Indications are that the city of Henderson is working on settling its commercial litigation against the man who proposed to build a $1 billion series of sports arenas. As we have previously discussed in this business dispute blog, construction never began on the complex of arenas and city officials accused the developer of secretly trying to flip the land, which he purchased for $10.5 million with the city’s help, to residential builders at a profit.
The city filed suit after the developer informed the City Council by letter in November that he was terminating the project, which he had originally proposed in 2011. The complex was to feature several professional-sized sports arenas to house basketball, football, baseball and soccer teams on federal land. The city later said it had evidence that the developer never intended to construct the arenas and that the proposed project was a fraud.
A spokesman for the city of Henderson acknowledged that the parties are in negotiations to settle the litigation. There was no agreement as of March 11. Currently, the project is scheduled to close on March 28, though the closing date has been extended twice recently.
While many business lawsuits go to trial, it is at least as common for the parties to reach a settlement before trial begins. The reasons depend on the individual parties, but many businesses prefer to avoid the distraction and expense that a lengthy lawsuit can create. Even when the business believes it may prevail in court, settlement may be a better option.
Source: VEGAS INC, “City of Henderson in talks to settle lawsuit over proposed arena land deal,” Eli Segall, March 11, 2013
