An archaeology company tangled in civil suits with the city of Waco over its work on the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum has filed for bankruptcy.

American Archaeology Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Austin on Thursday afternoon, a court clerk said.

The Lampasas-based firm was hired in 2006 to excavate graves uncovered as construction began on the museum’s expansion.

The city terminated a $437,000 contract with AAG in March 2008 after the firm had excavated about 160 graves from the museum site. AAG filed a lawsuit against the city in June 2008 for breach of contract.

City’s countersuit

The city filed a countersuit in October 2008 for negligence, alleging AAG improperly conducted the initial land survey on the site.

That survey could have detected the graves before construction and saved the city the costs of excavating and reinterring the remains, the city said.

Rick Bostwick, an attorney representing the city in both cases, said the bankruptcy filing places the pending lawsuits at a temporary standstill.

Bostwick said AAG owner Michael Bradle was scheduled for a deposition Thursday to be questioned on facts related to the case. But AAG sent Bostwick’s firm notice of the bankruptcy filing an hour before the 9:30 a.m. hearing.

“The timing of it is curious because we have been trying to get the deposition of Mr. Bradle for over a year, and he has been very evasive in terms of the various excuses he has offered to avoid being deposed,” Bostwick said.

Bostwick said the deposition has been rescheduled several times in the past year.

Attempts to reach Bradle on Thursday afternoon were unsuccessful.

A subpoena was issued earlier this month to John Griggs, an independent contractor who worked on the museum project with AAG. The city is requesting copies of Griggs’ correspondence with numerous city and state agencies about the project.

Copies of media contact

The subpoena also calls for copies of any communication Griggs had with local media outlets, including the Tribune-Herald and former KWTX- AM 1230 morning radio host Garrett Lewis.

“We would like to see what assertions he has made to various entities because we believe that certain accusations that he made are erroneous, and we’d like to ultimately ask him questions about that,” Bostwick said.

Griggs declined to comment, on the advice of his attorney.

rdennis@wacotrib.com

757-5755