Witter asks court to restart Towne Center case

Land owner Phil Witter, who sold the property that became Towne Center at Cedar Lodge, is asking a 19th Judicial District Court judge to restart a long-simmering lawsuit he filed in 2010 against his partners in the project, Steve Keller and Everett Jackson. In a motion filed July 24, Witter asks the court to allow the three-year-old suit to move forward. It was put on hold in 2011, while construction-related claims—which comprise just part of the allegations in the suit—went to arbitration. In his recent filing, Witter says while the suit has been on hold, “… Keller and Jackson … continue to grossly mismanage and loot Towne Center enriching themselves to the detriment of the development resulting in damage and irreparable harm to the Plaintiff …” Witter is a 50-50 partner with Keller and Jackson in Towne Center. He donated the $10 million property on which the development sits; they contributed the “sweat equity,” developing the project, according to an amended petition that was also filed July 24. Witter has alleged that Keller and Jackson failed to give him information about the finances of the center, offers to buy the property and a share of the operational profits. He also claims the two abused their position with management contracts that only benefit them. Witter says he wants to raise the issues in the suit because “I am concerned with the long-term reputation” of Towne Center. “Certain of our current and former tenants have complained about Creekstone’s management of the property such that they are now concerned about the value of their leasehold interest,” he says. Attorneys for Keller and Jackson have yet to file an answer to the petition, but a spokesperson for Keller says “we believe there is no merit to the motion.” —Stephanie Riegel