YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Lawyers for the city asked a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge Monday to levy additional sanctions against the owners of the empty Chill-Can plant on the East Side.

In a motion filed before Judge Maureen Sweeney, the city said in its motion that they are entitled to an additional $733,480 in damages because M.J. Joseph Development Corp., the developers of the plant, failed to live up to court orders in the case.

The city filed a lawsuit in May 2021 to get back city funds that were used for the project, which was first proposed under the administration of former Mayor John McNally IV.

The plant, between the Madison Avenue and Himrod Avenue expressways, has been vacant since ground was broken in 2016.

Chill-Can also filed a countersuit against the city.

In November, Judge Sweeney affirmed a ruling by Magistrate Dennis Sarisky that the company failed to live up to its promises of creating jobs and awarded the city $1.5 million in grant funds used for the project.

The company said last year in court filings that it still intended to open the plant but supply chain issues compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic derailed those plans.

In their motion Monday, the city said they are entitled to additional damages because of the company’s “extensive history” of discovery violations and because they “have not made adequate efforts to comply with recent court orders.”