Outstanding lawyer, Robert Denlow, explains the Kelo problem by a jury verdict
Robert Denlow and his client, Bill Simon, patiently went through the abusive process of what is called a taking of property for “public use”, but was, in essence, a taking for a private development. The truth was that the attempt to purchase the valuable land by normal market did not work for the developer so the developer went to the city and had the city obtain the property by eminent domain.
Robert Denlow did an outstanding job, and one has to admire him and his client, Bill Simon, for persevering through this.
The Denlow quote “The real lesson is that the city should not partner up with a developer unless the city is fully protected” and “At the end of the day, the taxpayers were liable” defines what a fiasco this Missouri city found itself in.
stltoday.com
But a jury in 2008 thought the property was really worth $2,871,200. A judge ordered the LCRA to pay the difference, $1,610,525, plus $317,427 in pre-trial interest and $475 a day in interest after that. The jury's award was upheld on appeal, but the city still balked at paying, saying it was up to the developer. Simon then sued to force the city to pay up.
Denlow said that he recently targeted the city and the assets of the LCRA, suggesting that that had prompted the payment.
Ultimately, the city could not avoid payment by saying that the benefits of the condemnation went to the Bottle District developers, he said.
"Legally, the city owed the money because it's the city that did the condemnation and it's the city that turned the property over to the developer," Denlow said.
City officials could have protected themselves by ensuring that the developer had a letter of credit or some type of bond, he said.
"The real lesson is that the city should not partner up with a developer unless the city is fully protected," he said. "At the end of the day, the taxpayers were liable."
