A Berwyn man whose plans to open a pawnshop in downtown La Grange were derailed when village officials withdrew their support in response to an outcry from residents and business owners, filed a lawsuit Friday against both the village and his landlord, Chicago Breakings News, an online news service of the Tribune company, reported this evening.
In his lawsuit, filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court, pawnbroker Andrew Grayson, seeks an amount greater than $50,000 from the village plus legal costs, the news service reported. Grayson also is seeking to recover a security deposit and rent totaling $15,470 from his landlord, Fifth Avenue Properties.
Grayson has not responded to a phone message left this evening by La Grange Today.
The lawsuit should come as no surprise to village officials. Legal action was threatened in two letters they received in late June and early July as the village plan commission and village trustees considered and eventually adopted changes to the downtown zoning ordinance which effectively prevented Grayson from following through on plans to open All-Star Jewelry & Loan at 71 S La Grange Rd, just south of Village Hall.
However, the inclusion of Grayson's landlord as a defendant is surprising because Fifth Avenue owner John Brannen initially was on Grayson's side against the village, co-signing the two letters in which the men proposed the village pay $250,000 or face a "likely lawsuit."
Village trustees July 7 met in a special closed session to discuss a response but made no public statement. A review of disbursements made by the village since that meeting disclosed no payments to either Grayson or Brannen.
Negotiations between attorneys for the parties apparently broke down when a settlement figure could not be agreed upon, Chicago Breaking News reported.
Grayson and Brannen apparently parted ways sometime during the summer. Shawn Temple of Belcaster Realty Group, who initially served as a consultant and representative to both men, last month said that Brannen "decided to move on."
Grayson in June said he felt betrayed by village officials, whom he said initially embraced his idea for the pawnshop. Grayson was issued a business license in May.
But after Village Hall in early June was besieged by dozens of residents and business owners, angered upon learning of Grayson's plans, officials did an about-face, hastily drafting changes to the downtown zoning code that outlawed several previously allowed business uses, including pawnshops. The ban applied to Grayson because he had not yet been issued a building permit.
At hearings held by the village plan commission June 29 several residents expressed concern that that the pawnshop would attract an undesirable clientele and spark a crimewave throughout the village from which stolen goods would conceivably be sold to the pawnshop.
But some residents also expressed sympathy for Grayson and were critical of village officials for the way the matter was handled. Some said they supported the idea of reimbursing Grayson for money he spent related to the store, including hiring an architect and making initial rent payments.
A status hearing for Grayson's lawsuit is scheduled for Feb. 24, 2010 before Judge Ronald F. Bartkowicz.
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