02/21/2007

Meijer's suit against officials thrown out

By Bill O'Brien

bobrien@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — A judge tossed out a conflict of interest lawsuit against four Acme Township Board members and urged Meijer Inc. to end its long-running litigation with the township.

Thirteenth Circuit Judge Philip Rodgers on Tuesday dismissed a suit brought by Meijer against Acme Supervisor Bill Kurtz, Treasurer Bill Boltres and trustees Erick Takayama and Frank Zarafonitis.

The Grand Rapids-based retailer sued the four individually over allegations they were inappropriately tied to Concerned Citizens of Acme Township, an organization that in 2004 successfully sued to block The Village, a proposed development along M-72 that included a Meijer store.

The Village and Meijer officials appealed to the state appeals court, where the case remains.

Meijer argued the four officials should be prevented from voting on Meijer's current development plan because of their previous CCAT ties. The company also sought personal computer records from them to look for ongoing correspondence between them and CCAT members.

Meijer attorney Timothy Stoepker said the four acted in a "quasi-judicial” role in their review of the Meijer proposal at M-72 and Lautner Road, and should have disqualified themselves because of their ties to CCAT.

"What's their relationship to an entity that's suing (Meijer)?” Stoepker said.

Township attorney Tom Meagher argued Meijer had no cause to sue the officials personally and "no right in the world to inquire into the private affairs of a public official.”

Rodgers ruled that the officials' political affiliations didn't preclude them from deciding the Meijer case.

"There has been no showing of a bias of actual fact,” Rodgers said. "There are no grounds of private action for these individuals.”

Rodgers noted that the current township board ultimately approved the Meijer plans at M-72 and Lautner Road, although the company objects to some conditions attached by the township.

Still, Rodgers said the township and Meijer "substantially agree” on the current development proposal. He said the company shouldn't continue to fight the case over remaining conditions that include relocation of a gas station/convenience store, raised walkways around the parking lot and completion of a traffic impact study for Lautner Road.