A judge is expected to rule against the owner of the Bangor Mall after it failed to respond to a lawsuit for three months.
The mall’s broken sprinkler system destroyed more than $1.3 million of inventory for Furniture, Mattresses & More, according to a lawsuit filed by the store’s insurance company on June 30. Tri-State Insurance Company of Minnesota sued Namdar Realty Group and its subsidiaries.
This will be another blow to the mall owner that has already lost two lawsuits brought by the city of Bangor over code violations, including a leaky roof and a sewer line break. Namdar is supposed to pay Bangor a $1.1 million fine and make repairs but had not done so by a July 31 deadline.
A default judgment for the insurance company was discussed Tuesday in Penobscot County Superior Court. Four different letters have been sent to Namdar without response, said Alison Feeley, an attorney for the insurance provider.
No dollar amount was shared during the hearing, but Feeley is expected to submit a proposed order for Judge Bruce Mallonee to sign. Feeley said they will ask for the full amount of damages, likely the $1.3 million from the lawsuit, and then try to recover the money from Namdar.
Once signed, the binding court order will mean the insurance company won against the New York-based mall owner.
In February 2023, the furniture store alerted Bangor Mall ownership to a ceiling leak in the former Sears. The store was vacant at the time and was being used to store inventory for the furniture business. It took the mall two hours to shut off the water, according to the lawsuit.
A sprinkler pipe in the ceiling later burst, causing more damage, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit is against the mall’s owners, Namdar Realty Group LLC, Bangor Mall Realty LLC, Bangor CH LLC and Bangor Nassim LLC, as well as Maine Fire Protection Systems. It alleges the companies were negligent and “disregarded the frequent enforcement efforts” by the city of Bangor to correct violations. It also alleges the companies “falsely represented” that violations were corrected.
The judgment does not include Maine Fire Protection Systems, which has shown up for court and responded to filings. The lawsuit between the insurance company and the sprinkler company is expected to continue.