sushi
Master Member
Posts: 767
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Post by sushi on Mar 15, 2008 8:49:34 GMT -5
Threat of big payout against Dist. 204 Spurned landowners could seek $13 million from District 204 By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald StaffContact writerPublished: 3/15/2008
Imagine being forced to pay $13 million for something you don't even want.
Indian Prairie Unit District 204 officials could find themselves in that position pending the outcome of Monday's court date regarding their failed effort to acquire the Brach-Brodie land in Aurora for Metea Valley High School.
The district and representatives of the Brach-Brodie trust are expected to appear at 9 a.m. before Circuit Judge Robert Kilander. They will discuss what the property owners want to recoup as a result of the district's decision to abandon its pursuit of 55 acres near 75th Street and Commons Drive. The district already owns 25 acres there.
District 204 had selected the Brach-Brodie site for the proposed 3,000-student high school, but backed away after a jury decided the 55 acres were worth $31 million -- about $17 million more than the school system was prepared to pay.
"The court will want to know who's going to make what kind of claim, when we are going to have a hearing on those claims and if there is going to be discovery to determine whether the claims are bona fide," property trust attorney Steve Helm said.
Those claims could top $13 million, Helm said Friday. He said that figure is based on reports from hired experts who determined the value of the acreage rapidly declined between December 2005 when the district attempted to condemn it and this February when the district formally ended its condemnation effort.
Helm said his clients first will ask the judge to force the district to use funds secured in its $125 million 2006 referendum to buy the property.
If the district is unable to do so, it will be asked to reimburse the trust for about $3 million in legal fees and roughly $9.5 million in damages caused by the decreasing value of the property.
"The property has undergone a big loss in value from December 2005, when we were subjected to the condemnation lawsuit, until Feb. 4, 2008," Helm said. "During that time the market went from a fantastic market to all of a sudden being a market that is not as good as it was.
"The Brodies will be seeking that reduction in value that results from the abandonment if they don't come back to buy our property."
School district attorney Rick Petesch did not return calls Friday. School board President Mark Metzger said the district has budgeted for some of the estimated legal fees but not for any decrease in property values.
"We asked early on in October for the fee estimates and we were told they would be as much as $4 million, so we budgeted $5 million," Metzger said. He would not comment on any additional damage claims the trust might seek.
Officials say Monday's proceedings are unlikely to derail the district's plans to build Metea on their newly selected site along Eola Road south of Diehl Road near Aurora.
Superintendent Stephen Daeschner last week said he hopes the district will close on the 87-acre Eola Road parcel owned by St. John AME Church and Midwest Generation on March 19.
On Friday, Metzger declined to set the same target date.
"The sale will close when it's ready to close," he said.
The Aurora City Council is expected to annex the Eola Road site on March 25.
School officials say they're still hopeful they will be able to open the bulk of Metea Valley in the fall of 2009.
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Post by wvhsparent on Mar 15, 2008 9:16:23 GMT -5
I sure hope Kilander tells BB where it can go woth it's claim of decreased value
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Post by title1parent on Mar 17, 2008 5:43:56 GMT -5
Attorney: Brach-Brodie claim could top $20M Dispute over land parcel rages on today in court
March 17, 2008 By Tim Waldorf twaldorf@scn1.com
Damages sought by the Brach-Brodie trust in response to Indian Prairie School District 204's abandonment of its condemnation suit could top the purchase price returned this fall by a DuPage County jury.
Both sides of this dispute are due in court today.
Once there, the Brach trust likely will seek a continuation for researching their claim, said Edward Donovan, attorney for the Brach trust.
But Steve Helm, attorney for the Brodie trust, said he expects to ask the court to require District 204 to purchase the remaining 55 acres of the 80-acre site it had selected as the location of Metea Valley High School, and do so at the $31 million price a jury determined to be fair this fall.
If the court denies that request, Helm said he intends to file a claim seeking about $12 million in damages.
The claim would be for reimbursement of about $3 million of attorney fees and witness costs associated with this condemnation case and with the 2003 case in which the district purchased from the trust the 25 acres it now owns.
The claim also would seek reimbursement for any reduction in value to trust-owned properties due to the district's condemnation suit. Helm said the jury already determined the trust was due $2.5 million in damages for the less-than-market value price at which it sold a neighboring 71-acre parcel to a developer.
But Helm said his clients intend to seek reimbursement for the $6 million to $8 million difference between the price at which the trust could have sold the 55-acre parcel in 2005, when the condemnation case was initiated and other developers were interested in purchasing it, and the price at which the trust believes it could sell the property in today's real estate market.
