Frog Rock Cafe owner grilled on finances in lawsuit

BANGOR – Greenville restaurateur Leigh Turner faced a barrage of financial questions Wednesday during the second day of a civil trial that pits him and his partner, Mariette Sinclair, against the insurance company that refused to pay a claim when their restaurant, the Frog Rock Cafe, burned flat two years ago.

During cross examination, defense attorney Jerry Montejunas methodically developed a legal snapshot of a man in desperate financial straits who, with his partner, was close to $1 million in debt in the months before the restaurant fire, which has been ruled an arson.

The trial’s pace was decidedly slower than the accusation-filled opener Tuesday.

Montejunas, representing the Netherlands Insurance Co., quizzed Turner all day on outstanding loans and attempts to get loans from area banks, about business and personal taxes owed, and about the first-, second and sometimes third mortgages taken out on business properties in Maine and New Hampshire. The partners once operated restaurants in Greenville, Rangeley, Auburn and North Woodstock, N.H. All businesses went bankrupt and were sold at auction.

Though he questioned the accuracy of some of Montejunas’ financial information and questions,

Turner agreed that in the end, even the $800,000 he and Sinclair received from an investor trying to take the business public was not enough to cover their bills and expenses.

The trial is taking place at U.S. District Court. Chief U.S. District Judge for Maine, D. Brock Hornby, is presiding. An eight-member jury of five women and three men is hearing the case. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.

In his opening statement, Montejunas said that Turner caused the fire and that he and Sinclair tried to defraud the insurance company. Turner vehemently denied the claim.

At one point, Montejunas closely questioned Turner about the night of the fire, asking, among other things, if he was careful to put out all cigarette butts after a crowd of snowmobilers left the business.

Turner on Tuesday testified that the building was secure when he departed to attend a dinner party at a friend’s house nearby. He learned of the fire when Bob Ifill came to the house to tell him smoke was coming from the restaurant windows. Ifill’s restaurant had burned two weeks before.

Lewiston attorney Tyler Kolle is representing Turner and Sinclair. He objected sporadically to questions posed by Montejunas in the daylong cross-examination.

During a break, Judge Hornby allowed the jury to leave the courtroom then he asked Montejunas how much more he had in terms of lengthy financial questions. Montejunas said he had a “considerable amount” left which prompted Hornby to advise the attorney that his lengthy questioning tactic was “taxing” the jury and that, unless he assumed they were experts in finance, continuation of the activity for much longer would not be “time well-used.”

Turner and Sinclair are accusing the insurer of bad faith and breach of contract, among other allegations. They applied for benefits soon after the fire but claim the insurance company balked at paying, then started investigating them.

Three men connected to insurance companies sat in the courtroom on Wednesday. One of them wrote busily on a pad of paper. Two of the men, when asked, declined to state their interest in the case.

Also in the courtroom were two former co-workers of Turner and Sinclair.

The Netherlands policy reportedly had maximum amounts of $250,000 for the building and $100,000 for its contents. The policy also provided up to $143,200 a year in business interruption coverage.

The trial continues today.