$6 million settlement looms over NLV
The financially fraught North Las Vegas is planning to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit over a land deal gone bad.
A Clark County District Court judge and the Nevada Supreme Court found the city jilted landowners along North Fifth Street when it targeted portions of properties for condemnation in 2004 as part of its plan to widen the street, but never followed through under the strain of the recession.
The settlement will go to limited liability company 5th & Centennial, owner of nearly two dozen undeveloped acres targeted for condemnation.
City planning documents showed that upon development approval, landowners would have likely had to give up a 75-foot right of way on their land next to North Fifth Street, according to court filings.
The city created a situation that made it so landowners couldn’t do anything with their properties for eight years, according to the Supreme Court order. Had the land been developed, they could have collected rent while waiting for the city to figure out what it wanted to do.
The landowners claimed a 2007 sale with Insight Holdings for $18.75 million was undone as a result of the threatened condemnation.
The settlement comes after the Supreme Court denied city efforts for a rehearing in August. The City Council will hear the proposed settlement on Nov. 5.
The money will come from the city’s general fund. How the city will weather the loss and suffer in its wake is unclear.
It’s a budget blow to a city that’s shouldering an anticipated $152.5 million long-term deficit. And this isn’t the only lawsuit payout on the city’s plate.
On Monday, a District Court judge denied the city’s request to delay reinstating a police officer with back pay while the city appeals. In September, the Local Government Employee Management Relations Board, a government entity that handles disagreements between employers and employees, found the city attempted to cherry pick its disciplinary process in an effort to block a police officer from contesting his firing.
The board ordered the city to reinstate Timothy Frabbiele on paid administrative leave, his status when the city veered from policy. Frabbiele’s lawyer expects the cost of seven years of back pay and attorneys’ fees to be more than $500,000.
Also last month, the city settled a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice agreeing to pay $38,229 to a former parks department employee. Federal prosecutors alleged the city had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The city denied any violation, but agreed to settle.
Contact Bethany Barnes at bbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Find her on Twitter: @betsbarnes
