Centerplan, the fired developer of Dunkin’ Donuts Park has now taken legal action against both the city and on Friday, the owner of the Hartford Yard Goats, Josh Solomon.
Solomon owns Double Play LLC, the company that owns the Yard Goats.
Centerplan alleges in a lawsuit filed July 28 that Solomon intentionally interfered with DoNo Hartford LLC’s contractual agreement with the city, in order to set up the stadium development in a way where it would fail, leaving Solomon in a position to benefit from the failure.
This latest legal action comes as Solomon’s relationship with the City of Hartford appears to have soured, as he sent a letter just yesterday threatening to find a new home ballpark in 2017 if there isn’t a plan to complete the stadium for the 2017 season within the next 180 days.
The city responded by saying the insurance company that holds the surety for the stadium is still investigating, and there hasn’t been a conclusion reached.
According to the lawsuit filed in Hartford Superior Court, attorneys for Centerplan, the company that controls DoNo Hartford LLC, wrote, “The Ballclub and Mr. Solomon knew that if the Project was not completed by September 1, 2016, and the failure was solely the fault of DoNo, then the City could terminate the related agreement perhaps grant Mr. Solomon’s companies the right to develop the surrounding properties.”
The suit alleges that a meeting took place between Solomon and city officials, and a new construction company not previously connected to the stadium, John Moriarty and Associates. It was during that meeting, Centerplan alleges, that Moriarty decided to go forward with contacting subcontractors about continuing construction on the stadium.
Local
The suit also alleges that Solomon continued to make changes to the design of the stadium, knowing the changes would lead to missed deadlines, therefore boosting his position, and the theory laid out by Centerplan.
Centerplan has already sued the city looking for an injunction to stop any new progress, and to rescind the city’s termination of Centerplan.
NBC Connecticut reached out to the Hartford Yard Goats for comment but calls weren’t immediately returned Friday.
Centerplan said Solomon interfered with business relations between the city and the company, and those actions violated state labor laws. The company is seeking a total of $30 million in addition to all costs and legal fees relating to the suit.
Opening Day was slated for April, then pushed back to May. Construction stopped on the stadium last month.
