Village Council approved the
authority transfer, prompting
the first lawsuit.
FCN, which plans to sell the
22 acres to Loeks-Star, is chal-
lenging both the legality of the
foundation's transfer of author-
ity and claiming that the village
has no right to interfere in
Southfield's commercial and
zoning matters.
A handful of Franklin resi-
dents, including Mickey Nemer
of FCN, have separately sued
the Village and Council Presi-
dent Mark Jahnke, claiming
they unlawfully accepted the
transfer of authority and spent
taxpayer dollars in fighting the
resulting lawsuits.
And the Mead Group, a coali-
tion of automobile dealers, has
also sued Franklin Village over
its acceptance of the founda-
tion's transfer of authority. The
group wants to build a Lexus
dealership on the property.
Franklin hasn't made any de-
cisions since it accepted the au-
thority transfer.
Mr. Jahnke said village coun-
cil decisions on the theater pro-
ject have been suspended until
the lawsuits are resolved.
"The consent judgment itself
is unusual and a tender of au-
thority is an unusual animal.
We accepted the tender, and af-
ter that point we did nothing,"
he said.
Should the court rule against
Franklin, the multiplex could
become a reality within the
year, said Larry Nemer, an
FCN associate.
"We're still confident that
eventually the project will be de-
veloped, and Star Theatre is still
very eager," he said.
Because so many of the resi-
dents who've fought the devel-
opment are older and with
limited means, mounting their
own legal challenge is virtually
out of the question, said Al Gen-
del, a longtime resident of
Wellington Place Manor. 0

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or to issue date.

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