YOUNGSTOWN -  What began more than 5 years ago as a project to create 237 new jobs at a plant in Youngstown that would manufacture self-chilling beverage cans has turned into a contentious legal battle.

The City of Youngstown has fired the latest salvo against the Joseph Company which broke ground in late 2016 for the Chill Can plant on a ten-acre site on the East Side.

The city is seeking restitution, claiming the Joseph Company has breached an Enterprise Zone Agreement with Youngstown.

A court filing from the city states that two of the buildings that are still not finished were supposed to be completed almost five years ago.

City lawyers characterize as “laughable” the Joseph Company’s claim that it has used its “best efforts” to create the 237 new full-time jobs.  According to the filing, the company has created at best one job.

As for the Joseph Company’s suggestion that the COVID-19 Pandemic is to blame for the delays, the city says that under the agreement, the company was supposed to have hired 150 employees before the word ever heard of COVID.

Calling the statement “outrageous”, the city’s filing says it is offensive to all those who were legitimately harmed by the Pandemic.

“The fact is that this Project should have been up and running with over one hundred new employees and three completed buildings long before the world ever heard of the COVID-19 Virus in early 2020,” according to city attorneys.

The City is asking the court to award reimbursement of grant funds in the amount of $1.5 million.