Pensmore owner: Contractors used Helix product for other projects

Steven T. Huff Family LLC last week amended its $63 million lawsuit related to the Chateau Pensmore mansion in Christian County, alleging contractors used stolen product for other projects.

The suit filed last year against Humboldt, Kan.-based The Monarch Cement Co. and subsidiary Ozark-based City Wide Construction Products Co. alleges the companies deliberately shorted the use of specialized Helix rebar product by 25-30 percent when constructing the 72,000-square-foot residence for Steven Huff. A whistleblower informed Huff’s company of the activity, which led to testing to confirm it.

The latest motion alleges, among other things, that the missing Helix product was used in the construction of a Shell Knob home for Monarch’s chief financial officer and a swimming pool in Chestnutridge. According to the complaint, contractors modeled the CFO’s home after Pensmore.

A trial for the case is scheduled in November.

The Helix product at issue in the case is a specialized rebar designed to give the concrete-block mansion additional strength enough to survive EF5 tornados and stand for centuries.

“Huff dedicated years of his life to executing his Pensmore strategy, studying the most innovative construction and green energy technologies and investing in the companies that developed them. Pensmore was to be the model, designed to change the very nature of safety and energy standards in constructing schools, hospitals and homes,” the complaint reads.

The eight-figure lawsuit is said to be among the largest contract cases ever seen in this area, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.