Lawsuit involving liens on Shawnee multifamily development gets dismissed

Claims of fraud related to the property sale for The Cosmopolitan, a $2 million multifamily development in Shawnee, were found to be without merit and dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge K. Christopher Jayaram.

The lawsuit was filed in November 2022 against an entity called 5700 Barton LLC, which was set up and controlled by Kansas City construction litigation attorney Scott Long, who bought the property at auction. Long filed a quit claim on the property at 5700 Barton Drive and put it into 5700 Barton LLC, the entity that entered into contracts to sell the property to developer Augie Bogina and his company Metropolitan Properties LLC.

Bogina later discovered the property was used for collateral before Long’s involvement that led to a mechanic’s lien, which later became a judgment against the property. Bogina filed a lawsuit claiming breach of contract, fraud and unjust enrichment, arguing that Long and Barton LLC were required to deliver a clean, unclouded title to the property.

However, Jayaram ruled that was not the case. Long had no knowledge of the lien and the contract specifically stated that the buyer was responsible for due diligence, being allowed ample time to determine if there were any restrictions or impediments to developing the property.

Once the lien was discovered, Bogina exercised his right to protest, and 5700 Barton had 10 days to cure the objections. Those 10 days expired without action, so the judge ruled that under the contract language, the deal was automatically terminated.

The judge dismissed the fraud claims for lack of legal basis. The remaining claims were then found to be without merit and also dismissed.

The property in question is not listed for sale.