6/2/07 - Moose Lodge suit against county in court

(As published by Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

If the apparent skepticism of the presiding judge is any indication, the county may soon again be looking at purchasing property along south Main Street, this time by court order.

Supreme Court Judge Phillip R. Rumsey heard arguments in the Moose Lodge’s lawsuit against Cortland County on Friday at the County Courthouse.

Rumsey did not immediately make a decision in the case — his office was unsure when one would come — but he appeared unconvinced by County Attorney Ric Van Donsel’s argument that the Legislature had the right to overturn its original vote to purchase the Moose Lodge for $250,000.

Rumsey seemed concerned with the rights of the Moose Lodge as the other half of the purchase agreement, pointing out a number of times to Van Donsel that, in spite of a number of different arguments, “there still was a contract.”

Van Donsel argued that, despite a vote to purchase the Moose Lodge property on Dec. 21, the Legislature’s rules of order allowed it to reconsider the purchase at its Jan. 25 meeting.
The vote to reconsider led to a “re-vote” on the original resolution to purchase, and that subsequent re-vote failed.

The ability to reconsider is available to legislators to change “hasty actions,” allowing the Legislature to “protect the taxpayers,” Van Donsel said.

The motion to reconsider must come within a month after the original vote, Van Donsel said, and the Moose Lodge should have been aware of this option and not assumed that the contract was formally accepted until that time period had passed.

By this logic however, Rumsey pointed out, the Legislature’s rules trump the power of the contract.

One of those rules, its ability to “rescind” — another way the Legislature can revoke a vote that, unlike a “reconsideration,” carries no time restrictions — could put the other party in a perpetually uncertain position, he said. “So your argument is that, right up until the date of closing, (the county) can rescind?” Rumsey asked.

Van Donsel suggested that hypothetically, once the sale reached a certain point, with a “significant effort” by the sellers to submit paperwork and move forward with closing, a rescission would no longer be a possibility.

Rumsey remained skeptical. “The sellers have to question at what point have they made enough of a significant effort that they don’t have to worry about rescission,” Rumsey said.
The lawsuit asks that the court either order the county to go through with the purchase or simply pay the Moose Lodge the full price of $250,000.

To date, only one of the other five property owners involved in the total $894,000 south Main Street land deal have filed suit against the county.

The suit, from the owners of Robbins Tobacco, also claims that the county had broken a binding contract, and requests that a judge either order the county to purchase the property for the agreed-upon $300,000, or pay $120,000 in damages.