SPRINGFIELD — Two Springfield developers who competed separately for the Springfield regional justice center project have jointly filed a verified complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order in Hampden County Superior Court against the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) and FDS MA Liberty Junction LLC.

USPB JV LLC, owned by James “Jeb” Balise, and Springfield Tower Square LLC, owned by Dinesh Patel, are seeking to prevent the Commonwealth from finalizing its nearly $2 billion, 40-year lease for the proposed courthouse pending judicial review. The complaint alleges several issues with the procurement and award, including:

• An undisclosed conflict in the winning Liberty Junction bid, involving CoJo Partners’ Conan Harris and John Barros, who was appointed interim executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority while DCAMM was actively evaluating proposals;

• Questions about whether the selected bidder demonstrated sufficient site control for the proposed project location; and

• Failures by DCAMM to apply procurement requirements consistently across bidders.

According to the complaint, Barros was appointed interim executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority in January, after proposals were submitted but before DCAMM announced the award. The MCCA owns and operates public facilities across the Commonwealth, including the MassMutual Center in Springfield, just a short walk from the proposed project site.

“I got into this for one reason: the good of Springfield. My family has lived and worked in the Springfield area for four generations, and a new courthouse done the right way could be a generational boost for our downtown. That’s the goal, no matter who ultimately wins,” Balise said. “This is not an effort to stop Springfield from getting a new courthouse. It is an effort to prevent the Commonwealth from locking taxpayers into a 40-year lease before serious questions about the award are reviewed.”

Added Patel, “Springfield has always been ready to compete on the merits, and today two of us who competed hard against each other are standing together because this is bigger than any one bid. A nearly $2 billion, 40-year commitment has to be built on a foundation of trust and transparency. We’re asking the court to press pause so Springfield gets the fair, honest process it deserves.”