These would only be the damages sought by the Brodie trust; the Brach trust would still have to file its claim. Helm said he could see the overall damages claim against the district exceeding $20 million.
Of course, the court will determine how much in damages the district might have to pay, but "if they buy the property, then all of that goes away," said Helm, noting that his client was still interested in selling to the district.
District 204 now intends to purchase 87 acres at Eola and Molitor roads for a reported $16.5 million, and build the 3,000-seat high school there.
Helm said he has represented other clients when governmental bodies have tried to take their property but ultimately abandoned their condemnation suits.
"And they end up with a big bill and no property, and it just seems like it's not the best use of taxpayers' money," he said.
He said he hopes District 204 will get the Brach-Brodie property.
"By the time you start looking at some of the costs ... I think Brach-Brodie starts to look, at least to me, like a pretty good site, even at the jury verdict," he said.
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Post by sleeplessinnpvl on Mar 17, 2008 7:40:10 GMT -5
Anyone have any idea if judges usually award for damages like this? I know the jury already decided we owe damages on the land value for property that wasn't even in the condemnation lawsuit. Amazing.
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Post by gatordog on Mar 17, 2008 7:46:38 GMT -5
So BB successfully argues their land was worth $30 million in 2005 and now wants to argue their land is only worth $10 or $12 million? Are they seriously saying land has price has dropped 2/3? Boy....I didnt realize our property values around here plummeted so severely. I guess the Great Depression has returned and we'll all be living in a Dust Bowl pretty soon Do real estate people have any idea what the general drop in land value has been? Or has it been more of a flattening out with no gains? For example, if land has dropped 20% (which seems quite severe), then rough estimate for BB loss in value is 20% of $30 mil, or $6 mil. Nowhere close to $20 mil total.
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Post by brad204 on Mar 17, 2008 8:09:27 GMT -5
So BB successfully argues their land was worth $30 million in 2005 and now wants to argue their land is only worth $10 or $12 million? Are they seriously saying land has price has dropped 2/3? Boy....I didnt realize our property values around here plummeted so severely. I guess the Great Depression has returned and we'll all be living in a Dust Bowl pretty soon Do real estate people have any idea what the general drop in land value has been? Or has it been more of a flattening out with no gains? For example, if land has dropped 20% (which seems quite severe), then rough estimate for BB loss in value is 20% of $30 mil, or $6 mil. Nowhere close to $20 mil total. I hear you GD. I think that is good analysis. However, just as a what if. What if the award comes in at that amount or close to it? What would people suggest the admin/board to do? I am not really asking you specifically just opening it up for discussion.
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Post by warriorpride on Mar 17, 2008 8:15:28 GMT -5
So BB successfully argues their land was worth $30 million in 2005 and now wants to argue their land is only worth $10 or $12 million? Are they seriously saying land has price has dropped 2/3? Boy....I didnt realize our property values around here plummeted so severely. I guess the Great Depression has returned and we'll all be living in a Dust Bowl pretty soon Do real estate people have any idea what the general drop in land value has been? Or has it been more of a flattening out with no gains? For example, if land has dropped 20% (which seems quite severe), then rough estimate for BB loss in value is 20% of $30 mil, or $6 mil. Nowhere close to $20 mil total. I hear you GD. I think that is good analysis. However, just as a what if. What if the award comes in at that amount or close to it? What would people suggest the admin/board to do? I am not really asking you specifically just opening it up for discussion. what do you think the options are?
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Post by sleeplessinnpvl on Mar 17, 2008 8:17:44 GMT -5
So BB successfully argues their land was worth $30 million in 2005 and now wants to argue their land is only worth $10 or $12 million? Are they seriously saying land has price has dropped 2/3? Boy....I didnt realize our property values around here plummeted so severely. I guess the Great Depression has returned and we'll all be living in a Dust Bowl pretty soon Do real estate people have any idea what the general drop in land value has been? Or has it been more of a flattening out with no gains? For example, if land has dropped 20% (which seems quite severe), then rough estimate for BB loss in value is 20% of $30 mil, or $6 mil. Nowhere close to $20 mil total. Well, I just got my home reappraised for refinancing and my home dropped only about 3% from what I thought it was worth. I think I have read somewhere that home values have stayed pretty flat in this area. In some areas, the decrease has been no more than 5% and in other areas, home values have actually risen slightly. And that is home sales, not retail land sales. Land value is something I don't know much about. To me, there are a lot of homes on the market so that may affect pricing. But around here, there isn't a lot of land left (let alone prime land close to shopping without a cess pool on it) so I just don't know if I believe that land value over there has decreased much, or at least as much as gatodog says they are claiming.
