Steven Romanowski is demanding that Liam Burns and Matt McPherson of Flemington Union Hotel LLC pay him back $605,000 and cede control of the property.
FLEMINGTON -- A Raritan Township investor is suing the owners of the Union Hotel, demanding they return the money he gave them to buy the hotel, turn over the property and pay damages.
In a suit filed Oct. 20, 2015, Steven Romanowski is demanding that Liam Burns and Matt McPherson of Flemington Union Hotel, LLC pay him back $605,000 he lent them, plus interest. He claims a lien on the property for $700,000.
The hotel was built in 1878 and closed in 2008. Flemington Borough Council designated the Union Hotel as an area of redevelopment in 2010, and selected Burns and McPherson to redevelop it in 2012.
In June 2015, council declared the pair to be in default of their redevelopment agreement and in August they were removed as redevelopers of the property.
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The change does not impact hotel ownership, and Borough Council can still obtain the property through eminent domain. Romanowski's lawsuit seeks control of the Union Hotel, and to have Burns and McPherson barred from collecting any profits from its sale.
On Feb. 18, 2015, Romanowski declared Burns and McPherson's loan in default for failure to pay real estate taxes on the property, and the next day he filed a suit demanding the $605,000, stipulating that the liquor license then owned by Burns and McPherson could be used to pay the debt.
However, after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August, Burns and McPherson were authorized by Judge Kathryn C. Ferguson to sell the license to Jack Cust, Jr. for $1.2 million.
In his most recent suit, Romanowski claims that all principal and accrued, but unpaid, interest was due on Sept. 30, 2015, but Burns and McPherson did not pay.
Now, Cust is scheduled to present a development plan for the Union Hotel and property around it at the Feb. 22 borough council meeting.
Borough Mayor Phil Greiner said that while two attempts were made to redevelop the Union Hotel, council has never designated a developer for the entire area, which includes adjacent buildings to the south.
Attorney Daniel Eliades, who represents Burns and McPherson, said he cannot comment on ongoing litigation, and Romanowski's attorney Amar Agrawl did not respond to a request for comment.
While stating that he was unaware of the details of the lawsuit, Greiner said the borough "does not anticipate that it would adversely affect redevelopment plans for the area."
Monday's council meeting will be moved to the historic Flemington courthouse and held at 7:30 p.m.
A public hearing and council vote on an ordinance that would lead to the creation of a new board overseeing the borough's Business Improvement District is also expected to take place that evening.
Emily Cummins may be reached at ecummins@njadvancemedia.com Follow her on Twitter @EmilyACummins and Facebook.