CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – City Council members have approved a settlement offer which, if accepted, will resolve two of three lawsuits filed by the Blackhorse Pub & Brewery against the city, bringing the years-long legal battle closer than ever to resolution.
The settlement offer received final approval Wednesday night at a special called council session. It was approved unanimously 11-0. Vondell Richmond and Dajuan Little were absent from the meeting.
“I’m grateful for (City Attorney) Lance Baker and the legal team that got us to this point,” Mayor Joe Pitts said. “I think it’s a great move forward. We still have some work to do, but I think it’s the beginning of the end of this issue.”
Blackhorse owners Jeff and Sherri Robinson, doing business as Franklin Street Corp., have filed three lawsuits against the city. Lawsuits affected by the settlement offer include a federal lawsuit alleging regulatory taking of an alleyway behind the Blackhorse, and an Open Meetings Act/Open Records Act lawsuit.
A third state court lawsuit, which is currently being appealed by the Robinsons, would not be affected by this settlement offer.
What’s in the offer?
According to Baker’s comments on Oct. 5, the settlement would see the two lawsuits dismissed.
In exchange, city would relinquish the city-owned portion of the disputed alleyway to the Robinsons and reimburse them up to a cost of $200,000 for the construction of a storm drain system on the property.
The city would receive a piece of property owned by the Robinsons adjacent to the RiverWalk’s Upland Trail that is needed by the city’s Street Department.
Furthermore, the city would pay the Robinsons $250,000 as part of the agreement.
A six-year legal battle
The legal dispute between the Robinsons and the city goes back several years.
In 2016, the Robinsons sued the City, alleging six separate causes of action, five of which were dismissed by the court prior to trial.
In 2019, a Montgomery County jury returned a verdict in favor of the Robinsons’ Franklin Street Corp. on the final claim of inverse condemnation, which argued that the City had taken a portion of land owned by the plaintiffs when it installed a sewer line near the Blackhorse.
Following that ruling, the Robinsons requested more than $800,000 in attorney fees for the ongoing suit; however, Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Joseph P. Binkley Jr. awarded them awarded them only $30,000. That is the ruling is currently being appealed by the Robinsons.