Redevelopment lawsuit extended to 2015

Litigation involving the former redevelopment district across from the Topsy Lane Walmart will be delayed until at least Feb., 2015 under an agreement that went to Douglas County commissioners on Thursday.

The county sued Riverwood Partners on Nov. 1, 2010, after work stopped at the site nearly two years earlier.

According to a report prepared by District Attorney Mark Jackson, litigation between Max Baer Productions and Riverwood Partners over property rights subject to the development agreement is still going.

Since the county’s lawsuit also deals with the development agreement, Jackson asked commissioners to continue an agreement tolling the case through Feb. 20, 2015.

“The benefits of approving the second amendment of the agreement include preservation of rights and claims while not incurring unnecessary litigation expenses.”

Under the agreement the five-year limit to pursue the lawsuit is suspended.

Approved in 2007, Riverwood was a commercial project proposed to be similar to that across Highway 395 with Clear Creek and Carson Valley Plazas.

Commissioners approved a settlement that ended the $24.7 million redevelopment deal on Sept. 28, 2012.

As part of that settlement, the redevelopment agency paid developers $650,000 in exchange for ending an owner participation agreement on 4.6 acres on the Riverwood property.

Still to be negotiated is a settlement on the 92 acres covered under the development agreement that moved 220,000 cubic yards of earth into a pile located near the Douglas County line.

The Nevada Supreme Court dismissed one of the lawsuits between Baer’s company and Riverwood on Feb. 2, while the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Riverwood on April 25, according to Jackson.

Baer received approval from Douglas County to build a Beverly Hillbillies Casino on the site.

The site is private property, and could one day still be home to a commercial development, with a portion zoned for a casino.