History & Operations

Performance Contractors is an industrial contractor operating throughout the South, primarily in the Gulf Coast region. The company serves the chemical, refinery, manufacturing, and energy industries, and also provides pipe fabrication and pipe erection services. President Art Favre owns Performance Contractors, which he co-founded in 1979 with Ron White.

Performance Contractor’s website, www.performance-br.com, is currently under construction. What appears to be a draft version of the company’s site is available at http://www.3cdf.com/3rdwebs/perf/master/perfhtml/prof.htm

Estimates of the company’s revenues from such sources as Dun & Bradstreet and Hoovers vary greatly, but most show the company taking in over $250 million per year. In addition to the Baton Rouge headquarters, Performance Contractors has offices in Freeport, TX and Mobile, AL. The company claims to be licensed in sixteen states.

Affiliated Companies

Performance Contractors owner Art Favre is an officer of the following companies, all of which share the 9901 Pecue Lane address:

ARTLAND ENTERPRISES, L.L.C
ARTLAND LOUISIANA, LLC
MISTLETOE PROPERTIES LLC
PECUE ENTERPRISES LLC
PERFORMANCE ENTERPRISES LLC

Most of these companies own real estate in the Baton Rouge area. A full profile of these companies, and other entities involving Art Favre and Performance official Brent Boe, will be provided in a future update.

Litigation

Performance Contractors has been involved in dozens of state and federal court cases throughout the South. The following cases have been retrieved from courts in Alabama and Louisiana. More cases will be added in future updates.

Johnson v. Performance Contractors

Filing Date: May 9, 2007
Location: US District Court, Mobile, AL
Docket: 1:07-CV-407
Status: Dismissed

The plaintiff, an African-American female pipe welder, alleged that after being hired by Performance Contractors a jobsite superintendant refused to accept her, saying that she would be working “high off the ground” and that the work was too difficult for a woman. Performance Contractors denied these claims, and alleged that they offered the plaintiff other jobs. The defendant’s motion for summary judgment was granted, and the Court noted the plaintiff’s “willful failure to comply” with the Court’s orders in dismissing the case.

Complaint 05/09/2007

Answer 06/08/2007

Motion for Summary Judgment 01/15/2008

Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment 04/03/2008

Judgment Dismissing Case 05/15/2008

Performance Contractors v. Burns & McDonnell Engineering and ConocoPhillips

Filing Date: December 21, 2006
Location: US District Court, Lake Charles, LA
Docket: 2:06-CV-2379
Status: Settled

Performance Contractors sued Burns & McDonnell and ConocoPhillips for $7,648,005 for allegedly unpaid work performed at the Lake Charles Refinery. The case was transferred from state to federal court, and was settled before the defendants filed answers to the complaint.

Complaint 12/21/2006

Dismissal 04/05/2007

Atlantic Scaffolding Company v. Performance Contractors

Filing Date: July 24, 2006
Location: US District Court, Lake Charles, LA
Docket: 2:06-CV-1243
Status: Settled

Atlantic Scaffolding, a subcontractor for Performance Contractors at the Lake Charles Refinery (owned by ConocoPhillips) sued for $230,110 in allegedly unpaid invoices. The parties reached a settlement.

Complaint 07/24/2006

Answer 08/16/2006

Correspondence Regarding Settlement 11/27/2006

Joint Motion to Dismiss 12/19/2006

Remedies v. Performance Contractors

Filing Date: July 21, 2006
Location: US District Court, Lake Charles, LA
Docket: 2:06-CV-1239
Status: Judgment for Defendant

The plaintiff, a former employee, sued alleging that Performance Contractors and its health plan administrator, Preferred Benefit Administrators, refused to pay for medical expenses incurred around the time his employment terminated. The defendants successfully argued that the plaintiff had failed to exhaust administrative remedies before filing the suit, and their motion for summary judgment was granted.

Complaint 07/21/2006

Answer 07/26/2006

Motion for Summary Judgment 03/07/2007

Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment 03/21/2007

Memorandum Ruling 08/23/2007

Judgment 03/11/2008

Performance Contractors v. ABB Lummus Global

Filing Date: April 12, 2006
Location: US District Court, Lake Charles, LA
Docket: 2:06-CV-625
Status: Settled

Performance Contractors sued over a project at the Westlake Flex Feed plant in Sulphur, LA. The plaintiff sued for “an amount to be determined at trial” over alleged delays and problems that led to Performance Contractors being “wrongfully terminated” from the project. ABB Lummus denied the claims and countersued for breach of contract and tortious interference. The parties settled the case.

Complaint 04/12/2006

Exhibit A Contract Between ABB Lummus and Performance Contractors 04/12/2006

Emergency Motion for Injunction 04/17/2006

Answer and Counterclaim 08/03/2006

Reply to Counterclaim 09/12/2006

Joint Dismissal 09/13/2007

Gaines v. Performance Contractors

Filing Date: April 13, 2000
Location: US District Court, Baton Rouge, LA
Docket: 3:00-CV-524
Status: Settled

Gaines sued alleging racial discrimination and wrongful termination, claiming he was fired after requesting material safety data sheets. Performance Contractors filed a motion requesting that the plaintiff, who represented himself, correct deficiencies in his complaint (the complaint was handwritten and did not follow the proper format). After this motion was granted, the parties settled the case.

Complaint 04/13/2000

Order Denying Appointment of Counsel 05/15/2000

Motion for Corrections to Complaint 12/04/2000

Dismissal 12/26/2000

Safety

Four closed and one open OSHA inspection files were found for Performance Contractors. The company had one initial violation with a proposed fine of $2,625, which was deleted in an informal settlement. Summaries of the closed OSHA files can be viewed HERE.

In the open investigation, Performance Contractors currently faces $10,000 in fines for two serious violations. This case is the result of a worker’s death in a fall, as reported by the New Orleans Times Picayune:

April 28, 2009
“Marathon Plant IDs Worker Killed in Fall; Death at Refinery is Under Investigation”

Marathon Oil Co. identified a 22-year-old Texas man as the contract worker
who fell to his death Thursday at the Garyville refinery.

Jeremy Nuspliger was working for Performance Contractors Inc. at a construction site on plant property when he fell around 11:45 p.m., Marathon spokesman Robert Calmus said.

He said Marathon and government agencies were investigating the fatal accident Monday.

It is thought that Nuspliger fell about 20 to 30 feet, Clement said.

Nuspliger, who lived in Bayton and Wharton, was working for Performance Contractors Inc. in Baton Rouge. The contractors were working on Marathon's $3.2 billion expansion project, which is projected to increase the plant's refining capability to 180,000 barrels more than it now can handle.

Calmus said Monday the company has provided grief counselors
for employees and contractors at the plant

Employee Benefits

For the most recent plan years available, 2,464 Performance Contractors employees participated in the 401k Plan, but only 536 employees were covered by the company’s healthcare plan. The following data is from the annual reports of the benefit plans:

401k Plan

Healthcare Plan