Developer Amádeus sued Plzeň for damages of 1.8 billion

Plzeň - The Czech developer Amádeus Real, which wanted to build a commercial complex near the center of Plzeň for 2.5 billion crowns, has sued the city of Plzeň. The Corso Americká center, which the company prepared for four years, rejected a referendum in January 2013. For the allegedly thwarted investment, it demands compensation in the amount of 1.8 billion crowns. However, it is still willing to reach an out-of-court settlement. Both parties met again at the negotiating table today after a year. After the meeting, Mayor Martin Zrzavecký (ČSSD) told ČTK that the legal dispute, according to lawyers' estimates, could drag on for years.
    "Given the city's long-term refusal to address the situation of the thwarted Corso Americká project, Amádeus Plzeň has filed a lawsuit seeking damages of 1.835 billion crowns," said the developer's spokesman Jan Piskáček. According to him, the lawsuit includes only compensation for the thwarted project, "so far without devaluation of the affected land."
    Based on the referendum, the city council must take all steps to prevent this construction on the site of the demolished cultural house. A month after the referendum results were announced, the city issued a negative opinion on the zoning procedure. It recommended that Amádeus revise the project. Due to the allegedly changing attitudes of the city, the developer decided to terminate the project last January. In December, it offered the city to sell the land with an area of 2.4 hectares and further stated in a letter that if the city council did not start immediate negotiations, it was prepared to file a lawsuit and would seek compensation.
    "We expected a working spirit and the presentation of legal and factual arguments from today's meeting, but that did not happen. We received the lawsuit that was filed last week," he said. The mayor called it "somewhat unorthodox behavior," as both sides had agreed to meet and negotiate. The city's lawyers and an external office will now familiarize themselves with the content of the approximately hundred-page lawsuit and expert opinion, which Amádeus's team has worked on for nearly a year. The legal analysis of the lawsuit and the assessment of the expert opinion will likely not be completed in time for the city council meeting, which will be in two weeks. "We will probably have to find an external expert who will break down the items and prepare a statement for us," Zrzavecký stated. The analysis and expert statement could be ready in about a month.
    According to the mayor, negotiations with the developer will continue, but a date has yet to be set. Plzeň does not have to wait until the court proceedings begin. It has been invited to settle out of court. "We will see how our lawyers respond to this," Zrzavecký said. However, the mayor would need the city council to authorize out-of-court negotiations, which would set the parameters for negotiations with the developer, who stated again today that the project is dead for him.
    According to Piskáček, Amádeus suggested a conciliatory solution to the city on April 23 two years ago and was willing to accept the amount of 1.4 billion crowns as compensation for the thwarted investment and the transfer of approximately 2.4 hectares of land. "The mayor's letters from December 2014 confirmed the city's long-term refusal to resolve any compensation issues. Despite the filed lawsuit, the investor's representatives today emphasized their readiness to negotiate a conciliatory solution referencing the offer from 2013," he stated.
    The city hall has long claimed that it has caused no harm, does not perceive any damage, and does not want to pay anything. "We are troubled by the fact that the land is in such a deplorable condition. We would like it to be developed by a private developer. However, the landowner should respect the regulatory conditions approved by the council," said the mayor.
    According to lawyers' estimates, the legal dispute could drag on for years. "It's the beginning of negotiations. We will see if it takes a long time. We are optimists," said the developer's lawyer Vladimír Uhde after the meeting.
    The large gap on the edge of Americká street near the center of Plzeň is unused, with part of it being a parking lot.