Pleasantville council authorizes lawsuit after developer misses payment, attorney says

The Pleasantville City Council on Sept. 17 instructed the city attorney to proceed with litigation against Adkins Specialized Carriers LLC after the city's attorney said the developer failed to meet a payment deadline and the bank has paused financing.

City Attorney Bob Stuyvesant told the council he had spoken with opposing counsel Brad Skinner and was advised that the bank holding the developer's financing is not moving forward while the financing is unresolved. "He is in breach of the contract," Stuyvesant said, referring to the developer, and the council agreed he should proceed as directed at the August meeting.

Council member Aaron Hurt said the council had agreed at its August meeting on a payment deadline of Sept. 3 and indicated the city should have initiated this process once the payment was not received. The council did not take a separate roll-call vote on the litigation at Sept. 17 beyond the verbal agreement reported by the attorney.

Stuyvesant did not provide a timetable for filing suit or detail specific remedies the city would seek; the attorney said only that he would proceed to file litigation. The council did not discuss mitigation steps such as escrow, remediation, or alternate financing in the Sept. 17 discussion.

The matter will return to the city's legal files as Stuyvesant prepares the complaint and any supporting documents.