(WSB photo of ‘The Hole,’ taken in February)
How much time, how much money, and how much work do you put into court fights over a complicated (as most parties describe it) case, before just saying, “Can we sit down and talk this out?” This afternoon — after the end of yet another court hearing in the ongoing legal fight over issues related to the stalled project that has left The Hole in the heart of West Seattle instead of the once-envisioned apartments/Whole Foods/Hancock Fabrics project — King County Superior Court Judge Susan Craighead asked the question: “Have you (lawyers) started talking about mediation yet?” Not really, they said, but it might not be a bad idea, several of them allowed – unofficially, of course, since they have to consult their clients. (And the parties who were not represented in court today, since the afternoon’s proceedings didn’t involve everyone in the case.)
Officially, right now the case is between trials – one trial ended last November with a ruling about whose lien would get paid off first if there’s ever money for it; the next one is scheduled to start in June, and the lawyers here today say they are not sure they’re ready for that, which one described as ‘starting (the case) all over.” Not to mention, the November verdict is being challenged in the Court of Appeals, and there was a mention this afternoon that there is a federal case related to all this. There’s another hearing, on another motion, in two weeks and we’re likely to hear then whether mediation is a possibility.
As for what this hearing was intended to do in the first place – we wrote about the motion almost a month ago. One side claimed there really never was a deed of trust because there never really was a loan. After spirited arguments from both sides, Judge Craighead denied the motion, saying that at this point in the proceedings, it’s really difficult to rule on a claim of fraud, since there will be a different “tryer of fact” in the second trial than at the first. If, that is, there is a second trial – even if the suggestion of seeking mediation doesn’t work out, at least one lawyer suggested he wants a delay, because they’re nowhere near ready to go to trial in June. As for The Hole itself, it was at one point scheduled for a foreclosure sale in late February, but that was put on hold when a big bond was put up – and the judge suggested a speedy appeal proceeding might be the best hope of getting something going with the site, though when she asked the lawyers today if they’d made any headway on THAT front, the answer boiled down to no.
Bottom line: The Hole remains The Hole TFN. But for those interested in the minutiae along the way, we’re continuing to cover it.
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