Developers' Case Against Suwanee Resumes

Suwanee officials are scheduled to be back in court Friday for a hearing in their ongoing court case with developers Settles Bridge Farm LLC.

Also, a court date has been set in a lawsuit involving the same developers in their case vs. the Gwinnett Chamber and VP Nick Masino.

Last month a Gwinnett Superior Court jury ruled for the developers after a weeklong trial; the jury found that Suwanee's actions adversely affected a potential land sale by the developers in 2008.

Friday's hearing is strictly over legal matters. The jury in the case used a special questionnaire to help them reach their verdict, so technically the verdict is regarded as "advisory."

Depending on the outcome Friday, Suwanee still has the option of appealing the verdict.

The jury awarded the developers $1.8 million, saying that Suwanee's moratorium on development and a special-use permit regulation made efforts for a school to build in the Moore Road area "futile." Notre Dame Academy in Duluth canceled a sales agreement in 2010 and settled a separate lawsuit with Suwanee over the deal.

Settles Bridge Farm, led by former Gwinnett homebuilders Brad Williams and David Bowling, had a contract to sell the 36-acre parcel of land for about $8 million to the school. The verdict essentially is the difference between the sales price and the developers' original purchase price for the land.

The developers now are in default on the property, according to court testimony.

Brad Williams' father -- Lake Lanier magnate Virgil Williams -- is also involved in Settles Bridge Farm, according to Brad Williams.

Settles Bridge Farm LLC vs. Gwinnett Chamber/Nick Masino: A hearing has been set for Oct. 26 in Gwinnett Superior Court in the lawsuit that was filed in June against the chamber and VP Masino, a former Suwanee mayor. This suit concerns the same failed land sale in Suwanee.

This case accuses Masino of using proprietary Chamber information to sabotage the land sale by informing Suwanee officials of the school's interest in building on the land.

Masino and several current and former Suwanee government officials have filed affidavits in the case. All deny conspiring about the matter, according to court records. Masino said in a court filing that his 2008 call to Suwanee City Hall was to "inquire about the property's zoning."

Also, an official with Andersen, Tate & Carr, which represents the chamber, said in an email to the judge's law clerk that the parties are "actively communicating regarding a settlement" and hope to have the matter "resolved" before a trial.