A Norwalk company is suing a New Canaan man for breach of contract, saying more than $40,000 is owed in construction and materials for a home project that wrapped up two years ago, court records show.
First Step Landscaping Inc. also claims the owner of the Marshall Ridge Road home has been “unjustly enriched at the plaintiffs’ expense,” according to a complaint filed March 2 in state Superior Court in Stamford.
Hired May 3, 2014 for the construction job at 34 Marshall Ridge Road, the company finished its work on Feb. 9, 2015, the complaint said.
“The plaintiff has paid the defendant the amount of $28,460 on account of the contract leaving a balance in the amount of $42,199.21,” it said.
The plaintiff is seeking monetary damages and “such other and further relief as may pertain in law and equity,” according to the lawsuit, filed on the company’s behalf by Norwalk attorney Abram Heisler.
Two men have been named as non-appearing defendants in the suit: homeowner Mitchell Hoffman as well as Burton Hoffman, described in the complaint as the general contractor on the job.
Mitchell Hoffman declined to comment when reached by NewCanaanite.com.
At a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting in August 2014 that was attended by Burton Hoffman and at which he identified himself as Mitchell Hoffman’s father, town officials granted three variances to build an addition off of the rear of the Marshall Ridge Road house. Building records show that permits had been secured in November 2014 for an addition estimated to cost $210,000.
In a separate legal matter, a state agency that fields complaints about lawyers following a Statewide Grievance Committee audit is recommending disbarment of Burton Hoffman, an attorney, in connection with the misappropriation of clients’ funds, including through his Stamford-based company, 72 Camp Avenue LLC, which owns a commercial property at the same address. The matter is scheduled to go to trial next week, according to Connecticut Judicial Branch records. He could not be reached for comment.
Burton Hoffman’s firm also is representing a company owned by Mitchell Hoffman that’s named as a defendant in a separate lawsuit. Set for trial in November, that lawsuit was brought by a Massachusetts designer of children’s playground equipment, according to Connecticut Judicial Branch records. Design Built LLC claims it’s owed $22,863.12 by a preschool owned by Mitchell Hoffman, according to the complaint.