The Virginian-Pilot
©
PORTSMOUTH
The city has received the final tally for its defense against a lawsuit filed by two companies affiliated with state Sen. Louise Lucas: $90,037.35.
The companies, Victory Conference Center LLC and Victory Conference Center Hotel LLC, sued in December seeking $97.7 million in damages. They claimed they were hurt when the City Council voted in July to deny access to tax-exempt federal and state bonds for a $67 million hotel, conference center and office building in the Victory Village business park.
The city's costs represent the work on the case performed by a team of attorneys from December to late January, when the lawsuit was dismissed.
The tally doesn't include as much as $20,000 of work that Richmond attorney William Broaddus did not charge Portsmouth as a professional courtesy, Councilman Steve Heretick said.
"I think we should send a bill for a frivolous lawsuit " to the companies, Vice Mayor Bill Moody Jr. said.
The matter has cost the citizens of Portsmouth roughly $1 apiece, he added.
The two companies named the city, Portsmouth City Attorney Tim Oksman, Moody, council members Elizabeth Psimas and Doug Smith, and the company that runs the Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel and Waterfront Conference Center as defendants in the federal suit.
The lawsuit maintained Portsmouth violated federal antitrust and civil rights laws when it denied access to the financing to build the hotel and conference center. It also said the council denied the bonds to maintain a monopoly over conference business at the Renaissance, which was built under a public-private partnership.
The companies maintained the council discriminated against the project because Lucas and the majority of investors are black.
The bonds would have provided Lucas and other investors with lower-cost financing.
Because Oksman was named as a defendant, the city hired private attorneys from Richmond to represent Portsmouth.
They argued the case had no legal merit.
Just over a month after the lawsuit was filed, and days after a majority of the City Council denied a second request for bond financing for the project, the companies filed a motion to dismiss the suit.
Verbena Askew, an attorney for the companies, declined comment Friday on the amount the city paid to defend itself.
She also said she would not provide the legal fees the plaintiffs had incurred in the case, citing attorney-client privilege.
Though the companies pulled the lawsuit, Portsmouth still had to pay initial defense costs in the case, Heretick said.
"It was money that we should not have had to have spent," he said.
Jen McCaffery, (757) 446-2627, jen.mccaffery@pilotonline.com
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It will never happen.
Larryh66304 said "Portsmouth has already demonstrated they vote along the color lines. Hope the voters will wise up and vote her out of office."
That will never happen. To every person of color who attended the Council meetings (including Holley), it was a white vs black issue. Not dollars vs. common sense. They remind me of a flock of sheep with Lucas as the sheppard.
everyone has missed the point
If the bill is 90 thousand Portsmouth should hire better lawers next time because these lawers let us down. Why were they not at the dismisal hearing filing motions to force the Lucas camp to pay for this frivolous lawsuit? Since the case has been dropped why cain't the City Attorney file a motion?
lucas
to mmactor, I would get a saw , but since the tree is city property, I cannot touch it.What I was saying was that the city wastes so much money anyway i.e. the $1,000,000.00 spent on a downtown church in a lawsuit. By the way, that downtown church is still an eyesore the last time I saw it.
With an Education...
An individual can obtain wealth. But it doesn't guarantee, that it will make them any wiser. If a fool win the lottery, and becomes rich. He or she is still a fool. Just a rich fool.
Adding insult to injury in P'Town
Sen. Lucas really takes the cake in this one! She has added insult to injury, and now the good citizens of Portsmouth are paying for it. I agree: vote her out, do some sort of investigation and see what lines were crossed. Hold some sort of special inquiry and see if she can indeed be "impeached" or whatever term is used to get her out NOW! I sincerely hope she reads this board and can see that a majority of people want her out. She can see that the cards are stacked against her and people want her out. I am not sure why one person complains about a tree limb/branch blocking their sewer(or whatever the case may be)and how the city can find money to defend itself, but cannot find money to remove a tree limb(the poster is really comparing apples to organges!) Get a clue buddy, and while you're at it, get a saw! The taxpayers of Portsmouth are being ripped off, and you're worried about a tree limb!? I agree that the judge in the case should make the companies finacially responsible for paying back the $97,000. I wish the good kind citizens, taxpayers, and city employees of Portsmouth, the best of luck in this matter!
Color Blind
Portsmouth has already demonstrated they vote along the color lines. Hope the voters will wise up and vote her out of office.
Recoup
The companies that filed the frivolous lawsuit needs to re-imburse the city back for it's legal fees, in triplicate.
A bright future in store for "Senator" Lucas
Are there any cabinet vacancies remaining? With her hands so comfortable in the pocket of taxpayers, Mrs. Lucas belongs inside the beltway. Actually, she belongs on a work-release road crew wearing an orange jumpsuit, but that's never going to happen.
Stimulus
At least Lucas is providing a Stimulus for the lawyers in this case.
What You Deserve
Citizens of Portsmouth if you vote this woman back in office next election you will get what you deserve.