BY HUGH BAILEY
Hearst Connecticut Media
Bridgeport architectural firm Fletcher Thompson, which must repay $485,000 in retirement funds improperly taken from employees’ accounts, is facing a lawsuit over nearly $100,000 in apparently unpaid insurance premiums.
Zurich American Insurance Co., based in Illinois, in December filed suit in federal court claiming that Fletcher Thompson failed to pay $99,794.67 for policies in 2011 and 2012. The company is seeking damages in the same amount plus interest, attorney fees and costs.
As of March, Fletcher Thompson had not responded to the complaint in court, leading Zurich American to seek a default judgment in its favor.
Fletcher Thompson has designed dozens of schools and other buildings throughout the region.
The architecture and design firm moved into its Bridgeport headquarters in December, shortly after the lawsuit was filed. The company, which dates to 1910, was based in Bridgeport until 2002, when it moved to Shelton. Its return to the city four years ago, and its move into the historic Mechanics & Farmers Bank building at 930 Main St., has been hailed by local leaders as a symbol of the city’s rebirth.
But the March 19 order from the federal Department of Labor to repay $40,463 a month for 12 months in addition to a possible adverse ruling in the insurance company suit has raised questions about its viability. The company, which once had more than 100 employees, brought only about 60 jobs back to Bridgeport.
Paul Timpanelli, president of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, said he has confidence the company can survive.
“I don’t claim to know anything about their books, but they are a very capable, professional company,” he said. “My assumption is that the company is going to be in some pain for a while, but then fully recover. It’s a very competent organization.”
He said the company’s struggles were similar to what others faced during a difficult economy in recent years. “They’ve been around for a long, long time,” he said. “I have had some discussions with their accounting firm, and they share my confidence.”
Fletcher Thompson officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The company’s retirement plan has 164 participants. A federal probe found the company fell behind in moving employee deferrals and loan repayments to the plan beginning in 2008 and stopped remitting any funds to the plan as of May 2012, even as it continued to withhold contributions from paychecks.
The building that houses Fletcher Thompson’s offices is owned by Forstone Capital, which has about a dozen downtown properties. Forstone bought the bank building for about $500,000 from the city in 2008 and rents 25,000 square feet on the ground floor to Fletcher Thompson. Above the offices are 30 apartments.
Forstone Capital was awarded $3.3 million for the renovation project from the state through the Competitive Housing Assistance for Multifamily Properties initiative. The federal Environmental Protection Agency helped pay for cleanup costs.
Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch was among many local officials lauding the company’s return to the city, and his office expressed disappointment in the company’s pension issues but confidence the firm will remain in town.
“In learning about this news, we found it to be as troubling and unfortunate as others did,” spokesman Brett Broesder said. “We’re concerned for the workers and the company. And we’re glad the legal system seemed to find a fair resolution in the case. To the best of our knowledge, the company plans on remaining in Bridgeport for years to come, continuing to do its part in making the state’s largest city better every day. We hope that is the case.”
Developer Robert Scinto said Fletcher Thompson did not have problems paying rent when it was based in one of his buildings in Shelton. “They left because they were trying to get more government jobs in Bridgeport, school jobs, and they felt that if they made a commitment to city, politically it would be looked upon more favorably,” Scinto said.
Hearst Connecticut Media includes four daily newspapers: Connecticut Post, Greenwich Time, The Advocate (Stamford) and The News Times (Danbury). See stamfordadvocate.com for more from this reporter.
