Mamaroneck homebuilder’s bankruptcy stops roofer’s $9.5M injury case

A Mamaroneck homebuilder facing a possible $9.5 million civil court judgment for a roofer injured on one of his projects has filed for bankruptcy.

JBD Development Corp. and 69 Mamaroneck Road Corp., operated by Jordan Dubbs, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on June 30 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains.

JBD declared only $2,509 in assets and 69 Mamaroneck declared $0, versus $9.5 million in liabilities.

The only liability listed in both cases is a pending civil lawsuit by Roger Mejia, of Yonkers that Dubbs lists as disputed.

Mejia sued the companies in 2017 over injuries he sustained in 2016 at a construction site at 69 Mamaroneck Avenue in Scarsdale. JBD Development was the general contractor, according to court records, and 69 Mamaroneck Corp. owned the property.

Dubbs stated in a deposition that he was building a 7,000-square-foot house. Zillow displays the property now as a 7 bedroom, 11 bath, 13,767-square-foot house.

Dubbs bought the property in 2015 for $2.25 million, according to property records, and sold it in 2018 for $6.4 million.

Mejia, a roofer for ten years, was employed by a subcontractor. On Oct. 5, 2016, he was installing shingles with a nail gun, according to court records, while standing on a scaffold, harnessed and tethered to an anchor.

Other subcontractors had cut holes in the roof for three chimneys. The section where Mejia was working had been covered with an ice and water shield.

His brother, also a roofer, was working about 10 to 20 feet away and called for assistance. Mejia unhooked his harness because he did not have enough rope to reach his brother, he stated in a deposition. He stepped off the scaffold, walked toward his brother and fell through the chimney hole.

He suffered severe head and back injuries, was hospitalized for nine days and left incapacitated from employment. He was 31 years old.

Mejia sued Dubbs’ companies in Westchester Supreme Court, arguing that they had been negligent and had violated state labor laws that require safe working conditions.

Mejia testified in the deposition that he was in charge of the roofing crew and that part of his responsibilities was to connect harness anchors. He knew that the chimney hole had been cut and that coworkers had placed the ice and water shield over the hole a few weeks before the accident. But he said the opening was not marked, he did not know exactly where it was and the shield made everything looked the same.

Dubbs’ companies denied Mejia’s allegations, arguing, for example, that Mejia’s injuries were caused by his own negligence.

But when Dubbs’ attorney missed two trial dates, Westchester Supreme Court Justice Lewis J. Lubell ordered an inquest on damages for Mejia. The inquest was to be held on June 30.

By filing for Chapter 7 protection, Dubbs stopped the inquest and any attempts to collect damages, at least temporarily, while the bankruptcy case is considered.

Dubbs is represented by attorneys Robert L. Rattet and Jonathan S. Pasternak. Mejia is represented by Christopher Gorayeb.