Building C of the Grist Mill Village development on Glover Avenue in Norwalk is the subject of a lawsuit filed in the Stamford Judicial District between a contractor and the owner for up to $500,000, including damages over nonpayment and breach of contract.
The complaint filed by QSR Steel Corp. LLC on Jan. 15, 2021, called for the foreclosure of a mechanic’s lien on the structure. The original complaint named 170 Glover Avenue LLC as the defendant. The defendant is registered with the same agents and address as Building and Land Technology LLC (BLT), who own and operate The Curb, a luxury apartment complex aimed at young professionals with studio apartments starting at $1,860 per month.
Located at the top of the Route 7 Connector within walking distance of the Merritt 7 train station undergoing a major upgrade, the location is in high demand for its proximity to transportation and offices along the Route 7 corridor. Building C, which is still under construction, is part of The Curb.
QSR Steel is a Hartford-based company that specializes in structural steel for construction and provides miscellaneous metals services. According to the complaint, QSR and BLT agreed to a contract in June 2020 with QSR overseeing continued construction on Building C. QSR alleges that between Aug. 10, 2020, and November of the same year it provided works and services worth $494,767.50 but received no payment.
The complaint stated the interest accrued on the unpaid amount in the months between the alleged nonpayment and the filing along with the damages sought are cause to round up the total to half-a-million dollars, plus attorney’s fees.
In their counterclaim, BLT alleged that the work performed by QSR or its subcontractors was “supplied in a negligent, defective, incomplete, unworkmanlike and untimely manner.” BLT asserted it had incurred damages because of either the quality of the work or lack of progress.
Both parties have been involved in numerous lawsuits over the past few years. In fact, both QSR and BLT are engaged in other ongoing litigation with each other. Another series of suits and countersuits between the two companies involving unpaid work conducted at 900 Pacific St. in downtown Stamford at a section of the Harbor Point development.
The Pacific Street case, also filed in the Stamford Judicial District, has a similar time frame but differs in that some payment was received by QSR, $273,065.62 of $561,771.89. The counterclaim follows along almost the exact same lines, citing poor performance and the costs of rectifying the alleged failures justifying the short payment and covering BLT’s resulting attorney’s fees.
A representative of BLT said that due to the pending litigation no comment could be provided. QSR Steel did not respond to a request for comment.
