Following a half-hour of litigation Wednesday afternoon in Hopkinsville, Christian County Circuit Judge John Atkins ruled in favor of arbitration between Ascend Elements and Turner-Kokosing Joint Ventures.
It didn’t, however, come without a caveat.
With that in mind, Atkins further noted that he tipped off the master commissioner — Lee Harton — in order to expect contact from mechanics lien holders in this filed suit.
Due to the expected workload, Atkins said a Cadiz attorney — H.B. Quinn — will serve as a special assistant master commissioner.
A carve-out in litigation specifically refers to an exception, or exclusion, in a larger agreement or provision, and it sets aside certain rights, responsibilities and/or assets, so they are not governed by the main terms of another agreement.
Atkins’ consideration for carve-outs came after compelling testimony from Turner-Kokosing counsel Vic McConnell, separating the difference between carve-outs and knock-outs.
And McConnell pressed further.
Counsel for Ascend Elements, Sasha Riedisser, offered rebuttal.
Turner-Kokosing Joint Venture — or Turner Construction Company and Kokosing Industrial, Inc. — opened suit against Ascend Elements, Inc., and its coming “Apex 1” location in Hopkinsville on February 14.
In it, officials asserted that the joint venture had provided labor and/or furnished materials or equipment to the project by December 20, 2024, and a bill for $138,418,735 has since gone unpaid by Ascend Elements.
Officials with Ascend Elements have confirmed that while construction has halted, new contracts will resume in Q3 2025, with production of pCAM expected to begin in 2026.
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