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Ohio County Makes Counterclaim in Highlands Lawsuit

Response to Wild Escape lawsuit filed

File photo

WHEELING — An ongoing legal battle between developers who sought to build a theme park at The Highlands a decade ago and Ohio County officials has disrupted plans for a new Menards store at the retail development, according to court documents.

On July 8, Steve Minard and his company, Crystal Mountain West Virginia LLC, filed a $25 million lawsuit in Ohio County Circuit Court against the Ohio County Development Authority, county commissioners and others over the failed Wild Escape theme park project, claiming county officials took actions that made it impossible for the theme park to be built.

In a counterclaim filed last week, the development authority alleged breach of contract on the part of the theme park developers and accused Minard and Crystal Mountain of actively interfering in its business dealings with Menards Inc., a Wisconsin-based home improvement retailer that purchased land in December to build a 200,000-square-foot store at The Highlands.

In the counterclaim, which seeks unspecified damages, the development authority said Minard and Crystal Mountain, after signing an agreement with the county in 2006, failed to provide a viable financing plan for the theme park, updated project plans and feasibility studies and full and accurate financial statements.

The filing also asks the court to declare the 2006 agreement void, stating the developers failed to perform “pre-development prerequisites” for “more than a reasonable period of time to keep the development agreement operational.”

The July 8 complaint against county officials alleges the authority sold 15 acres of land to Menard Inc. that was designated for Wild Escape under the 2006 development agreement. It named Menard Inc. as a defendant in the lawsuit — not because Minard and Crystal Mountain are seeking damages from the retailer, according to the complaint, but because they want the court to direct the development authority to fulfill the 2006 agreement by conveying that land to them.

In last week’s counterclaim, the development authority accuses Minard and Crystal Mountain of naming the big-box retailer as a defendant knowing it “would cause Menards to discontinue advancement of the construction project” at The Highlands. County officials also stated in the filing the 2006 development agreement does not specifically describe the land that was to be used for Wild Escape in “metes and bounds.”

Construction on the Menards store was originally expected to begin this spring with the store set to open by the end of this year. But permits for earthwork at the site have yet to be approved — in part because the theme park developers filed an objection with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, the development authority alleges in its counterclaim,

County officials allege Minard’s and Crystal Mountain’s actions have delayed issuance of bonds for construction of Menards and will cost the county sales tax revenue from the planned store.

The original lawsuit by Minard and Crystal Mountain seeks to recoup the money they claim they spent toward the aborted Wild Escape project. The complaint alleges, among other things, that the development authority used the announcement that Wild Escape was coming to The Highlands to attract other businesses to what was then a new development, but failed to deliver on several promises it made to the theme park developers.

The matter has yet to be set for a hearing.

On Tuesday, county Administrator Greg Stewart and commission President Tim McCormick declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

“We’ve been advised by our attorneys to say nothing, and that’s what we’re doing,” McCormick said.

In addition to county Solicitor Don Tennant, the county officials are represented by Wheeling attorneys Robert P. Fitzsimmons, David Wyant and Philip Sbrolla in the case. Minard and Crystal Mountain are locally represented by attorneys James Gianola and David Jecklin of the Morgantown law firm Gianola, Barnum, Bechtel and Jecklin LC.

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