MCHENRY — An ongoing lawsuit with a building materials and services supplier company has affected operations of the Santa Fe Grille and the Dairy Queen Chill and Grill in Oakland, according to owner Greg Mortimer.
“All my businesses have been tremendously affected. That said, I would never have made it this far without the support of those I have done business with all these years, the homeowners and the tremendous community of Deep Creek Lake and Oakland,” said Mortimer.
Deep Creek Brewing Co. LLC, also known as the trade name Santa Fe Grille, was forfeited by the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation on Oct. 1, according to the Maryland Department of Assessments & Taxation.
The Santa Fe Grille, which closed Jan. 7, will hopefully reopen in two weeks, according to Mortimer.
The lawsuit with the building supplier began in April 2011 when the company sued Mortimer in the Allegheny County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas for $60,000 in unpaid labor and supplies. Mortimer withheld partial payment due to claims that the company performed shoddy work, which led to leaky roofs at Cedar Creek and Timberlake Village, both located at Deep Creek Lake. Cedar Creek was condemned in 2010 and Mortimer withheld payment to the company for that project.
The company designed, engineered and built roof trusses in 2008 for four villas in Cedar Creek and for three buildings (six villas) at Timberlake.
“They (roof trusses) were engineered wrong, causing excessive ice-damming and interior leaking at both Cedar Creek and Timberlake,” said Mortimer.
The supplier was responsible for the entire shell of the buildings, including the foundation, framing, windows, siding and roofs, according to Mortimer. The company was also responsible for supervision, labor and all materials.
Mortimer filed a countersuit against the company for $16 million in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania claiming that the work done in 2008 ruined his real estate business.
“These construction defects have prevented M&M from selling the constructed properties greatly tarnished Mortimer Builder’s reputation and also pose safety and health problems for homeowners living in these defective units,” said Mortimer.
The units can’t be sold until repairs have been made and no work has been completed on the units since the conflict began, according to Bill Weissgerber Jr., associate broker and owner of Railey Realty, who is the listing agent for the units.
“This issue needs to be resolved so that the affected unit owners can have their units repaired once and for all,” said Weissgerber.
Weissgerber has worked with Mortimer for more than 15 years and said that prior construction projects by Mortimer were generally free from major issues.
“He (Mortimer) and his partner have been working hard over the past three years with the primary goal of getting the damaged units repaired and complete construction on remaining units that are partially finished,” said Weissgerber. “It’s a shame that the legal system allows things like this to drag out.”
M&M Development, LLC, which Mortimer owned along with William Meagher, purchased property in Garrett County for Timberlake and Cedar Creek. Prior to 2008, Mortimer Building performed all the construction work at his projects. Mortimer began building in 1997 and has built more than 150 homes and three commercial buildings. Prior to the lawsuit, his last two houses sold for $3.5 million and $1.6 million.
Mortimer is not currently developing and is still engaged in an ongoing lawsuit with the company.
In 2010, the company offered to buy Cedar Creek for $750,000 with a $350,000 line of credit for Mortimer Builders to fix and finish the damaged units, according to Mortimer. The deal was rejected by M&M because it would have left a $350,000 deficiency note, said Mortimer.
“I am determined to secure a settlement that repairs the damage to the homeowners, community and my businesses,” Mortimer said.
In 2012, Branch Banking and Trust (BB&T) filed a third-party complaint against the company claiming defective work, engineering and negligence. BB&T later withdrew the complaint, according to Mortimer.
Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.
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