Landmark Hotel owner Halsey Minor was true to his word. On December 11, Minor refiled claims against former hotel developer Lee Danielson and Specialty Finance Group, LLC (SFG).
|
Minor alleges that Landmark’s former developer “colluded” to oust him as the hotel owner. |
Last month, a Charlottesville judge granted a demurrer filed by Danielson and his attorney that asked to have the fraud and negligence charges removed from the lawsuit that Minor had filed against him.
The amended complaints include: breach of contract (loan agreement); breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; breach of fiduciary duty; fraud in the inducement; fraud; constructive fraud; interference with contract; breach of contract (development agreement); breach of contract (restaurant lease); declaratory relief and rescission of guaranty.
Minor’s claim includes a jab at Danielson’s alleged “sabotage” of the hotel for submitting a “sham” budget.
“Additionally, instead of acting in Owners’ best interest, Mr. Danielson treated the project as his own and Owners as his personal bank account to fund everything, including the items that he had intentionally omitted from the budget.”
Minor also argues that Danielson and SFG “colluded” to remove him as the owner of the hotel.
“Owners are informed and believe, and thereon allege, that Mr. Danielson colluded with SFG to devise this scheme to allow SFG to stop funding the loan until they could find a replacement for owners who would give Mr. Danielson free reign.”
Danielson told C-VILLE that he is not surprised Minor has refiled. “All I can say is ‘same book, different cover.’ Really nothing new and just fantasy. He has done this in all the other lawsuits he has lost so far,” he says in an e-mail.
The legal wrangling between Minor and Danielson has been happening on a public stage for a year now.
In addition to the back-and-forth lawsuit between the two, in the past two years Minor has had other legal woes. He has gone against art auction house Sotheby’s for inflating prices and failing to disclose it, only after Sotheby’s filed suit in October 2008 against Minor to pay a reported $13 million for pieces of art he purchased. (Minor’s case was dismissed in January.) Auction house Christie’s has also sued Minor for breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and fraud. In turn, Minor sued Christie’s for breach of contract, fraud and various other complaints.
In February, Minor filed suit against Hialeah Park owner John Brunetti and the City of Hialeah in an effort to buy and reopen the historical Florida horse race track.
Interestingly, in March, Minor was sued by creditors for $60 million. The catch? He overspent what he got from selling CNET.
The theory that Minor is broke was scheduled to be put to the test on Monday, December 21 when his Fox Ridge Farm property in Albemarle County would have been auctioned on the steps of the Albemarle County Circuit Courthouse. Snow delay!
C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.
