Calamar Construction Lawsuit: Liens, Judgments, and Foreclosures

Calamar Construction Management, the construction arm of the Wheatfield, New York real estate firm Calamar, has been sued repeatedly across at least five states, with Calamar Construction lawsuits filed by unpaid subcontractors, a hotel owner, an assignee of a painting contractor, and lenders pursuing foreclosure on stalled senior-housing sites. Courts in Rhode Island and Kansas have ruled against the company; other matters remain active or unresolved.¹²

Connecticut Subcontractor Suits Totaling $733,935.98

Four contractors sued Calamar over unpaid work at two Connect55+ senior housing sites in Connecticut: Watermill Landing in East Windsor and Spencers Landing in Manchester. The combined claims came to $733,935.98.³

The Nunes Co. of Massachusetts filed August 23, 2019, claiming $156,511 for supervision, labor, materials, and equipment at East Windsor.
Portland Winair Co. of Delaware filed February 3, 2021, seeking $173,935.98 for heating, plumbing, and ventilation parts supplied to both sites.
JSL Asphalt Inc. of Massachusetts filed March 1, 2021, claiming $174,561.66 for paving at East Windsor.
Butler Co. Inc. of Windsor, Connecticut filed March 16, 2021, claiming $228,314.08 for labor, equipment, and materials at East Windsor.³

Calamar’s executive vice president Jerry Hill said the litigation was “not unusual with a job of this size” and blamed supply-chain problems for the delays, adding that the suits had not affected project progress.³ The available record does not show how the four cases were ultimately resolved.

Rhode Island Federal Court Ruled Against Calamar

In Rudrah Darshan, LLC v. Calamar Construction Management, Inc. (Case No. 1:18-cv-00397, D.R.I.), a hotel owner in Smithfield alleged Calamar materially breached the construction management contract by failing to pay subcontractors, causing delays and triggering four mechanic’s liens on the property.⁴

Calamar counterclaimed, saying the owner had breached by withholding April and May 2018 payments. The owner terminated the contract in May 2018 with the project behind schedule and liens on record.⁵

U.S. District Judge William E. Smith granted summary judgment against Calamar. The court found the contract required the property to be free of liens as a condition of payment, that Calamar’s nonpayment of subcontractors was itself the material breach, and that Calamar’s attempt to terminate was unjustified because only the owner held a right to terminate for convenience. The court also rejected Calamar’s unjust-enrichment claim.⁵ The docket remained active as of May 2026.¹

Kansas Default Judgment Affirmed on Appeal

Plex Capital, LLC sued Calamar Construction MW, LLC after Calamar withheld payment on work performed by RGA Painting & Construction at two Shawnee, Kansas projects. RGA had assigned its receivables to Plex. Calamar did not respond, and the Johnson County District Court entered a default judgment of $162,332.95, plus $11,126.95 in interest and $11,887.80 in attorney fees.²

Calamar moved to set the judgment aside. The district court denied the motion, finding “reckless indifference” to the litigation despite Calamar’s awareness of the suit. On March 3, 2023, the Kansas Court of Appeals affirmed, holding Calamar had not shown excusable neglect.²

Foreclosure and Liens on Stalled Kansas Projects

A Connect55+ project in Topeka at 2700 SW 3rd Street sat idle years past its 2020 completion date. As of April 2025, every building, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permit for the site had expired, even as Calamar’s website still advertised the community as “coming this fall.” The site was built on a former school property that Topeka USD 501 sold for nearly $950,000 in 2017.⁶ By September 2025, a Missouri-based bank sued alleging a loan default and seeking foreclosure.⁷

A separate Connect55+ project in northeast Wichita at 2430 N. 127th Street, originally valued at $10.5 million, followed a similar path. As of September 2025 the site had been idle for months, its construction permit had expired, and it faced a lawsuit and a lien, with reports indicating it was being considered for sale to another developer.⁸

New York Appellate Case

Calamar was the defendant in litigation brought by GSMS 2015-GC34 Commerce Court, LLC in Niagara County. Judge Edward Pace entered an order in March 2024 granting at least partial relief to the plaintiff.⁹¹⁰¹¹ By June 2025, motions for reargument, reconsideration, and leave to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals were denied in both matters. The available records do not detail the underlying dispute or the damages at stake.

Pennsylvania Tenant Complaints Over Rent Increases

Residents at the Connect55+ senior apartment complex in Meadville, Pennsylvania protested in 2022 over rent increases they described as 30% to 40%. One tenant said his rent was going from $900 to $1,230 a month; another called a $400 monthly increase “unreasonable.”¹²

Speaking at a Meadville City Council meeting, some residents characterized the increases as “elder abuse.” They noted that Calamar had received local tax relief through the LERTA program in 2015 but had missed its construction deadline; as of August 2022, only 36 of the planned 128 units were complete against a fall 2020 target. Connect55+ vice president Marc Guizzo told residents at a town hall that rising construction costs made the increases necessary.¹³

Meadville Mayor Jaime Kinder said the city was supporting residents, had sent letters to consumer protection agencies and the Pennsylvania Attorney General, and had spoken directly with Calamar. Residents held a “Support Our Seniors” rally in Diamond Park in August 2022.¹²¹³ The tenant complaints did not, on the available record, become a lawsuit.

1
CourtListener. Rudrah Darshan LLC v. Calamar Construction Management Inc.
2
FindLaw. Plex Capital LLC v. Calamar Construction MW LLC
3
Yahoo News. Senior Housing Builder Faces Several Lawsuits
4
Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly. Nonperformance Justified by Failure to Pay Subcontractors
5
AIA Contract Documents. When Does an Owner Have a Right of Nonperformance
6
WIBW. City of Topeka Confirms Expired Permits, Vacant Senior Living Facility on Kanza Campus
7
Topeka Capital-Journal. Topeka’s Calamar Senior Living Faces Possible Foreclosure
8
Wichita Business Journal. Calamar Senior Housing Stall, Sale, Lien, Lawsuit
9
Law.com. GSMS 2015-GC34 Commerce Court LLC v Calamar Construction Management Inc.
10
NY Courts. GSMS 2015-GC34 Commerce Court LLC v Calamar Construction Management Inc., Appeal No. 1
11
NY Courts. GSMS 2015-GC34 Commerce Court LLC v Calamar Construction Management Inc., Appeal No. 2
12
YourErie. Senior Living Community Residents Protesting Unreasonable Rent Increases
13
GoErie. Meadville Senior Renters Face Severe Rent Gouging at Connect 55 Complex