Over the weekend, I shared a post asking if you think we should hire a company that is actively suing five other Associations for payment. I received many fantastic comments on my post, along with a private message from someone who wants to remain anonymous. They said, “socat is huge business with 10000s employees so im surprised they only 5 lawsuits thats actually not bad at all”
I didn’t really have an opinion on whether or not five open lawsuits in 20 months is good or bad, nor did I know if SouthernCAT, Inc. has 1000 or 10,000 employees.
So I decided to look through publicly available information to get a better idea of who SouthernCAT, Inc is. Here’s what I found:
Their only physical office in the United States that I could verify is located at:
1816 W 27th Street, Panama City, FL 32405.
It’s listed with the appraiser’s office as a 3920 sqft warehouse.
SouthernCAT, Inc also owns adjacent lots used for storage:
According to Annual reports filed with the state of Florida, SouthernCAT, Inc consists of the following Officers & Directors:
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
The latest source I could find on the total number of employees was from when SouthernCAT, Inc filed for a PPP loan (awarded on March 21, 2021).
“JOBS REPORTED AT TIME OF APPLICATION: 84“
Other sources report slightly fewer than 84 employees:
Dun & Bradstreet: 50 employees
Zoominfo: 60 employees
and a previous loan application: 57 employees
In short, as a private company, it’s hard to determine how many employees they have using public information; however, one could probably estimate between 50-100 employees.
SouthernCAT, Inc. has had some name changes in its history and some DBAs. These include but are not limited to SOUTHERNCAT, INC. | SOUTHERNCAT USA, LLC | SOUTHERN CAT, INC.
Using this information to search Trellis again, I’ve updated the table to include additional instances where SouthernCAT et al. are suing condo associations, vacation resorts, and even a roofing company they subcontracted to.
| Date | Plaintiff | Defendant |
| March 13, 2020 | Southerncat, Inc. | Fidelity And Deposit Company Of Maryland |
| August 05, 2020 | Southerncat, Inc. | Seawatch of Panama City Beach, Inc. D/B/A Club La Vela |
| September 04, 2020 | Southerncat, Inc. | Roofing Experts LLC |
| June 10, 2021 | Southern Cat Inc | Holiday Shores Condominium Association Inc |
| August 12, 2021 | Southerncat, Inc. | 1 Opal Inc |
| August 20, 2021 | Southern Cat Inc | Funtanta Village Inc | Spinnaker lii of Panama City Beach, Inc. |
| September 02, 2021 | Southern Cat Inc | Mariner East Owners Association Inc |
| February 09, 2022 | Southern Cat Inc | Largo Mar Condominimum Association, Inc. |
| February 10, 2023 | Southern Cat Inc | Summerhouse of Panama City Condominium Association |
SouthernCAT, Inc. Reviews
Searching the internet for reviews of SouthernCAT is not an easy task. They’ve had legal name changes, customers abbreviate their name (e.g., SoCat), and of course, the “south” has “cats,” which are often referred to as “southern cats.” Still, Google was able to assist with this task.
Better Business Bureau Reviews
Although they are not Better Business Bureau Accredited, SouthernCAT’s profile on bbb.org does have (10) five-star customer reviews. All ten of those reviews over the past 14 years were posted within the same 23-day period in May 2020.
The BBB is typically associated with complaints and poor experiences, so I will not comment on the validity of ten people leaving a glowing review in ~3 weeks. Instead, for context, Disney World gets more than 12 million visitors per year and averages less than 3 reviews per month on their BBB.org profile; most are negative.
Facebook Reviews
SouthernCAT, Inc. has disabled reviews on its Facebook profile.
Google Reviews
They have (18) total reviews with a 4.6 out of 5 rating. Reviewing each comment, it’s clear that many of these are from third-party companies hired by SouthernCAT, Inc. to complete work. If we look at only those that are definitely from Condo Associations and/or residents, we’re left with (3) Reviews:
- A Condo Association President in Fort Myers (following Hurricane Ian), re: Mitigation work.
- A Condo Resident in Panama City (following Hurricane Michael), re: Their Professionalism, Responsiveness, and Value
- A Condo Resident in Port Orange (following Hurricane Michael), re: Unnecessary drywall removal
With only three “relevant” reviews, it doesn’t quite feel fair to average these out to an overall rating of 3.67 out of 5. However, it is worth reading each review to understand where they are in the process and their experience at that stage.
Conclusion
Using this publicly available information, let’s circle back to what prompted this post. Is suing ten organizations in the past 36 months normal for a business with 50-100 employees?
It’s probably not desirable for a business model of this size to rely on suing customers for breach of contract. While it may be necessary in some cases to take legal action to enforce contract terms, it is probably preferable to avoid such situations by establishing clear expectations, effective communication, and a positive relationship with customers.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this blog post is sourced from publicly available information online. While I strive to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information presented, I make no guarantees or warranties about the accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability of the information. I will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions in the content or any consequences resulting from the use of the information provided. The reader is solely responsible for verifying the accuracy and suitability of the information before using it for any purpose.