The latest attempt to renovate the Marshall Tavern—a project hatched by two old friends—has become the subject of an acrimonious lawsuit, with one accusing the other of shoddy work and leaving the site in “total disrepair.”

Gary Dowd, a Fairfax developer, and Gerry Hardiman, a Larkspur contractor, formed a partnership in 2017 to turn the historic bayside site into a six-unit bed and breakfast. They had teamed up on successful projects before and had planned to complete the renovation this summer.

Instead, they will be meeting this summer in Marin Superior Court, where Mr. Dowd filed a lawsuit in February accusing Mr. Hardiman’s construction company of shoddy workmanship, negligence and breach of contract.

“To say that Hardiman Construction’s work on the project was a complete disaster would be an understatement,” the suit declares.

Mr. Hardiman has yet to file a response to the suit, but he has hired Mark Rice, a San Rafael attorney, to represent him. 

Mr. Rice expects to file a formal response next month, and the two sides are scheduled to appear at a hearing before Judge Andrew Sweet on June 26.

According to the lawsuit, under the terms of their agreement, Mr. Hardiman’s company was to do the work, and Mr. Dowd was responsible for arranging the financing and permits.

Work began in August 2022 and took place in stops and starts over the next two and a half years. It came to a final halt last fall, leaving the building jacked up on temporary pilings, the foundation unfinished, the interior gutted and graffiti on the siding, portions of which have fallen off. 

Over the years, the century-old structure has housed a hotel, a soda shop, a general store and a bar. In the 1960s, it was a popular music venue, attracting such acts as Joan Baez, Neil Young and Van Morrison. 

But the venerable establishment has been rotting away since closing its doors in 1982. The previous owners, Daniel Altman and Avi Atid, purchased the property for $512,000 in 2004. They, too, intended to transform it into a bed-and-breakfast but gave up after years of haggling with the county and the California Coastal Commission over permits and environmental compliance.

Mr. Dowd bought the building for $435,000 and planned to restore it to its former glory. He took out a bank loan for the purchase, but Mr. Hardiman was responsible for paying off half the mortgage, according to the suit.

The project called for building three rooms upstairs and three rooms downstairs, including a second-story honeymoon suite and a larger live-in unit for the manager. Each room would have its own entrance, propane fireplace, kitchenette and private deck overlooking Tomales Bay. One unit would be A.D.A.-accessible. 

The project also called for building a 4,000-square-foot deck and pier, a requirement added by the coastal commission, whose mandate includes providing public access to the state’s bays and beaches. The pier was to have a food concession at the north end, a kayak launch, two bicycle racks, two benches and a 5-foot-by-20-foot floating dock. The commission required that the building be raised by three feet to account for sea-level rise.

Mr. Dowd has renovated several homes across Marin County with help from Mr. Hardiman, but this was their first attempt to restore a building located above water.

When the renovation began, the building was 6,000 square feet of near rubble, with the roof and siding partially rotted away from decades of storms and saltwater exposure. The construction crew raised the building onto temporary pilings and began replacing the foundation in May 2023.

According to the suit, they botched the job, failing to dam water away from the structure when they poured concrete, improperly installing rebar and damaging a seawall at the southern end of the property. The suit accuses the team of leaving the site in “total disrepair, with wood and debris literally floating in Tomales Bay.”

The suit also alleges that the construction team failed to follow the geotechnical engineer’s specifications and ignored conditions imposed by licensing authorities. The engineer was so appalled by their work that he quit the project, claiming that Hardiman Construction’s foundation work was the worst he had seen in his 48 years in the industry.

“The historic building, which was one day to become the Marshall Tavern Inn, was left literally sitting in mid-air on railroad ties over the bay,” the suit states. 

Mr. Rice said the two sides are likely to engage a mediator to settle their differences. “I assure you that both sides—their attorneys, engineers, stakeholders and others—are working towards a positive outcome for the historic Marshall Tavern,” he said in an email. “It goes without saying that Mr. Hardiman disagrees with the filed complaint. However, we are looking past that and towards cooperative closure and rebuilding of the tavern in the interest of the project and community.”

Mr. Hardiman declined to comment, but Mr. Dowd told the Light that he remains determined to bring the project to fruition. He said Mr. Hardiman had previously built two homes for him, both with solid foundations.

“You have relationships and past history with people, and you have certain assumptions that they will deliver on what they say they can and will,” he said. “And sometimes things go, sadly, incredibly south.”