YOUNGSTOWN — A Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge in one of the three cases pending against the owners of the stalled Chill-Can plant project agreed to permit lawyers representing the company to withdraw as legal counsel.

Justin Markota and Brian Kopp, who have represented M.J. Joseph Development Corp. since legal action against the Chill-Can owners started in May 2021, asked Dec. 6 to be removed as the company’s lawyers on three pending cases.

They didn’t cite a reason, but attorneys typically ask to withdraw if the client fails to abide by the obligations in a contract such as lack of payment or promises to respond in a timely manner.

Judge John M. Durkin of common pleas court granted the motion Wednesday in a foreclosure case filed by MS Consultants Inc. The architectural firm, which did work for M.J. Joseph, is seeking the Chill-Can property in order to recover $322,908 for a breach-of-contract claim.

Durkin also ordered that case be put on hold for the next 30 days to allow M.J. Joseph the opportunity to hire new legal counsel.

There was a hearing scheduled for today in that case. Magistrate Dominic J. DeLaurentis Jr. ordered Wednesday that the hearing be postponed and rescheduled for Jan. 16.

Judge Maureen Sweeney of common pleas court hadn’t ruled as of Wednesday on the request from Markota and Kopp to withdraw as legal counsel in a separate breach-of-contract case filed by the city of Youngstown against M.J. Joseph and Joseph Manufacturing Co. Inc., a sister company.

The city already has rulings in its favor from the court to have $1.5 million returned to it from water and wastewater grants for the project as well as a sanctioned amount of $733,480.80 — $414,948.09 the city spent on acquiring 15 properties bought for the project, which also included relocation expenses, and $318,532.71 in demolition and abatement costs.

The proposed $18.8 million project broke ground in November 2016 and was supposed to be in full operation by 2018 to produce the world’s only self-chilling beverage can.

The project was supposed to be a key part of the revitalization of the city’s lower East Side. Instead, there are three unfinished buildings on the 21-acre site.

Knowing the city’s lawsuit was coming, M.J. Joseph and Joseph Manufacturing filed a May 24, 2021, lawsuit against the city to stop it from reclaiming the $1.5 million in grants. That suit also contends the city doesn’t have any legal rights to money, property and buildings.

In a March 29, 2021, certified letter, the city informed Joseph he had 60 days to construct a number of buildings and hire about 150 workers or it would file a lawsuit. The city followed through June 17, 2021, with the lawsuit that was postponed because of the Joseph legal action.

Also, Markota and Kopp asked to withdraw from a 7th District Court of Appeals case in which M.J. Joseph appealed a ruling from Sweeney in favor of MS Consultants on the $322,908 breach of contract.

In that case, Luther L. Liggett Jr., the attorney representing MS, asked that Markota and Kopp not be permitted to withdraw from the case “until considering the effect of failing to file appellant’s merit brief and designating substitute counsel.”

Markota and Kopp were supposed to file a brief in that case by Dec. 7 and failed to do so. Because of that, Liggett brought up that the court is permitted to dismiss the appeal by M.J. Joseph.

Liggett didn’t file an objection in the foreclosure case in common pleas court.