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Post by sleeplessinnpvl on Mar 17, 2008 8:21:14 GMT -5
So BB successfully argues their land was worth $30 million in 2005 and now wants to argue their land is only worth $10 or $12 million? Are they seriously saying land has price has dropped 2/3? Boy....I didnt realize our property values around here plummeted so severely. I guess the Great Depression has returned and we'll all be living in a Dust Bowl pretty soon Do real estate people have any idea what the general drop in land value has been? Or has it been more of a flattening out with no gains? For example, if land has dropped 20% (which seems quite severe), then rough estimate for BB loss in value is 20% of $30 mil, or $6 mil. Nowhere close to $20 mil total. I hear you GD. I think that is good analysis. However, just as a what if. What if the award comes in at that amount or close to it? What would people suggest the admin/board to do? I am not really asking you specifically just opening it up for discussion. Obviously, if the award comes back that high, then the AME and BB sites would be the same cost, right? I guess at that point, do you think the SB would build on BB without the athletic/pool etc. to save money or would they have to go back and ask voters for the extra money?
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Post by brad204 on Mar 17, 2008 8:24:34 GMT -5
I hear you GD. I think that is good analysis. However, just as a what if. What if the award comes in at that amount or close to it? What would people suggest the admin/board to do? I am not really asking you specifically just opening it up for discussion. what do you think the options are? Well first you have to believe they can get 12.5M-20M in damages and fees. That is a big if. Assuming they, BB, do secure this amount you have one of two options: 1. You revert back to BB 2. Or you move ahead with the Eola site. Seems pretty straight forward set of options. I have stopped trying to guess what will happen.
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Post by wvhsparent on Mar 17, 2008 8:25:17 GMT -5
So BB successfully argues their land was worth $30 million in 2005 and now wants to argue their land is only worth $10 or $12 million? Are they seriously saying land has price has dropped 2/3? Boy....I didnt realize our property values around here plummeted so severely. I guess the Great Depression has returned and we'll all be living in a Dust Bowl pretty soon Do real estate people have any idea what the general drop in land value has been? Or has it been more of a flattening out with no gains? For example, if land has dropped 20% (which seems quite severe), then rough estimate for BB loss in value is 20% of $30 mil, or $6 mil. Nowhere close to $20 mil total. Let's see..They say it was worth 30mil in 05 , Jury in 07 says 31mil seems there was an increase. I think what the SD also has going is that it made an offer to buy a smaller portion, which was rejected by BB.
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Post by gandalf on Mar 17, 2008 8:27:52 GMT -5
So BB successfully argues their land was worth $30 million in 2005 and now wants to argue their land is only worth $10 or $12 million? Are they seriously saying land has price has dropped 2/3? Boy....I didnt realize our property values around here plummeted so severely. I guess the Great Depression has returned and we'll all be living in a Dust Bowl pretty soon Do real estate people have any idea what the general drop in land value has been? Or has it been more of a flattening out with no gains? For example, if land has dropped 20% (which seems quite severe), then rough estimate for BB loss in value is 20% of $30 mil, or $6 mil. Nowhere close to $20 mil total. I hear you GD. I think that is good analysis. However, just as a what if. What if the award comes in at that amount or close to it? What would people suggest the admin/board to do? I am not really asking you specifically just opening it up for discussion. would it not be the devalued land plus potential lost revenue from having it tied up ? I could be wrong - just asking. and I will say I am glad to see M2 being more cautious so that we do not end up spending any more until we know what we have or do not have, I think it's time for full speed ahead to stop,look & listen at least for a bit.
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Post by sleeplessinnpvl on Mar 17, 2008 8:46:51 GMT -5
I think what the SD also has going is that it made an offer to buy a smaller portion, which was rejected by BB. Interesting. If the judge could force us to buy the whole thing at a high cost, could he also force BB to sell us a smaller portion at the higher cost?
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Arwen
Master Member
Posts: 933
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Post by Arwen on Mar 17, 2008 10:10:00 GMT -5
Is it true that we have to pay the damages regardless of whether we were to now negotiate a purchase? I thought I read that somewhere, but I don't know whether it was someone's posting or in one of the articles.
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Post by wvhsparent on Mar 17, 2008 10:52:51 GMT -5
Is it true that we have to pay the damages regardless of whether we were to now negotiate a purchase? I thought I read that somewhere, but I don't know whether it was someone's posting or in one of the articles. I posted that as a possiblity...If we(the SD) bought BB there were damages to the remainder to be added onto the per acre price. When we walked away, they were going to argue the damages to the remainder are still due. It will be up to the court to decide that. Pretty much all the motions filed in the case went the way of the SD not BB.
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