Gag Order Issued in Suit Against Building Official

The judge overseeing a lawsuit against Middlefield’s building inspector has issued a gag order in the case.

Middlesex Superior Court Judge James Abrams earlier this month issued the order in a lawsuit brought against Robert M. Meyers of East Haddam, a former homebuilder, by one of his former clients, Joseph Cohen.

“No party shall reproduce or otherwise disclose deposition testimony or transcripts outside the scope of this litigation,” Abram’s order states.

Cohen, of Chester, is suing Meyers on accusations Meyers breached his contract with Cohen. Meyers formerly owned a home building business in East Haddam.

Meyers has filed a counterclaim in the legal action accusing Cohen of libel and slander. He says Cohen, a former newspaper reporter, contacted media outlets and state agencies, including a consumer watchdog and the consumer protection department, and made “defamatory” and “malicious” statements to them about Meyers. He says in his counterclaim that Cohen has also publicly made uncomplimentary comments about him “with the intent to cause harm, financial and other, both personally and professionally” to Meyers.

Cohen last month went before the town’s Board of Selectmen and urged them to look into Meyers’ background as a homebuilder. He has accused Meyers, who paid a state fine last year following a consumer protection complaint filed by Cohen, of starting work on his home before getting a building permit and then failing to return a $53,500 deposit when Cohen fired him. Meyers, Cohen alleges in the lawsuit, committed fraud and violated the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act.