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Final Lap?
State Fair racetrack questionable as Nederlander
pulls back countersuit against opponents.
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Special to the Jewish News
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2/2
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countersuit filed by a devel-
opment group headed by
entertainment entrepreneur
Joseph Nederlander of
Bloomfield Hills against Detroit and
three Oakland County cities has been
withdrawn.
Wayne County Circuit Judge
Gershwin Drain signed an order Jan.
19 allowing State Fair Development
Group LLC to drop a countersuit
against the cities of Detroit,
Huntington Woods, Pleasant Ridge
and Ferndale and various communi-
ty groups.
Eugene Driker, a partner in the
Detroit law firm of Barris, Sott, Denn
Driker PLLC, represented the cities
and the community groups, including
Machpelei. Cemetery Association.
The $40-million countersuit was
filed Sept. 21, a month after neigh-
borhood opposition forced
Nederlander to drop his proposal to
move the Grand Prix car-racing
event to the Michigan State Fair
Grounds in Detroit.
At the time his suit was filed,
Nederlander's attorney, J. Leonard
Hyman, of Hyman Lippitt PC in
Birmingham, told the Jewish News the
counter-complaint was filed in
response to a lawsuit that Detroit
Mayor Dennis Archer and the cities
surrounding the proposed develop-
ment filed earlier to block the project.
Greg Bowens, press secretary to
Mayor Archer, told the Jewish News
nn Jan. 24: "We have not dropped
our lawsuit. We are pursuing it and
expect to win."
Does Nederlander's withdrawal of
the countersuit mean a settlement
could be near?
He raised "the issue of settlement
with the plaintiffs a couple of weeks
ago," said Driker. "He indicated he
might want to develop something
other than a racetrack on the site."
Specific plans have not yet come,
Driker added.
It remains unclear whether
Nederlander plans to continue with
his original development plans or scale
them back proportionately. Neither
Nederlander nor Hyman could be
reached by telephone for comment.
An appeals court on Jan. 24 denied
Nederlander's motion for immediate
appeal of Judge Drain's Oct. 10 ruling
that any development of the fair-
grounds must comply with Detroit's
zoning ordinances and building codes.
The speedway, at Woodward
Avenue south of Eight Mile Road,
was to be part of a proposed $200
million entertainment complex that
was to include six off-Broadway-style
theaters, three hotels, restaurants, an
amphitheater, a children's theater, a
refurbished coliseum and exhibit hall,
and an equestrian center.
Nederlander had planned to support
the complex by moving the Grand
Prix race from Detroit's Belle Isle. But
after the original lawsuit was filed last
June 28 charging the project violated
zoning laws, the Grand Prix cancelled
its contract with Nederlander. The
fairgrounds are zoned for general busi-
ness use.
Those living in the area surrounding
the fairgrounds feared the proposed
racetrack would give rise to excessive
engine noise, traffic jams and result in
plummeting property values.
Last December, State Fair
Development was released by the
state of Michigan from its agreement
to start building the track March 31
because it said it was unable to get
the required permits and approvals
from the city.
A motion filed by the state seeking
summary judgment will be heard by
Judge Drain on Feb. 23. The
motion, which has been postponed
several times, would remove the state
as a defendant from the suit filed by
the city.
The Nederlander family operates
Detroit's Fisher and Masonic theaters as
well as theatrical venues in New York.
Four years ago, a similar
groundswell of protests kept William
Davidson, owner of the Detroit
Pistons, from building a track at the
fairgrounds. His Palace Sports and
Entertainment, which operates the
Palace of Auburn Hills, announced
plans in 1996 for a $40 million track
at the fairgrounds, but shelved them
the following year in the face of vocal
opposition from Archer and the fair-
grounds' neighbors. ❑