Family dispute leads to closure of 97-year old Connecticut scrap metal yard

The Shetucket Iron & Metal scrap yard at 7 New Wharf Road on Norwich Harbor closed two weeks back, with several lawsuits pending before the New London Superior Court.

HARTFORD (Scrap Monster): A Norwich, Connecticut scrap yard, in business for nearly 100 years, has closed on account of disputes among family members who own the facility. The Shetucket Iron & Metal scrap yard at 7 New Wharf Road on Norwich Harbor closed two weeks back, with several lawsuits pending before the New London Superior Court.

The company directors Walter Seder of Norwich and his nephew Stephen Seder had been involved in a year-long legal battle, filing several court complaints, counterclaims and motion pertaining to the ownership of the assets. Sources indicate that the sharp scrap metal market plunge had aggravated the long-standing dispute between Walter and Stephen. By end-June this year, the two principals agreed to sign an agreement asking court to dissolve the company and sell its assets. Accordingly, the court had appointed the principals’ attorneys to obtain a property appraisal and go ahead with the public sale of Shetucket Iron & Metal scrap yard assets.

In a second agreement, the principals had asked the court to order partition of the real estate by sale. As per the agreement Walter and his estranged wife, Marlene owned 50%, whereas the balance 50% was equally divided among Stephen and his siblings Michael and Joan. However, Marlene Seder through a court motion stating that company assets are part of a pending divorce proceeding. The motion also objected the provision in the agreement that allows Walter Seder to purchase the company assets at the appraised value.

Another motion was filed by Stephen Seder alleging that Walter continued to operate the company and has refused to co-operate with the custodian attorneys. He demanded that the company be taken over by a third party receiver, by ending the operations. Following this, Walter Seder confirmed that the business has been closed.

Earlier in 2013, the Seder family members had expressed their willingness to sell the property to the city administration for promotion of some or other tourism project. However, the two sides had failed to begin dialogues on advancing the deal. Seder had repeatedly stated that the family would never go ahead with any action that prevents the city from buying the scrap yard. Despite several visits by city officials to the facility, no progress was reported on the proposed deal.

Sedar had stated that he would like the city to convert the scrap yard into a park or a recreational place for the handicapped. The location of the facility presents immense opportunities to develop it as a tourist spot, thereby bringing in revenue to the city. Seder had also held talks with several city officials to relocate the scrap yard to a new location, so that all its employees could be retained.

Norwich Community Development Corp. had expressed its willingness to market the property. It was widely believed that granting public access to the water from that area would complement existing marine-based businesses. Moreover, city leaders had been advocating development of the area as a means to promote sport fishing and other recreational activities to attract more tourists to the region. In fact, the city had even commissioned an environmental study of the property by Colchester-based GEI Consultants Inc. However, some officials expressed their opposition in spending dollars of public money in acquiring a scrap yard. Thus, the idea of purchasing the site for reuse as recreational area was completely dropped.