A bitcoin company is accused by Mississippi Power Company, an electricity provider in the US, of breach of contract and unlawful enrichment.
According to the complaint submitted by Mississippi Power Company (MPC), in the Southern District court of the state of Mississippi, “on or about September 29, 2014” the electric company and GAW Miners entered into a contract for one year. In case of contract termination before the agreed date, GAW Miners promised to pay “a minimum monthly amount” of around $9,000 per month. MPC installed special equipment and started to provide the electricity to GAW Miners, but the latter chose to terminate the contract “on or about January 27, 2015”, just four months later. It seems that MPC were suddenly left without a customer and without money.
In fact, while monthly bills were sent by MPC to GAW, they were paid just once, says the complaint. Thus, when the service was discontinued, GAW Miners owed MPC more than $220,000. All demands by the electric company to pay the debt were ignored. That is why MPC is now accusing GAW Miners of “breach of contract” and “unlawful enrichment”. It is also suing its former customer for $73,000 owed for eight months that were left until the end of the contract and for $49,000 for the installation of special equipment needed to provide electricity to GAW Miners. The total amount is thus $346,647.29 plus interest, costs and attorneys’ fees.
Commenting on the issue in a Hashtalk forum thread, GAW Miners CEO Josh Garza remarked: “Unfortunately with a company the size of ours, there is always a legal dispute going on….” When asked about the reason for the legal dispute, he told: “We are in a dispute over the fee structure”.
Josh Garza and his company have been surrounded by controversy for a long time. As CoinFox reported in January, a campaign on Reddit accused Garza of “false/undelivered promises, blatant manipulation, and censorship”.
Many bitcoin mining companies have encountered difficulties recently. The falling price of bitcoin means mining is less profitable than it used to be. Some companies are trying to adjust their strategy. For instance, the mining company BitFury purchased Allied Control, a top immersion cooling company based in Hong Kong. The cooling provided by this company would allow to use computers for mining in places with warmer climates. Other companies have failed to evolve quickly enough. For instance, CoinTerra declared its bankruptcy.
