YOUNGSTOWN — A company hired by Youngstown to process credit and debit card transactions for the water department — but was rarely used when the city found a vendor charging lesser fees — is suing for $119,096.

Automated Merchant Systems of Lake Mary, Fla., filed a complaint Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court contending the city is obligated to pay it an early-termination fee of $119,096 plus costs, including attorney’s fees and interest.

The case was assigned to Judge John M. Durkin.

The city signed a three-year contract with AMS in August 2017 with annual renewals to have the company handle debit and credit transactions for certain fees, according to the lawsuit.

The city stopped utilizing the service for all transactions except those done in person at the water department and for the water department’s parking lot behind city hall, the lawsuit states.

The city’s “failure to utilize the services during the terms of the agreement constitutes a material breach of the agreement,” according to the lawsuit, filed by David Barbee, a Youngstown-based attorney on behalf of the company.

He added that the city’s “failure to utilize the services during the term of the agreement constituted early termination” and the city has to pay the $119,096 early-termination fee.

The lawsuit states that the city has “failed and refused to pay” the fee.

Barbee and city Law Director Lori Shells Simmons couldn’t be reached Tuesday to comment on the lawsuit.

Sometime after signing the August 2017 contract with AMS, the city approved a deal with InvoiceCloud, a Braintree, Mass., company, for the same services. InvoiceCloud charges smaller fees, according to city officials.