OVIC-Hawkins suit dropped

Attorneys in the civil suit by a group of residents to halt county involvement in the construction of the proposed Hawkins shopping mall on the state line have reached a settlement agreement of dismissal.

The suit, filed by the Organization to Void Illegal Conduct, sought an injunction to halt county participation in the proposed development of more than 200 acres of land located north the Moscow-Pullman Highway.

Attorneys for all three parties have signed a proposed order of dismissal. The proposed order has been submitted to Judge John Strohmaier of Lincoln County Superior Court, according to Prosecutor Denis Tracy.

Timothy Esser represented OVIC in the suit and Robert Rembert represented Hawkins. Both are from Pullman.

Negotiations for the dismissal were spurred this week because a hearing on a defense motion to end the suit was slated Friday in Judge Strohmaier’s court in Davenport.

The proposed order to drop the suit hinged on a Jan. 30, 2014 expiration date to begin construction at the site under an amended agreement. The remaining portions of the OVIC suit was based on alleged public meeting violations on the part of the county commissioners when they entered into that agreement.

At the time the amended agreement was signed, members of the public objected to being shut out of the hearing process. The amended portion of the Hawkins agreement involved an additonal $4.9 million commitment from the county.

Two other OVIC contentions in the suit, for alleged illegal gifting and using an unregistered contractor, were dropped by the group in January of 2013.

The original Hawkins agreement in 2008 called for $9.1 million in county participation.

The proposed order seeks dismissal of the suit without award of attorney’s fees to any party.