December 17, 2023

LoHi lawsuit precedes design and contracting firm’s bankruptcy

3327 Tejon scaleddesign and contracting firm’s bankruptcy 1″/

The apartments at 3327 Tejon St. in LoHi. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)

A local design and contracting firm that is being sued for allegedly botching its work on an apartment building in LoHi has filed for bankruptcy.

Cline Design Group, of Littleton, was founded 25 years ago by owner Jeff Cline and has hundreds of projects under its belt across the metro area and in the mountains, it said.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 8 because it has less than $500,000 in assets but owes as much as $1.1 million to banks, suppliers and governments.

Most of that debt is disputed, however. Cline Design doesn’t believe that it owes $800,000 for its work in Highlands and, in fact, claims it is the company that is owed money.

In August 2021, Cline Design was hired as the general contractor for a 13-unit apartment project at 3327 Tejon St. developed by Scott Riopelle, owner of Interstate Roofing in Denver. In a lawsuit filed Sept. 7, Riopelle lists dozens of mistakes that he says Cline Design made.

Months went by without work; there was no on-site management; flooring was installed too early and

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