New Milford has won its lawsuit against the firm contracted to clean up the former Century Brass site.  The judge also dismissed the counterclaim lawsuit filed by Standard Demolition Services that the town withheld information in the bid.  Cramer and Anderson law firm says New Milford was awarded nearly $490,000.  Standard Demolition plans to appeal the ruling. 

The suit was filed in January 2016, just months after Standard Demolition was hired to demolish the 320,000-square-foot former brass mill building.  The site was contaminated with asbestos and PCBs.  New Milford officials claimed removing the steel was just part of the job, the company said the town had to take care of the remediation. 

The site was vacant for more than 30 years before New Milford began cleaning it up in 2000, a year after acquiring the property.

New Milford Mayor Pete Bass said: “This is a great vindication for the Town. Although this litigation was anxiety provoking, time consuming, expensive and complex, it was necessary. Standard’s demands left us only two choices: either litigate or give in to Standards demands for money. We did not give in. The Town Council was continually briefed in detail as the case progressed, and had strong faith in our bidding and contracting process and in our attorneys. Our victory illustrates the good-faith and fairness of that process. Now Standard owes us $489,732 plus court costs.”