sorry that you are going through litigation.

Let's switch gears... CONGRATULATIONS COLE AND NAVE! GODS HAND IS ON YOU. 🎉

Sadly, the only winners in this case will be the lawyers. From the video I saw about the cracks in the concrete, one or more bins may need to be torn down and new concrete poured, but only after someone builds a good base to put it on. I hope it doesn't go that far, but these bins are built to last "Almost" forever, and a bad base under the concrete will limit the years considerably.

I hope you get Justice. I will pray that you get Justice. I'm glad you're still up beat or at least you look like your upbeat. Don't let it get you or your family down.

Honestly a hard lesson to learn early but I had a similar experience on a much lower scale. I paid a contractor over $30,000 to do some work on my only house I ever owned and it was a big deal to me. Low and behold this licensed contractor did not finalize any permits he pulled and he did not do half of the work correctly. In fairness it may have been "ok" to leave it but not up to my standards. I don't want to make problems and pass them on I want things done right. So I fired him paid him off and said go be on your way in so many words and I re-did arguably the much harder work all over and it was even harder because I had to undo his work and shoot let me tell you weeks of labor intensive work is not fun. I easily re-did $15,000 of the work I paid for and I reapplied for the permits as an owner/builder and had to re inspect and finalize everything myself and thats when I said to hell with Contractors. Do it myself. I will save money and I will do it better than them. Tough lesson to learn on your scale of a project though. I hope you get a good outcome.