Jim Barnes, the former head of Oakleaf Waste Management in Windsor and FM Facility Maintenance of Hartford, is nearing a legal settlement with Connecticut Innovations over a $3 million loan the quasi-state agency made to a renewable energy company he started a few years ago, according to the attorney representing the businessman.
In September, Connecticut Innovations filed a lawsuit against Barnes and his West Hartford renewable energy companies Broadstar Wind Corp., Broadstar Energy Corp., and Broadstar Investment Co. seeking to recoup a 10-year, $3 million loan originally made in 2011.
Broadstar stopped making payments on the loan in August with a balance of $2.9 million remaining, according to the lawsuit. CI also alleges that Broadstar failed to meet its employment requirements under the state-backed loan agreement.
Broadstar Energy had zero employees in Hartford at the end of 2013 when the loan agreement called for it to have 62, according to the lawsuit said.
Because of the penalties involved for not hitting the employment target, CI is asking for $3.1 million plus attorneys’ fees.
Hartford attorney Edward Taiman, who is representing Barnes, said the legal issue is being worked out.
“The parties expect this to be resolved, and my clients intend to pay everything,” said Taiman, who did not offer a timeline for a settlement resolution.
Barnes’ attorney filed his response to the lawsuit in December, but the two sides still have a friendly working relationship — the lawsuit notwithstanding — and want to resolve the situation amicably, Taiman said.
CI’s attorney, Eric Goldstein of Hartford law firm Shipman & Goodwin, did not return calls for comment.
Barnes founded Oakleaf Waste Management in 1995 and sold the company for $655 million in 2007. He also served as chairman of FM Facility Maintenance, a company that provided contract maintenance services to more than 130,000 client locations.
Barnes invested in Broadstar Energy in 2009 and became its chairman. Broadstar manufactured non-traditional wind turbines that could be installed onsite at a small facility, similar to a solar array. The business plan included having FM Facility Maintenance install those turbines for its customers.
— Brad Kane
