May 22, 2009
Superior Court Judge Dismisses 5th Lawsuit Against County by Pro Baseball Advocate
Superior Court Judge W. David Lee has signed an order dismissing a lawsuit Jerry Allen Reese filed against Mecklenburg County and Brooklyn Village LLC.
Reese alleged that the County’s contract to sell property in the Second Ward to Brooklyn Village was illegal. He claimed in Reese v. Brooklyn Village LLC and Mecklenburg County that the County failed to follow guidelines for selling property; that the County abused its discretion in formulating a sale price; and that the sale was a violation of his due process and equal protection rights. The property in question included part of Marshall Park and the Education Center in Uptown Charlotte.
Lee’s order states that the fifth lawsuit was dismissed on the grounds that Reese’s claims either had already been decided in prior lawsuits or should have been brought in prior lawsuits.
“As noted in the City of Asheville,” the order states, “part of the rule of res judicata bars the relitigation of claims between the parties that have previously been decided on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final order,” and that the “bar of the judgment in such cases extends not only to matters actually determined, but also to other matters which in the exercise of due diligence could have been presented for determination in the prior action.”
This is the fifth lawsuit that Reese has filed in the past two years against the County in connection with a series of proposed land transactions designed to allow construction of a Charlotte Knights stadium in Uptown Charlotte and construction of County parks in Second and Third wards.
- In the first lawsuit, Reese v. Board of Education and Mecklenburg County, Reese challenged the legality of the Board of Education’s transfer of the Education Center property to the County.
- In the second lawsuit, Reese v. City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, Reese challenged the legality of the transfer of Marshall Park property from the City to the County.
- In the third lawsuit, Reese v. Mecklenburg County, Mecklenburg County Public Facilities Corporation and RBC Corp., Reese challenged the County’s contract to purchase land in Third Ward, the site of the proposed Romare Bearden park, and the certifications of participation issued to finance the purchase of the land.
- In the fourth lawsuit, Reese v. Mecklenburg County and Knights Baseball LLC, Reese challenged the County’s lease of County-owned land in Third Ward to Knights Baseball for construction of a minor league stadium.
Each of the cases was dismissed; the dismissals of the first two cases were upheld by the Court of Appeals.
Mecklenburg County Attorney Marvin A Bethune says the dismissal of all five cases against the County sends a clear message that the County’s actions in approving these transactions were legal.
“The County was represented in this case by Jim Cooney and Mike Barnhill of Womble Carlyle, who did a fine job in defending the legality of the County’s actions and finding a way to have this case dismissed quickly and efficiently,” Bethune says.
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