Article by Jill Beathard, Aspen Times:
A judge validated the filing of a notice of legal proceeding by a spurned local developer once on the verge of purchasing a lot in Snowmass Base Village.
Sunrise Co. filed the notice at the same time as a complaint against Snowmass Acquisition Co., the Related Cos. subsidiary in control of Base Village, for allegedly wrongfully terminating negotiations over the lot. Snowmass Acquisition Co. responded with a petition to show cause, seeking to invalidate the notice of lis pendens, which alerts outside potential purchasers of Sunrise’s claims to the property.
But Judge Chris Seldin on Monday denied the petition, saying there is “a rational basis” for the notice. The ruling is not a statement on the wrongful-termination suit, but it does encourage Sunrise’s attorneys.
“This really is a huge win,” said Aspen attorney David Bovino, representing Sunrise. “We believe a lot of the positive facts and testimony that were elicited (in a Pitkin County District Court hearing April 26) … further substantiate our claims and underline the case in chief.”
A representative of Snowmass Acquisition Co. declined to comment Monday.
Snowmass Acquisition Co. still has a letter of intent from Aspen Skiing Co. to purchase and develop a hotel on Base Village Lot 2. After it terminated negotiations with Sunrise, Snowmass Acquisition Co. immediately announced a pending deal to sell all of its Base Village assets, with the exception of Lot 2, to Vail Valley firm East West Partners.
That deal fell through in December; however, some members of the community believe Related would still like to sell the property, pointing to the release of its other Snowmass assets (the Snowmass Center sold to Eastwood Developments Inc. in March; its Mall assets have been listed with a real estate firm).
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