Brian Darnell the unethical general construction contractor in O Fallon Missouri featured in a NEWS 4 Special Investigation has reached another Civil court milestone, dragging the case with former customer Sheldon on for so long that now a third judge is being assigned to manage the case.
The new judge presiding over Darnell’s current lawsuit is ROBERT M HEGGIE of St Louis County.
The court update to Casenet tells the cautionary tale of why avoiding this crooked contractor is advisable:
That is correct, now for 1058 days an unfortunate citizen who chose to do business with Brian Darnell has been trying to make things right. 1058 days that the homeowner could have spent concerned with other matters than trying to get their money back from an unscrupulous person.
What is even more damning is the court entry from November 21 of 2017, well over a year ago. In that update the Judge entered an Interlocutory Order of Default against Brian Darnell’s business.
The Missouri Supreme Court rules state the following about an Interlocutory Order of Default:
[quote unique_id=”19b370152c9a9e9a46cb210c24f3b19b” quote_advanced_styling=”{‹²›quote_sign_font‹²›:{‹²›google_font‹²›:true,‹²›subset‹²›:‹²›latin-ext‹²›,‹²›variation‹²›:‹²›regular‹²›,‹²›family‹²›:‹²›News Cycle‹²›,‹²›style‹²›:‹²›‹²›,‹²›weight‹²›:‹²›‹²›,‹²›size‹²›:180,‹²›line-height‹²›:10,‹²›letter-spacing‹²›:0,‹²›color-palette‹²›:{‹²›id‹²›:‹²›fw-custom‹²›,‹²›color‹²›:‹²›‹²›},‹²›is_saved‹²›:false},‹²›quote_top‹²›:‹²›‹²›,‹²›quote_left‹²›:‹²›‹²›}” quote_simbol=”no” text_advanced_styling=”{‹²›text‹²›:{‹²›google_font‹²›:true,‹²›subset‹²›:‹²›latin‹²›,‹²›variation‹²›:‹²›regular‹²›,‹²›family‹²›:‹²›Quattrocento Sans‹²›,‹²›style‹²›:false,‹²›weight‹²›:false,‹²›size‹²›:‹²›16.5‹²›,‹²›line-height‹²›:‹²›28‹²›,‹²›letter-spacing‹²›:‹²›0‹²›,‹²›color-palette‹²›:{‹²›id‹²›:‹²›fw-custom‹²›,‹²›color‹²›:‹²›‹²›},‹²›is_saved‹²›:false}}” text=”‹¨›p‹˜›‹¨›strong‹˜›Entry of Interlocutory Order of Default‹¨›/strong‹˜›. When a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend as provided by these rules, an interlocutory order of default may be entered against that party. After entry of an interlocutory order of default, a default judgment may be entered. Any party may demand a jury to assess damages. If a jury is not demanded, the court shall assess any damages.‹¨›/p‹˜›” text_align=”fw-quote-left” separator_advanced_styling=”{‹²›separator_color‹²›:{‹²›color‹²›:‹²›‹²›,‹²›id‹²›:‹²›fw-custom‹²›},‹²›separator_width‹²›:‹²›‹²›,‹²›separator_height‹²›:‹²›‹²›}” separator=”no” author_advanced_styling=”{‹²›author‹²›:{‹²›google_font‹²›:true,‹²›subset‹²›:‹²›latin‹²›,‹²›variation‹²›:‹²›regular‹²›,‹²›family‹²›:‹²›Montserrat‹²›,‹²›style‹²›:false,‹²›weight‹²›:false,‹²›size‹²›:‹²›12‹²›,‹²›line-height‹²›:‹²›30‹²›,‹²›letter-spacing‹²›:‹²›0‹²›,‹²›color-palette‹²›:{‹²›id‹²›:‹²›fw-custom‹²›,‹²›color‹²›:‹²›‹²›},‹²›is_saved‹²›:false}}” author=”” author_link=”” animation_group=”{‹²›selected‹²›:‹²›no‹²›,‹²›yes‹²›:{‹²›animation‹²›:{‹²›animation‹²›:‹²›fadeInUp‹²›,‹²›delay‹²›:‹²›200‹²›}}}” responsive=”{‹²›desktop_display‹²›:{‹²›selected‹²›:‹²›yes‹²›},‹²›tablet_landscape_display‹²›:{‹²›selected‹²›:‹²›yes‹²›},‹²›tablet_display‹²›:{‹²›selected‹²›:‹²›yes‹²›},‹²›smartphone_display‹²›:{‹²›selected‹²›:‹²›yes‹²›}}” class=”” __fw_editor_shortcodes_id=”ea0f182417e22bf34db403cd72950686″ _array_keys=”{‹²›quote_advanced_styling‹²›:‹²›quote_advanced_styling‹²›,‹²›text_advanced_styling‹²›:‹²›text_advanced_styling‹²›,‹²›separator_advanced_styling‹²›:‹²›separator_advanced_styling‹²›,‹²›author_advanced_styling‹²›:‹²›author_advanced_styling‹²›,‹²›animation_group‹²›:‹²›animation_group‹²›,‹²›responsive‹²›:‹²›responsive‹²›}” _fw_coder=”aggressive”][/quote]There are two important points about this that reveal more about the type of person Brian Darnell is.
First is that Darnell “failed to plead or otherwise defend as provided by these rules…” Darnell did nothing, leading to the case dragging on and continuing to be a headache for the homeowner. This conduct was most recently seen elsewhere in Darnell’s bankruptcy where he had failed to provide the case manager with required documents when requested.
Second, “After entry of an interlocutory order of default, a default judgment may be entered.” Which basically says the handwriting is on the wall and Darnell is going to lose this lawsuit.
This continues a pattern of irresponsibility exhibited by Darnell and documented in Civil Court and Federal Bankruptcy court records stretching back almost two decades to the time when Brian Darnell first filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy in 2002.
Brian Darnell continues to operate using multiple business names in O’Fallon Missouri. Darnell Construction, Darnell STL, Darnell-Group, Brian Darnell Design, Brian Darnell Construction, Brian Darnell Design-Build Construction Group, are but a few of the names this individual operates under.