A decade-old land dispute at the north end of the Branson Landing is holding up plans for a nearly 30,000-square-foot retail center, according to officials with HCW Development Co. LLC. And CEO Rick Huffman doesn’t feel the city of Branson – which is leasing the disputed land to HCW – has done what it should to ensure the company is protected against potential development losses.
On March 5, a St. Louis Circuit Court judge agreed, in part, with HCW.
Judge Barbara Wallace’s partial summary judgment against the city of Branson ruled the city “did not have good and marketable title to the premises,” and was in breach of contract on its 2004-signed lease with HCW.
The ruling entitles the developer to a judgment on its claim in a 2-year-old title insurance case that goes to trial next month.
HCW officials see the judgment as a big win that should lead to a multimillion-dollar jury award in its favor. But for the Springfield attorney representing the city of Branson, the determination is another small issue of contention in a sea of motions and rulings in the third of three unresolved lawsuits revolving around land the city claims the right to.
Chicago Title pivotmanThe impetus behind the HCW title insurance case against Chicago Title Co. – which the city of Branson later enjoined – is a 2010 decision in a Taney County lawsuit that found Douglas Coverdell/Coverdell Enterprises Inc. had rightful claims to a portion of the land where HCW wants to build its retail center.
In 2003, Empire District Electric Co. brought a lawsuit against Coverdell Enterprises because Coverdell and company laid claim to North Beach Park – which Empire had leased to the city since 1937 – and a portion of Branson Landing’s north end. The city had replotted the land where HCW now wants to build about a decade ago to make way for the $420 million outdoor retail development.
The long-messy lawsuit got messier in 2011 when the Missouri Southern District Court of Appeals reversed that Taney County decision. Coverdell then sought a Missouri Supreme Court ruling on the case, but the application was denied.
During the past year, the city has received favorable judgments in what is now a pair of suits involving Coverdell and his company, said James Meadows, a Polsinelli PC attorney in Springfield representing the city of Branson in all three cases. The two Coverdell suits are now being appealed, Meadows said.
While HCW officials are upset they’re leasing land they consider too risky to develop, Meadows said the company and the city have a common legal nemesis: Chicago Title.
He said when the city of Branson and HCW entered into its Branson Landing development agreement, the parties together secured a $49 million title insurance policy from a company that has since merged with Chicago Title. The city, however, was the party billed, and it paid the $41,000 insurance premium on the policy that should be saving both parties from the lengthy litigation brought on by Coverdell’s land claims.
“After a series of court judgments and disputes arose over the ownership of the Landing by third parties not involved in this suit, both the city of Branson and HCW demanded that Chicago Title indemnify and defend them – in other words, pay for their legal fees and any damages they’ve suffered,” Meadows said. “Chicago Title has refused to do so, to date.”
The jury awaitsHCW Chief Financial Officer Barry Schwartz said the recent judgment in its case shows support for the company’s position.
“It’s a big deal,” Schwartz said. “At the end of the day, we are a tenant of the city of Branson, … and we can’t develop. We’ve had to pursue an indemnity that we are supposed to have as part of our lease.
“We’ve had to spend a lot of money, and we should have been protected. The city of Branson didn’t honor that.”
The city disputes the court’s ruling, according to Meadows, who pointed out the judgment is one that could be amended as the trial unfolds.
HCW officials say they just want to build.
Huffman said HCW has spent $450,000 a year for at least five years leasing the entire Branson Landing property titled to the city, but because of the land dispute, he can’t be certain the firm is protected from potential losses if HCW builds on the undeveloped portion that abuts Lake Taneycomo.
Huffman said legal fees and other related expenses total more than $1 million.
For the city’s part, Meadows said it has not been proven that HCW couldn’t develop on the disputed land.
“Our position is much like a plaintiff’s. Both the city of Branson and HCW have claims against Chicago Title,” said Meadows, who expects the issues to be sorted out at trial.
A pretrial conference is scheduled April 11, and court records show the jury trial is slated to begin April 21.
Branson Landing developer HCW Development Co. LLC is holding off on building a 28,000-square-foot retail center because ownership of the land is in dispute.[[In-content Ad]]
