PITTSBURGH — A food distribution company that sued Friedman's for breach of contract believed that court-ordered mediation resolved the case in October, but more legal maneuvering ensued after the owner of the 117-year-old Butler grocery store did not sign the settlement documents.

Merchants Distributors Inc. (MDI), the North Carolina company contracted to provide food to the Friedman's Freshmarkets stores in Butler County, sued Friedman's parent company, Harold Friedman Inc. (HFI), for breach of contract because HFI did not make required payments on two loans extended to the company at the time of the contract.

HFI owner Carole Friedman Bitter countersued the company, maintaining that the company's business practices were not up to industry standards and sunk the grocery stores.

Attorneys for neither Harold Friedman Inc. nor Merchants Distributors Inc. have returned calls from the Butler Eagle for several months regarding the case. However, online court documents obtained through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records demonstrate an extended legal process has carried on for more than a year in the federal court of Judge Arthur Schwab.

According to the court proceedings, MDI attorneys and lawyers for HFI owner Carole Bitter recently agreed on a settlement.

“But after months of delays and excuses, HFI now refuses to sign a formal settlement agreement,” said MDI attorneys in recent court filings. “Moreover, in January 2019, HFI began trying to change the terms of the parties' original deal, asserting new rights contrary to the parties' original agreement.”

Multiple emails between the parties' attorneys attempting to cajole Bitter into signing were entered as evidence.

In an email dated Dec. 6, MDI attorney Ben Sittler told HFI attorney David Fuchs, “We really can't let this drag on any longer. Please confirm your client's agreement to the form, so we can get this executed and finalized.”

Fuchs replied the next day by writing, “I told (my clients) we need to get this finalized ASAP and Carole understood and agreed with that principal.”

On Dec. 13, Sittler sent an email to Fuchs asking, “Where are we on the signatures?”

On Friday, MDI filed a motion with Schwab to enforce the settlement agreement.

The motion includes stipulations that Bitter sign within three days of Schwab approving the motion, and pay MDI's attorneys fees and costs associated with the motion in an amount to be determined by Schwab. The motion further stipulates the settlement agreement would be the final version between the two parties.

Details of the settlement were redacted in online documents obtained by the Butler Eagle, some of which are no more than pages of black lines over text.

One piece of information not redacted in the documents was MDI's proposed judgment submitted to Schwab on Oct. 5.

In that judgment request, to which MDI attorneys said HFI did not object, MDI was to be awarded almost $500,000 plus “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in attorney's fees.

The proposed judgment also requested Schwab allow MDI to foreclose on two buildings, listed as the “Saxonburg property” and the “vacant property.” Additionally, the proposed judgment would enforce liens MDI has on all HFI “equipment, cash and accounts to satisfy the remaining balance of loans that (MDI) extended to (the) defendant of approximately $1,620,000.”

“In sum, the proposed judgment would have resulted in the liquidation of all of HFI's assets to satisfy approximately $2.1 million that HFI owes plaintiffs...” the document says.

Schwab has not yet ruled on the proposed judgment, according to the latest listings on the online document source.

Attorneys for HFI and MDI did not return calls on Tuesday for comment on the case.

Following is the timeline of litigation between Merchants Distributors Inc. and Harold Friedman Inc., parent company of the 117-year-old Butler County-based Friedman's Freshmarkets grocery chain, which closed its doors in January 2018.October 2016: The two parties enter into a product purchase agreement.June 2017: MDI begins requiring prepayment from HFI for product shipments because HFI was behind in payments.January 2018: MDI files a lawsuit against HFI in federal court in Pittsburgh for breach of contract.February 2018: HFI files a counterclaim, saying MDI's business practices caused the grocery stores to fail.March 2018: MDI files a motion to dismiss the counterclaim because it is without merit. HFI files a brief to oppose the dismissal, listing the practices that HFI claims swamped the business.September 2018: Judge Arthur Schwab of the federal court's Western District orders the case to a mediator.October 2018: MDI submits a proposed order to Schwab for judgment for the plaintiff. A mediation report shows that the case has been resolved and is closed, but can be reinstated if either party fails to execute the settlement agreement.January 2019: Schwab approves a request by MDI for a status conference to force Carole Bitter to sign the settlement agreement.February 2019: Schwab orders the parties to return to mediation on or before March 15. MDI files motion to enforce the settlement.