ONEIDA COUNTY – A food service contractor has filed a lawsuit against Oneida County, claiming the county owes nearly $100,000.00 for meals provided to jail inmates and breached their contract by changing how it calculated payments.
Consolidated Management Company, doing business as Consolidated Correctional Foodservice, filed the complaint in Oneida County Circuit Court Jan. 20, alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
According to the lawsuit, the Iowa-based company entered into a contract with Oneida County in Nov. 2015 to provide three meals daily to inmates at the county jail, including food procurement, preparation, service and management.
The heart of the dispute centers on how meals should be counted and billed. According to the complaint, the contract required the Sheriff’s Department to provide a “Census Count” three times daily before each meal preparation, estimating how many inmates would need to be fed. However, the plaintiff alleges that actual number of meals served – the “Actual Count” – regularly differed from this estimate.
According to the complaint, the contract specified that billing should be based on whichever number was greater: the Census Count or the Actual Count. The company claims it “fully performed all of its obligations” and is entitled to payment for each meal provided.
The lawsuit alleges that starting in 2024, the county changed its position and began paying only based on the Census Count, refusing to pay for additional meals beyond that estimate. By March 2025, the company claims the county owed $166,960.81, with $98,898.99 still outstanding plus ongoing interest.
The complaint also alleges the county failed to provide an inmate kitchen worker per shift as required under the contract, which the company characterizes as another material breach.
In response to these alleged breaches, Consolidated Management sent a 60-day termination notice to the county on April 11, 2025, ending the contract effective June 10, 2025 – nearly a decade after the agreement began.
The company followed Wisconsin’s notice of claim requirements for lawsuits against governmental entities, serving the county with a notice of claim in September 2025. The county disallowed the claim by resolution on Nov. 12, 2025, clearing the way for the lawsuit.
The company is seeking money damages, attorney’s fees, costs and 5% prejudgment interest on the unpaid balance from the time of filing until judgment.
The Star Journal reached out to Oneida County Sheriff Grady Hartman for comment.
“The complaint contains numerous inaccuracies,” Hartman said in a statement. “We assumed this lawsuit was coming and we have budgeted appropriately for it just in case it doesn’t go our way. However, we are fully prepared to defend our position and feel strongly enough about it that we would rather go to court than pay what we feel we don’t owe.”
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