London contractor Bentley Construction is suing supermarket subsidiary Somerfield Property for more than £800,000 in a dispute over unpaid bills.
Bentley claims that the dispute led it to stop trading at the end of last year, according to a writ issued by the firm in the High Court.
Somerfield originally sued Bentley for damages, on the grounds that it had been overcharged for work on stores throughout the UK.
But Bentley claims its bills have been calculated properly, and that Somerfield deliberately tried to injure the company by starving it of payments, knowing that loss of cash flow and working capital would mean Bentley would have to cease trading.
The contractor claims that Somerfield wrongfully refused to pay money owed for refurbishment work on its stores, before removing Bentley from its list of approved contractors and handing the work to other companies.
According to the writ, Somerfield refused to pay for maintenance works, and in a bid to evade payment, accused Bentley of fraud.
