The previous owner of the troubled former Spring Fountain motel in Bucksport settled his federal lawsuit against the town, its code enforcement officer and members of its town council this month for $15,000.
Asad Khaqan had sued those parties almost three years ago following a dangerous building order the town placed on the 50-room motel in 2021. His suit accused the town and its officials of violating his rights, discriminating against him, harassing him and interfering with his management of the property, costing him hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The settlement comes shortly after an Ellsworth judge ruled in favor of Bucksport in a related state appeal of the dangerous building order, because Khaqan no longer owns the property.
The terms of the settlement are now final after it was announced earlier this month, ending a long-running legal saga. It resolves as new owners are continuing renovations at the 66-year-old motel, which they hope to reopen this spring after five years as a vacant, condemned structure.
Neither party admits liability in the federal case, according to a release from the settlement obtained by the Bangor Daily News through a Freedom of Access Act request. The release also reveals the settlement sum.
While the state case cost the town $90,000 in legal fees, costs in the federal case — including the full settlement amount — are covered by the Maine Municipal Association, which insures Bucksport and other towns.
Khaqan rented rooms for long-term stays in the prominently located motel on Route 1 at the edge of downtown Bucksport. Officials had pushed for repairs to be made there for years and, in the spring of 2021, the town council approved a dangerous building order that condemned the structure.
Concerns included a broken heating system and smoke detectors, mold, electricity and plumbing issues. Some sinks emptied into buckets that tenants dumped into bathtubs, and many used portable heaters without automatic safety shutoffs to stay warm, Code Enforcement Officer Luke Chiavelli said in 2021.
After years on the market and failed potential sales, the motel sold last year to a pair of Massachusetts investors experienced in renovating hotels, Admir Bali and Muharrem Plloci. They also run the Sanctuary Inn in Ellsworth, a former nursing home that rents rooms for longer stays to people unable to find housing.
The business partners have been working on electrical, plumbing and heating improvements at the Bucksport property, Bali told the Bangor Daily News earlier this month. They aim to ask the town to lift the dangerous building order in March and reopen under a new name in the spring.
The property’s sale led to the ruling in the town’s favor in the state case. The federal case was stayed while that matter was active.
Khaqan alleged in the federal complaint that the town’s actions had cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more, in revenues and profits. He sought unspecified punitive monetary damages.
The Maine Municipal Association negotiated and approved the settlement, according to Jonathan Brogan, the attorney who represented the town in the case.
Khaqan’s attorney, Joe Baldacci, didn’t return a request for comment.
