A Manhattan insurance company is suing asbestos contractors for $2.3 million for allegedly botching an abatement project at a Mack-Cali Realty Corp. office building in Elmsford.
Commerce and Industry Insurance Co. reimbursed Mack-Cali CW Realty Associates for the damages, according to a complaint filed June 30 in Westchester Supreme Court, and now it wants to get its money back from the contractors who worked on the project.
C&I accused Delta Contracting Services Inc., East Brunswick, New Jersey; Hillmann Consulting LLC, Manhattan; Safe Wrap LLC, Whitehall, Pennsylvania; and Sharp Roofing Associates Inc., Randolph, New Jersey of breach of contract.
Mack-Cali, of Jersey City, New Jersey hired the contractors in 2017 to remove asbestos on the roof of a flex space facility at 4 Westchester Plaza, Elmsford.
Delta’s job was to replace the roof and remove asbestos, according to the complaint. Hillmann was in charge of asbestos monitoring and inspection. Safe Wrap installed temporary plastic sheeting to protect the building interior. Sharp Roofing, hired in 2015, did roof inspections.
They were required to carefully handle, store and dispose hazardous materials such as asbestos — an insulating and fireproofing material that can cause lung diseases — and to make sure that the fibrous mineral did not infiltrate the building.
They had to comply with government regulations and ensure that any subcontractors they hired did the same.
Hillmann, for instance, was required to do daily inspections and the final inspection.
Delta subcontracted its abatement work to Guiliano Environmental LLC, the complaint states, and Guiliano subcontracted the job to S&M Enterprise of New Jersey Inc. Neither Guiliano nor S&M are named as defendants.
The contractors failed to prevent asbestos and roofing debris containing asbestos from getting inside the building, the complaint states and the hazardous material damaged the building and its contents.
Safe Wrap, for instance, had removed the protective plastic film before all roofing debris had been removed, according to the complaint.
In April 2019, the New York State Department of Labor directed Mack-Cali to vacate the building and remediate the contamination.
The state cited Hillmann for failure to conduct a satisfactory final inspection and to check above the ceiling tiles to verify that all asbestos had been cleaned and removed. Safe Wrap was for cited for prematurely removing the plastic sheeting, and S&M for failing to properly clean and contain the debris.
None of the contractors replied to emails asking for their sides of the story.
C&I, an affiliate of AIG Property Casualty Inc., is demanding $2,337,813 in damages. It is represented by Manhattan attorneys John H. Kane and Judy Lu.
