BENTON - U.S. District Judge Staci Yandle gets to decide whether a dispute between brewer David Schlafly and contractor Daniel Werner of O’Fallon over a renovation project in downtown Highland belongs in her court or St. Clair County circuit court.
Schlafly removed the case from St. Clair in November but Werner’s business in St. Louis County, American Craftsman, moved to remand it to St. Clair in December.
American Craftsman counsel Sean Cronin of Belleville argued in a brief on Jan. 16 that the court should resolve any ambiguity in favor of American Craftsman.
Cronin filed the complaint on Oct. 2 against property owner Warson Development, Schlafly Illinois limited liability corporation, and Schlafly himself.
Cronin claimed American Craftsman was hired to replace the roof, demolish the interior, and renovate the building as a restaurant with an apartment on the second floor.
He claimed defendants paid for a portion of the work but the remainder was due and owing.
“Plaintiff stopped work in or about Dec. 23 for non payment," he wrote.
He claimed defendants owed approximately $315,000.
Warson Development and Schlafly removed the complaint on Nov. 6, asserting diversity jurisdiction as Missouri citizens.
Their counsel Thomas Ysursa of Belleville claimed no affidavit of service was filed at circuit court for Schlafly Illinois.
He claimed it was involuntarily dissolved by the Illinois Secretary of State in 2023.
He claimed its sole member was Saint Louis Brewery and the members of Saint Louis Brewery are citizens of Missouri and Maryland.
He claimed Schlafly Illinois wasn’t an Illinois citizen and if it was, removal was proper anyway because American Craftsman couldn’t make a plausible claim against it.
He claimed American Craftsman didn’t attach to its complaint any documents relating to Schlafly Illinois.
“Does plaintiff not know how much it is claiming?" he wrote.
“Does plaintiff not know the entity that made the alleged payment?”
Cronin moved to remand, stating Ysursa didn’t enter an appearance for Schlafly Illinois.
“Counsel for Warson and Schlafly cannot make assertions of fact on behalf of a codefendant which is unrepresented in this matter," he wrote.
He claimed defendants didn’t support the allegation that Saint Louis Brewery was the sole member of Schlafly Illinois.
He claimed they didn’t even identify the basis of their knowledge of membership.
Ysursa opposed the motion on Jan. 4 and wrote, “Schlafly Illinois has not been properly served in this matter even now.”
He claimed inclusion of Schlafly Illinois “may constitute outright fraud.”
“The fact that David Schlafly’s last name is in Schlafly Illinois does not mean that Schlafly Illinois is an Illinois citizen," he wrote.
On Jan. 7 Ysursa moved to dismiss Schlafly.
“Plaintiff alleges that the agreement was oral but does not identify any specifics of the alleged oral agreement," he wrote.
He attached a proposal Schlafly signed on American Craftsman letterhead.
“The mere fact that David Schlafly is a member of a limited liability company does not make him a party to its agreements," he wrote.
“There is no basis to assert that David Schlafly individually retained any benefit from the renovation of the subject property as he is not the property owner.”
On the same date he asserted affirmative defenses for Warson Development that began with, “Plaintiff has been paid for all work properly performed.”
He claimed American Craftsman was “guilty of unclean hands.”
Cronin filed a brief in support of the remand motion on Jan. 16, stating Schlafly Illinois was an Illinois limited liability company.
“Without identifying the members or providing any evidence to support the allegations regarding the citizenship of these anonymous members, the court should rationally assume that the citizenship of this Illinois LLC is in Illinois," he wrote.
He claimed defendants didn’t explain how they know the information, “as counsel does not state that he represents Schlafly Illinois.”
He claimed Schlafly Illinois was created to manage projects and interests including an adjacent property that American Craftsman renovated as Schlafly Highland Square brewpub.
He claimed the parties had prior dealings where Schlafly Illinois managed and operated the project and the property.
“It is plaintiff’s understanding that Schlafly Illinois also managed and operated the subject project and property at the time of the alleged construction for which plaintiff has not been paid.”
He claimed defendants failed to provide evidence to support the citizenship of Schlafly Illinois.
“They had the opportunity to do so in their response and they deliberately chose not to do so," he wrote.
“Plaintiff and Schlafly Illinois have prior business dealings regarding this property and adjacent properties and the course of conduct indicates Schlafly Illinois’s involvement in the subject property’s development and operation.”
As of Jan. 20 Yandle hadn’t set a hearing on jurisdiction.