Bridge lawsuit is over, for now

Stonington may face furthur litigation from construction company

Stonington — Though the town is no longer a party in a lawsuit alleging bias and favoritism in the bidding process for a bridge project, it may still face further action by a woman-owned construction firm.

“We’re exploring alternative claims against the town,” Thomas Banas, attorney for Old Colony Construction, LLC of Clinton, said on Friday.

As part of a broader lawsuit filed in March 2023, Old Colony, owned by Michelle Neri, requested a temporary injunction to stop the town from moving forward on a project to repair the South Anguilla Road bridge, but the request became moot when the project was completed before the case could be litigated.

New London Superior Court Judge Angelica Papastavros approved a request by Old Colony to dismiss the claim against the town on Thursday. The rest of the suit is pending.

In late 2022, the town awarded the contract to Suchocki & Son of Preston, the second lowest bidder on the project, for $16,000 more than the $322,334 bid from Old Colony.

The remaining portions of the ongoing lawsuit allege that Wengell, McDonnell, & Costello Inc., a Newington engineering firm hired by the town to do design work and evaluate bids for the project, demonstrated bias against Old Colony, undermined the competitive bidding process and violated state law in evaluating bids.

“Old Colony commenced the underlying action to protect the integrity of the public bidding process, which Old Colony believes has been undermined by the actions of the Town and its engineer, Wengell, McDonnell & Costello, Inc.,” said Banas.