Post by title1parent on Jun 5, 2008 5:37:47 GMT -5
Judge may need two months to rule on Dist. 204 land dispute
By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 6/5/2008 12:12 AM
At least two more months are expected to pass before a judge decides whether Indian Prairie Unit District 204 owes money to property owners whose land the district tried to condemn -- and, if so, how much.
School district attorney Michael Scotti said he filed a motion Wednesday asking DuPage Circuit Judge Kenneth Popejoy to dismiss recent claims by the Brodie trust that it should be compensated for a reduction in value of its 55-acre parcel and the alleged $2.5 million in damages to the adjacent land a jury had ordered the district to pay if it purchased the property.
Scotti said the new claims are irrelevant because the district legally abandoned the condemnation within the timeframe established by the court. As for the trusts seeking additional damages, Scotti said those claims belong before a similar case between the parties being heard by Judge Robert Kilander.
"Statute only allows them to recover costs, expenses reasonable attorneys fees to defend the condemnation and nothing more," Scotti said. "That case is being heard in the same circuit by Judge Kilander."
Popejoy scheduled a hearing date for Aug. 15 to decide how much, if anything, the district owes the Brachs and the Brodies.
The district, which includes portions of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, already owns 25 acres of the Brach-Brodie site at 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora, and intended to purchase an additional 55 acres for the 3,000-student Metea Valley High School.
Those plans fell through in September, however, when a jury set the price of the land at $31 million -- about $17 million more than the district anticipated. The district later decided to abandon its pursuit of the Brach-Brodie land and instead buy a site along Eola Road for $16.5 million.
In his filing, Brodie trust attorney Steve Helm said the trust should be compensated for the reduction in value of the 55-acre parcel and for the $2.5 million in damages to the adjacent land.
Helm said Wednesday he is not seeking a specific dollar amount. He said appraisers and expert witnesses will make those decisions in the future.
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, Helm said.
But due to delays in learning the fate of the adjacent land, he said, the Pennsylvania trust backed out of the contract.
"The timing couldn't have been worse for (the condemnation lawsuit)," Helm said. "The district filed the suit at top of the market's good days. Then the market collapsed, leaving us no buyers out there."
By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 6/5/2008 12:12 AM
At least two more months are expected to pass before a judge decides whether Indian Prairie Unit District 204 owes money to property owners whose land the district tried to condemn -- and, if so, how much.
School district attorney Michael Scotti said he filed a motion Wednesday asking DuPage Circuit Judge Kenneth Popejoy to dismiss recent claims by the Brodie trust that it should be compensated for a reduction in value of its 55-acre parcel and the alleged $2.5 million in damages to the adjacent land a jury had ordered the district to pay if it purchased the property.
Scotti said the new claims are irrelevant because the district legally abandoned the condemnation within the timeframe established by the court. As for the trusts seeking additional damages, Scotti said those claims belong before a similar case between the parties being heard by Judge Robert Kilander.
"Statute only allows them to recover costs, expenses reasonable attorneys fees to defend the condemnation and nothing more," Scotti said. "That case is being heard in the same circuit by Judge Kilander."
Popejoy scheduled a hearing date for Aug. 15 to decide how much, if anything, the district owes the Brachs and the Brodies.
The district, which includes portions of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, already owns 25 acres of the Brach-Brodie site at 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora, and intended to purchase an additional 55 acres for the 3,000-student Metea Valley High School.
Those plans fell through in September, however, when a jury set the price of the land at $31 million -- about $17 million more than the district anticipated. The district later decided to abandon its pursuit of the Brach-Brodie land and instead buy a site along Eola Road for $16.5 million.
In his filing, Brodie trust attorney Steve Helm said the trust should be compensated for the reduction in value of the 55-acre parcel and for the $2.5 million in damages to the adjacent land.
Helm said Wednesday he is not seeking a specific dollar amount. He said appraisers and expert witnesses will make those decisions in the future.
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, Helm said.
But due to delays in learning the fate of the adjacent land, he said, the Pennsylvania trust backed out of the contract.
"The timing couldn't have been worse for (the condemnation lawsuit)," Helm said. "The district filed the suit at top of the market's good days. Then the market collapsed, leaving us no buyers out there."
