The minority owner of a Yonkers construction company is suing his brother for at least $5 million for allegedly impugning his honesty and looting the firm.
Cornelius E. Noonan is demanding that Thomas Noonan provide an accounting of Noonan Construction Corp., in a March 6 complaint filed in Westchester Supreme Court.
“This lawsuit is the unfortunate result of what happened when the younger brother found out that his older brother has been stealing millions of dollars from the business and operating a secret, competitive contracting company,” Cornelius’s complaint states.
“All claims are denied,” Thomas Noonan’s attorney, Michael J. Curto, stated in a brief email reply to a request for his client’s side of the story.
Thomas formed Noonan Construction Corp. in 2006 and brought in Cornelius in 2015, according to the complaint. Thomas owns 60% and Cornelius owns 40%.
The firm builds and renovates luxury homes. Each brother oversaw his own clients and projects, and Thomas controls the finances.
Cornelius says he found apparent discrepancies in the firm’s 2022 financial statements, and he discovered a new company, T Noonan Construction Corp., was founded last year and uses the Yonkers address and a location in Norwood, New Jersey.
Cornelius suspected that Thomas was diverting company assets, according to the complaint. He proposed dissolving the company and he demanded the financial records. Though he received some records, he claims he has been denied access to many records, including a U.S. Small Business Administration loan and a Paycheck Protection Program loan.
Cornelius claims he has identified millions of dollars in payments from Noonan Construction Corp. to T. Noonan Construction Corp., to Thomas and to Thomas’s family. A $1.4 million loan taken out by the firm, for example, allegedly was not deposited in the firm’s bank account.
This past February, according to Cornelius, his family health insurance coverage and company credit card were cancelled.
Cornelius also alleges that Thomas has slandered him by referring to him as a pathological liar to subcontractors and an architect.
He accused his brother of defamation, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion of assets, and interference with business relationships. He is demanding access to the firm’s books and records and an accounting of the business.
Cornelius also asked the court for a restraining order to prevent his brother from making “certain communications” to third parties.
On March 7, the brothers agreed to refrain from making disparaging remarks about one another or making false statements to clients, employees, subcontractors, architects or prospective business contacts, according to a stipulation signed by Westchester Supreme Court Justice Linda S. Jamieson.
