$1.2 million settlement proposed in Blackhorse Pub & Brewery lawsuit against city

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Another settlement has been proposed to the lawsuit filed against the city by Blackhorse Pub & Brewery, this time with a resolution before the entire City Council to the tune of $1.2 million.

Jeff and Sherri Robinson have a long-running lawsuit against the City of Clarksville involving their business, the Blackhorse Pub & Brewery on Franklin Street. The city and the Robinsons have disagreed on whether in 2002 the city, then under Mayor Johnny Piper, promised to build an alley behind the business, and, if it did, whether later city administrations were obligated to keep that promise. Other related disputes have come up along the way.

There is now also a federal lawsuit, filed by the Franklin Street Corporation, in addition to the initial suit.

The Robinsons and their Franklin Street Corporation are represented by Clarksville attorney Mark Olson.

The settlement deal

City Councilman David Allen has proposed Resolution 18-2020-21, which, if approved, would authorize a payment of $1.2 million, “the settlement of both lawsuits, and other terms pertaining to a land swap and an engineering project to be completed at city expense,” as offered by Olson.

There have been multiple attempts to settle the lawsuit in the past, which were handled by the city’s Finance Committee. The current resolution, however, will allow the entire City Council to vote on the matter.

Taxpayers above personalities

In presenting the resolution, Allen stressed the financial weight of the lawsuit, which has gone on for years and has been overseen by multiple administrations.

To date, the city has spent over $1 million in legal expenses defending itself in the matter, and Robinson estimates that they city will have to pay $800,000 in attorney fees over a portion of the legal dispute that the city has lost in court. That amount is still being worked out between the parties and the court.

Allen stressed the need to set aside ego for the sake of the public good.

“When you look at the timeline of the case, this is an endless money pit for us. We are just spending and spending. This is not about committees. This is not about personalities. This is simply about taxpayers’ dollars. We are to be good stewards of taxpayers’ dollars,” said Allen.

“In hindsight, I’m sure that there is no one here, or the previous council, or anyone else that would have imagined that we would be up to where we are now in spending for this case for such a small thing. And looking at it, you think, ‘Well, do we have? What did we get for it?’ We have nothing. We spend a lot of money, but we have nothing — nothing to show for it.”

When contacted by Clarksville Now, the city declined further comment.

Robinson’s response

Jeff Robinson wrote to Clarksville Now following the resolution’s announcement.

“David Allen is making another push to settle our lawsuit with the city. I hope he succeeds. As of now, that 305 (square feet) behind the Pub is the most valuable property in the history of the State of Tennessee. … It will be interesting to see if David has any luck. I appreciate his efforts. He tried to prevent the lawsuit, then he tried to get it settled at $350K in 2018, $650K in 2019 and now $1.2 million in 2020. David seems to recognize it just keeps getting worse.”

The City Council is expected to vote on the settlement at their regular session on Thursday, Aug. 6, to be conducted at 7 p.m. online through the City of Clarksville website.