Post by title1parent on Apr 8, 2008 5:36:13 GMT -5
Trust wants original Metea site bought
By Melissa Jenco | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 4/8/2008 12:17 AM
An attorney filed a new complaint against Indian Prairie Unit District 204 Monday afternoon in an effort to force it to buy the Brach-Brodie land for Metea Valley High School.
Steve Helm, attorney for the Brodie trust, said both a previous settlement agreement and a successful referendum require the district to purchase the site it originally selected off 75th Street and Commons Drive near Aurora.
But District 204 attorney Rick Petesch contends the district was never under any such obligation.
The new filing came just as the district took another step forward Monday in purchasing land at an alternate Aurora site off Eola Road.
District 204, which includes portions of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, already owns 25 acres of the Brach-Brodie site and had planned to purchase an additional 55 acres for the 3,000-student Metea Valley High School.
However, plans fell through in September when a jury set the price of the land at $31 million -- about $17 million more than the district anticipated -- and the district later decided to pursue the Eola Road site for $16.5 million instead.
But Helm said Monday when the district purchased the first 25 acres of the Brach-Brodie site in 2005, the settlement agreement between the two required the district, pending a successful referendum, to proceed with purchasing the rest of the land.
"The jury set the price and the district reneged on an obligation to buy it," Helm said.
Petesch hadn't seen the official complaint late Monday but disputed that claim.
"It left open the option to pursue it but we weren't obligated to pursue it," Petesch said.
He said if the trust wants to revert to the original settlement it should also honor the price of the land at that time of $257,000 an acre. The jury's verdict in September put the cost at $518,250 an acre.
Helm's complaint also says the district should be obligated to purchase the Brach-Brodie property because that's what it told voters in its 2006 referendum when they agreed to the $124.7 million tax hike for the new school.
Petesch refuted this argument as well and said the referendum language was not tied to a particular site and the district always kept the option open to abandon the Brach-Brodie property.
The Brodie trust already said last month it will be asking to be reimbursed about $13 million in legal fees and damages to the remaining property. The Brach estate plans to file for its own fees.
But Helm said Monday the attorney fees and expenses are "insufficient to cover the loss." His new complaint seeks additional damages if a judge does not force the district to purchase the property, though it does not specify a dollar amount.
In the new filing, the Brodie trust says it should be compensated for the reduction in value of the 55-acre parcel and the loss of the $2.5 million in damages to the adjacent land a jury had ordered the district to pay if it purchased the property.
In addition, the trust is asking for damages due to the loss of a $40.2 million contract it had with the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust.
That group planned to purchase 71 additional acres at the site with the understanding it would work out issues such as shared storm water detention and sewer and water facilities with District 204, according to Helm.
But due to delays in learning the fate of the adjacent land, he said the Pennsylvania trust has since backed out of the contract.
Petesch said he doesn't believe the law supports such claims for damages.
"They're entitled to their attorney fees and costs because of abandonment and that's the state of the law in Illinois," Petesch said.
A hearing date has not yet been set for Monday's complaint. However, the trust's motions to recoup attorney fees are due back in court May 13 if the district does not purchase the property.
By Melissa Jenco | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 4/8/2008 12:17 AM
An attorney filed a new complaint against Indian Prairie Unit District 204 Monday afternoon in an effort to force it to buy the Brach-Brodie land for Metea Valley High School.
Steve Helm, attorney for the Brodie trust, said both a previous settlement agreement and a successful referendum require the district to purchase the site it originally selected off 75th Street and Commons Drive near Aurora.
But District 204 attorney Rick Petesch contends the district was never under any such obligation.
The new filing came just as the district took another step forward Monday in purchasing land at an alternate Aurora site off Eola Road.
District 204, which includes portions of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, already owns 25 acres of the Brach-Brodie site and had planned to purchase an additional 55 acres for the 3,000-student Metea Valley High School.
However, plans fell through in September when a jury set the price of the land at $31 million -- about $17 million more than the district anticipated -- and the district later decided to pursue the Eola Road site for $16.5 million instead.
But Helm said Monday when the district purchased the first 25 acres of the Brach-Brodie site in 2005, the settlement agreement between the two required the district, pending a successful referendum, to proceed with purchasing the rest of the land.
"The jury set the price and the district reneged on an obligation to buy it," Helm said.
Petesch hadn't seen the official complaint late Monday but disputed that claim.
"It left open the option to pursue it but we weren't obligated to pursue it," Petesch said.
He said if the trust wants to revert to the original settlement it should also honor the price of the land at that time of $257,000 an acre. The jury's verdict in September put the cost at $518,250 an acre.
Helm's complaint also says the district should be obligated to purchase the Brach-Brodie property because that's what it told voters in its 2006 referendum when they agreed to the $124.7 million tax hike for the new school.
Petesch refuted this argument as well and said the referendum language was not tied to a particular site and the district always kept the option open to abandon the Brach-Brodie property.
The Brodie trust already said last month it will be asking to be reimbursed about $13 million in legal fees and damages to the remaining property. The Brach estate plans to file for its own fees.
But Helm said Monday the attorney fees and expenses are "insufficient to cover the loss." His new complaint seeks additional damages if a judge does not force the district to purchase the property, though it does not specify a dollar amount.
In the new filing, the Brodie trust says it should be compensated for the reduction in value of the 55-acre parcel and the loss of the $2.5 million in damages to the adjacent land a jury had ordered the district to pay if it purchased the property.
In addition, the trust is asking for damages due to the loss of a $40.2 million contract it had with the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust.
That group planned to purchase 71 additional acres at the site with the understanding it would work out issues such as shared storm water detention and sewer and water facilities with District 204, according to Helm.
But due to delays in learning the fate of the adjacent land, he said the Pennsylvania trust has since backed out of the contract.
Petesch said he doesn't believe the law supports such claims for damages.
"They're entitled to their attorney fees and costs because of abandonment and that's the state of the law in Illinois," Petesch said.
A hearing date has not yet been set for Monday's complaint. However, the trust's motions to recoup attorney fees are due back in court May 13 if the district does not purchase the property.