Owners of the failed building contractor Makers Line are off the hook in three of the 18 lawsuits filed against the Salt Lake City company and its related entities, but new complaints have been filed this month.
A judge has dismissed three suits filed by subcontractor LG Concrete, which sought a combined $346,000 in damages against Makers Line and Titus Shotcrete, one of Makers Line’s associated companies, for unpaid labor performed on three separate properties. LG Concrete had also filed construction liens on the three properties, and the property owners settled the debts directly, said Justin Scott, an attorney for LG Concrete.
“My clients are happy and relieved they were able to be paid for work provided, and materials,” Scott said.
Owners of the three associated properties — Roers Company, Clearwater Homes Utah, and Industry SLC LLC — did not respond or could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Two other suits filed by LG Concrete, in which Titus Shotcrete is a defendant, remain unresolved. LG is seeking around $131,000 in damages in those cases.
Makers Line is among the defendants in two new lawsuits, filed in mid-December by subcontractors who claim they have not been paid for projects in Ogden and Clearfield, seeking a combined $62,000 for. A judge also ordered Makers Line to pay another plaintiff $80,000 in one of the first lawsuits filed against the company, involving a Clearfield property.
Damages sought in all 18 lawsuits surpassed $3 million. The three recent dismissals bring Makers Line’s potential liability down to roughly $2.3 million.
Union Station, the property owner of an incomplete apartment complex in Ogden that is now slated for demolition, was also ordered, by default, to pay roughly $64,028 to Bear River Heating and Air Conditioning for unpaid labor. The judgment was issued after Union Station failed to respond to Bear River’s claims. Representatives for Union Station could not be reached Tuesday and have previously declined to comment on Makers Line and Union Walk stories.
Makers Line’s attorney has not responded to repeated requests for comment, including for this story.
Makers Line quickly made a name for itself as a developer in 2020, when it turned an old building in the Granary District into a hip new office building, INDUSTRY SLC. The general contractor was one of several under the umbrella of Q Factor, an “integrated suite of companies” owned by married couple Jason and Ellen Winkler. Building Salt Lake first reported Makers Line’s potential demise in late October; an attorney confirmed the company was ”no longer doing business” in early November, according to court documents.
The contractor is attached to at least eight ongoing projects in Salt Lake City, according to city records, and more than a dozen across the Wasatch Front. The fate of its unfinished projects remains uncertain.
Shannon Sollitt is a Report for America corps member covering business accountability and sustainability for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here.
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