FIRM SUES FOR PAY FOR WORK ON COURTS.

LOS ANGELES - A construction firm that handled electricity and plumbing work at the new $109 million Antelope Valley courthouse has sued the contractor, claiming it is owed $2.3 million.

Plaintiff A.O. Reed & Co. entered into a subcontracting deal with Haskell Constructors of Irvine in December 2000 to handle electrical and plumbing systems at the four-story courthouse on 4th Street West and Avenue M in Lancaster.

A.O. Reed was to be paid about $7.5 million for its work, but claims it only received about two-thirds of that, according to the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit.

Century City-based MBK Southern California, the developer of the 380,000-square-foot site, is also a defendant.

Representatives of Haskell and MBK could not be reached Friday for comment on the allegations.

The breach-of-contract claim will first go to an arbitrator, but the other claims, for foreclosure on a mechanic's lien and enforcement of payment bond, will go ahead in court, plaintiff's attorney Steven S. Owen of San Diego said.

A mechanic's lien is a form of security for contractors in the event they are not paid, Owen said.

Although Owen said it is unlikely, it is possible the plaintiffs could ask a judge to order that the Antelope Valley courthouse be sold to raise the money.

The courthouse is not technically owned by Los Angeles County, but by a nonprofit corporation - the Los Angeles County Courthouse Corporation - established by county supervisors in 1984 so the county doesn't have to ask voters to approve bonds.

The facility opened last month in a gala ceremony that included Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley and county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, for whom the building is named.

It replaced the 40-year-old courthouse at 10th Street West and Avenue J, which critics said was old and cramped.