WESTBROOK – The Westbrook developer who had proposed to build a multimillion-dollar commercial development off Stroudwater Street has been sued by the son of his late business partner.

In a suit filed last month in Cumberland County District Court, David Emil, the son of the late Arthur Emil, charges that developer Jason Snyder failed to pay back almost $417,000 in loans.

Emil’s attorney, Eric Wycoff of Pierce Atwood in Portland, said he had no comment on the suit, and added that he had not received a response from Snyder on the matter. Wycoff said Snyder was served with the suit on May 24 and a response would be due by June 13.

Snyder said Wednesday he had not read the entire complaint, adding that he felt the suit was without merit.

“The lawsuit is bogus and when all of the facts are out, there will be no liability,” he said.

In the complaint, Emil said that Arthur Emil and Snyder had entered into an agreement to form 500 Westbrook LLC, a holding company that would develop the 60-acre parcel into Stroudwater Place, a $300 million, 1.65 million-square-foot, upscale retail and recreational development project.

In the suit, Emil said the agreement was for Arthur Emil to own 20 percent of 500 Westbrook LLC and Snyder would own the other 80 percent. The suit said that Snyder did not have the money to fund his share of the project, so Emil loaned it to him, to be repaid with interest. After Arthur Emil died in 2010, his son, as the executor of the estate, met with Snyder to discuss either developing or selling the property. An agreement could not be reached.

The suit said that Snyder has not repaid the loans to date, and asks the court for a judgment of approximately $417,000 to cover the money loaned plus the interest.

In November 2011, 500 Westbrook LLC, listing Snyder as the company’s manager, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court. The filing came after Emil filed a suit in Cumberland County Superior Court seeking to have the company dissolved, an action that was headed off by the bankruptcy filing.