Page 77 - BusinessWest September 18, 2023

COURT DOCKETS>>
The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.
HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Western Mass Demolition Corp. v. Ohio Concrete Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract: $53,017.25
Filed: 7/19/23
NC Inc. AMN f/k/a the Nunes Cos. Inc. v. Latour and Sons Trucking Inc.
Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury and property damage: $90,000
Filed: 7/20/23
Continued from page 21
Ruth Christianson v. Big Y Foods Inc. Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing per- sonal injury: $51,000
Filed: 7/26/23
James M. Bruderman v. Mercury Public Affairs Allegation: Defamation: $1,000,000
Filed: 7/27/23
Rene Pomales and Rosalee Pomales v. OM SAI Racingmart LLC
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing per- sonal injury: $14,497.18
Filed: 7/31/23
Kimberly Thayer v. Mr. Stax Inc. and Gabi Pan- cakes Inc.
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing per- sonal injury: $425,000
Filed: 8/2/23
Arcbest Inc. v. East Baking Co.
Allegation: Money owed for transportation services: $67,301
Filed: 8/3/23
Parisi Management Group LLC v. Blue Lotus Group LLC et al
Allegation: Breach of contract, unjust enrichment: $350,060.65
Filed: 8/9/23
Laurel Stanislas v. Edward Wall
Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury: $75,000
Filed: 8/9/23
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MountainOne
business; we can be patient and look beyond the next quarter or two quarters — we have that luxury.”
Elaborating, he said MountainOne has experienced lenders who understand business and what it takes to succeed and can step into the role of adviser as well as banker.
“We’re not just a vendor that is providing you a product, which is the loan,” he told BusinessWest. “We’re also a resource. It’s a relationship, and it’s probably the most unique relationship a business will have. Anyone can sell you something — we’re the only relationship where we have to get what we sold you back.
“Another aspect of it is that we really enjoy this part of the business — it’s in our DNA,” he went on.
Continued from page 34
“We love being with our customers, and we love understanding their businesses. We love talking about what we know, what we’re thinking about, and sharing those ideas.”
“We love being with our customers, and we love understanding their businesses. We love talking about what we know, what we’re thinking about, and sharing
for the next 24 months.”
Meanwhile, Panteleakis noted that Regus, a lead-
ing provider of office space, co-working environments, shared space, and other products will be creating such opportunities on one floor in Tower Square, roughly 16,000 square feet, bringing more options
to business owners in the wake of the pandemic and other shifts within the workplace.
Still, COVID and other factors have brought some changes to the landscape, Panteleakis said, citing law firms, a huge force within the local office market, especially in downtown Springfield, as one example. He noted there are fewer large firms, and the larger firms are getting smaller as Baby Boomers retire. Meanwhile, fewer clients are actually coming to the firms’ offices to meet with lawyers, some of whom are, in fact, working remotely. All this adds up to this segment absorbing less office space in the years to come.
Meanwhile, an even bigger challenge moving for- ward might be the growing number of businesses, across all sectors, that are not surviving the current generation of ownership.
those ideas.”
Mo-mentum
As for Mo the mountain goat, he’s the perfect spokesperson for the bank, as detailed in a bio on its website. “Goats are tough,” it reads. “They turn chal- lenges into opportunities every day, and even in the most demanding, unforgiving environments, goats know how to adapt and thrive.”
MountainOne has done a lot of that over the past 175 years, and that collective work has put it in a position where it can turn challenge into opportunity and scale new heights — in all kinds of ways. BW
Indeed, Panteleakis notes with concern that the pandemic convinced a number of Baby Boomer busi- ness owners to call it quits. Meanwhile, an alarming number of those still slugging it out have no real suc- cession plan in place.
“They’ve put 40 years into a business, and COVID taught them that life’s too short and they really can find something else to do with their free time,” he said. “Their children don’t want their business, or they’re doing their own thing. And if they go to put the business up for sale, first you have to have entre- preneurs who are willing to take the risk and have access to capital ... and when you add that kind of formula to what has happened with bank lending and interest rates, we’re seeing a lack of continuity with businesses.
“Initially, you say, ‘great, there’s so much for us to sell,” he went on. “The question is ... who’s going to buy it?” BW
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Macmillan
“We are past this concept of working from home — it’s losing traction,” Panteleakis said with a strong dose of conviction in his voice. “People are under- standing that the productivity of their workforce is just not the same; whether it’s J.P. Morgan, Google, Apple ... the trend now is ‘you have to be in the office,’ which is certainly a positive for the office market.”
Elaborating, he said corporations large and small are veering toward bringing their workers back the office, if they haven’t already, on the premise that teams of workers don’t work as effectively when some or all their players are working from home.
Persistently lower occupancy rates for office space in cities ranging from Boston to San Francisco not- withstanding, Panteleakis and his partners believe the office market locally, and especially in downtown Springfield, will withstand this post-pandemic envi- ronment and the trend toward remote work.
“What I see right now is the 3,000- to 5,000-square-foot users just starting to emerge,” Healy said. “This year has been incredibly slow, but I’m beginning to see people look to next year, for what space is available. And I think it’s going to be that way
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