NORTHAMPTON — A Chicopee fire and water damage restoration company has filed a lawsuit saying they are owed more than $633,000 related to work they did at an historic building on Round Hill Road that was destroyed by fire in August 2016.
Complete Restoration Solutions Inc. filed the complaint against Historic Round Hill Summit LLC of Northampton, and its insurer, in Hampshire Superior Court in May, alleging breach of contract for labor and materials and “unjust enrichment” in the amount of $633,447.63.
In response, the Northampton company that hired Complete Restoration Solutions (CRS) alleged the company is not entitled to the money for a variety of reasons, including its “unfair and deceptive acts,” according to a counterclaim filed in court.
The counterclaim alleges the work CRS did was defective and resulted in additional damage beyond what was caused by the fire or firefighting, including destruction of appliances, counters, baseboards and historic windows totaling $100,000. The company also alleges the invoices submitted by CRS to Historic Round Hill Summit and its insurer contained false or fraudulent statements.
The Chicopee company was hired by Historic Round Hill Summit last August to complete restoration work and services following the fire that ravaged the vacant Rogers Hall building at 49 Round Hill Road, which was under renovation at the time. The building once served as a dormitory at the former Clarke School for the Deaf. The fire also damaged parts of connecting Hubbard Hall.
The property’s owners are Peter Picknelly, chairman and CEO of Peter Pan Bus Lines and owner of Opal Real Estate Group, Springfield attorney Michael Siddall, and businessman James Hebert. They purchased the property from Clarke School for $4.8 million in 2013 to transform it into a mix of residences and light office and commercial space. Reached Wednesday, Siddall declined to comment on the complaints, referring the matter to attorneys handling the case.
Attorneys representing both companies did not return calls seeking comment.
In the original complaint, CRS alleged it is entitled not only to the money for the work it performed, but also attorneys’ fees and costs as well as 18 percent interest per year under the contract the two companies signed.
In a response filed on June 15, Historic Round Hill Summit denied the restoration company’s allegations and claim that any money CRS would be able to claim should first be offset by the damages and harm it caused by alleged “wrongful conduct.”
In Historic Round Hill Summit’s counterclaim, the company states that shortly after the fire, an insurance adjuster from Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London visited the site and assured those present “that the insurance company had accepted liability and that requests for advanced payments would be honored.”
“Historic only recently learned that, on or about this same date, however, the Lloyd’s representative informed the owner of CRS that coverage of the Hubbard loss would probably not be honored because of the occupancy issue,” the counterclaim read.
The fire destroyed Rogers Hall, and displaced 11 tenants who had been living in adjacent Hubbard Hall.
Historic Round Hill Summit also filed a lawsuit in federal court in January against its insurer, Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, over a $2.1 million claim for work Summit claimed was necessary to restore Hubbard Hall.
That case was dismissed on June 1 at the request of Historic Round Hill Summit and will be dealt with as part of the proceedings in Hampshire Superior Court, according to court records.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.