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Sunday, May 04, 2008

Ind. Decisions = "Flying J's obstruction suit against New Haven bounced"

Rebecca Green reported Saturday in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:

A federal judge granted a request this week to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a convenience store chain against the city of New Haven.

In September, attorneys for Utah-based travel plaza company Flying J Inc. sued New Haven in U.S. District Court, contending city officials planned to keep a proposed travel plaza from being built.

Flying J planned to build a 17-acre travel plaza on the northeast corner of Minnich Road and Indiana 930. The company bought the 53-acre property just west of Interstate 469 and intended to build a Flying J Travel Plaza, as well as other retail, commercial and professional services.

The plaza was to include a convenience store, country market store, 24-hour restaurant, fast-food court, fuel pumps and restrooms.

There were additional plans to include fueling for tractor-trailer rigs, services for recreational vehicles including a waste tank disposal, and 24-hour parking for up to 11 recreational vehicles and 187 trucks at a time.

When the company bought the property, the land was zoned C-1 for commercial use under New Haven’s zoning ordinance.

As the process of developing the site progressed, Brian Yoh, New Haven city planning director, told Flying J officials he believed some of the proposed uses for the land were not permitted under the zoning ordinance, according to court documents.

Flying J officials allege city officials extended the appeals process as long as possible while simultaneously working to amend the text of the city’s zoning ordinance to prevent the proposed use of the property, according to court documents.

In May 2005, the Board of Zoning Appeals backed Yoh. Flying J officials then appealed to Allen Circuit Court.

Allen Circuit Judge Thomas Felts ruled in September 2005 that some of Flying J’s plans for the site were not specifically permitted in the C-1 commercial zoning, such as servicing tractor-trailer rigs and overnight parking.

The Indiana Court of Appeals overturned Felts’ ruling in October 2006, according to court documents.

In the federal lawsuit, the company accuses the city of changing the wording of the ordinance and not telling Flying J about upcoming public hearings or rulings about the property, according to court documents.

In his ruling, District Chief Judge Robert L. Miller Jr. said that while Flying J argued the ordinance was passed in retaliation for the company’s state court victory, the city had a rational reason for passing the amended ordinance. He then granted the city’s motion to have the case dismissed.

Jim Federoff, one of the attorneys representing Flying J, said the company likely will appeal the judge’s decision to the 7th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Miller used the wrong standards in deciding the case, Federoff said.

But an attorney for New Haven called Miller’s decision a “wholesale repudiation” of Flying J’s conspiracy theory involving the city.

David Van Gilder said he believes Miller’s decision may strengthen the city’s defense in a lawsuit filed this year in Allen Superior Court.

In that case, Flying J officials asked a judge to overturn a Dec. 19 decision by the New Haven Board of Zoning Appeals, which amended its zoning ordinance on limited development in that zoning class to two acres. The city then rejected a new proposal by the company to build the plaza because it called for a project larger than two acres.

That case is set for a hearing on written briefs this month.

Here is a list of earlier ILB entries referencing "Flying J".

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 4, 2008 10:41 AM
Posted to Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions