Eat Just’s GOOD Meat cultivated meat division has been sued by a second engineering firm over alleged non-payment of bills.
The latest complaint,* which follows a lawsuit filed by bioreactor company ABEC alleging non-payment of $30 million+ in invoices, was filed on August 30 by CRB Engineers and CRB Builders and alleges that GOOD Meat did not pay the parties in full for design, engineering and procurement services agreed in contracts signed in spring 2022.
According to the complaint, GOOD Meat agreed to pay $2.26 million for initial chartering work, but only paid $718k. Of the $2.79 million owed for additional services agreed upon in a written contract, GOOD Meat paid $50k.
In both cases, says the complaint, “When CRB Engineers approached defendants regarding the unpaid balance, Eat Just Inc proposed a payment plan, but was unable to make the payments it proposed.”
CRB is now seeking to claw back $4.285 million in unpaid bills “plus costs, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest and expenses.”
In an order on the case filed on September 6, the court instructed the plaintiffs to filed an amended complaint within 14 days “which adequately alleges federal jurisdiction.”
Eat Just has raised more than $850 million to date, including around $270 million for its wholly owned subsidiary GOOD Meat, which sells small amounts of cell-cultured chicken in Singapore and the US. (Click here to read about its latest round, announced Sept 1, which is on top of the $850 million.)
* The case is Clark, Richardson, And Biskup Consulting Engineers, Inc. and CRB Builders, LLC vs GOOD Meat Inc, and Eat Just Inc, filed August 30, 2023, in the US district court in the western district of Missouri. Case # 4:23-cv-00608
** The case is ABEC Inc vs Eat Just Inc, and GOOD Meat, Inc, filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Case # 5:23-cv-01091.
Further reading:
Eat Just’s GOOD Meat division hasn’t paid its bills, says bioreactor co; parties in arbitration
Guest article: The real impact of tariffs on US produce prices