York County, South Carolina has approved a settlement agreement with GT Real Estate Holdings, LLC (GTRE) over the failed Carolina Panthers Headquarters project in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The agreement will settle the lawsuit filed by York County in June in South Carolina state court.
Lawsuit
Filed mere days after GTRE filed for bankruptcy, York County’s brought the lawsuit against the City of Rock Hill, David Tepper, and entities connected to David Tepper. It centers around the county-designated $21 million of Penny Tax Funds to expand Mt. Gallant Road. According to York County, after York County wired the funds, GTRE did not use the funds for the Mt. Gallant Road project.
The basis for the claims against the Tepper entities, including negligence and negligent misrepresentation, is that the entities did not perform the work pursuant to the land development agreement for the project. The claim against Rock Hill is for breach of contract due to Rock Hill failing to issue bonds for the project, which ultimately led to GTRE terminating the project.
Settlement
As a part of the settlement agreement, a GTRE affiliate will reimburse York County the full $21,165,000.00 in Penny Tax Funds. In turn, York County will withdraw any complaints and allegations of wrongdoing. Last week, the York County Sheriff’s Office announced an inquiry into GTRE’s handling of the Penny Tax Funds.
York County announced that the settlement resolves the county’s disputes and “the County considers all matters related to the County Payment closed and believes that no action of any kind with respect to the County Payment is warranted.” The settlement must be approved by the Bankruptcy Court before the matter is fully resolved.
David Tepper and GTRE are chipping away at the issues on the York County project. One outstanding item in the Bankruptcy Court is settling with contractors that performed work on the project. Notwithstanding the remaining items, reaching an agreement with York County puts another issue behind them.
Landis Barber is an attorney at Safran Law Offices in Raleigh, North Carolina. You can connect with him via LinkedIn or via his blog offthecourtdocket.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Landisbarber.
