Published: August 08, 2006 11:15 pm         

Lawsuit: Vigo Commissioners broke antitrust laws

The owner of Thompson’s Motorsports has filed a lawsuit accusing Vigo County Commissioners of scheming with businessman Greg Gibson to reach a pre-determined result in a land swap agreement in 2004.

The lawsuit, filed June 23 by Robert Thompson, names the Vigo County commissioners, Famco Fabrication Works LLC and Gibson individually as defendants, and alleges that each of them violated state bidding and antitrust laws. Gibson is president of Famco.

The real estate at issue includes land at First and Ohio Streets that once housed the County Highway Department, and about 121/2 acres of Famco land on the site of the former Jamax Operations Facility on Haythorne Avenue. The two properties eventually were exchanged after the county published a notice requesting proposals for a swap and Famco submitted the only bid.

The commissioners finalized the Famco bid in August 2004, and construction began on the Community Corrections Work Release Center. The County Highway Department moved operations to Haythorne Avenue and the community corrections center opened in March 2006.

In the complaint, Thompson accuses county commissioners of creating terms and conditions that precluded anyone else from submitting a bid for the land at First and Ohio streets. The lawsuit claims the commissioners engaged in a scheme that favored “Famco and Gibson to the exclusion of all others.”

The document includes an allegation that Gibson and Famco manipulated the bidding process to reach a pre-determined outcome, “violating the purposes behind the competitive bidding statutes to safeguard the public against favoritism, extravagance, improvidence, and to insure honest competition.”

Thompson also claims the appraisers of the real estate underestimated the value of the property on Ohio Street and overestimated the value of the Famco property to effect the appearance of an even exchange, defrauding Vigo County taxpayers a “minimum amount of $223,500.”

Attorney for the County Bob Wright said Tuesday he does not think the county did anything wrong. “We think [the bidding process] was handled the way it was supposed to be handled; we got our advice on how to handle the transaction from [Indianapolis-based law firm] Ice Miller.

“We did it pursuant to what they told us,” he added, “and we have every reason to believe it was done properly.”

Thompson, who is on vacation and could not be reached by phone, states in the complaint that his company, Thompson’s Realty LLC, was interested in the property at First and Ohio Streets after learning the county planned to sell it in January 2004. Thompson, whose automobile and motorcycle dealership is adjacent to the property, hoped to expand the dealership.

However, when Thompson met with Bill Bryan, president of the commissioners, in early 2004 Thompson says he was told the county was in the process of selling the property and that it was “already a done deal.”

Commissioners on June 26, 2004 published a notice of offer in the Tribune-Star to exchange the property for one “of comparable value, properly zoned for use by the county as a highway garage and office (M-1 Light Industry …”

Thompson is seeking damages for financial losses incurred in buying a different property to expand Thompson’s Motorsports.

Gibson did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Deb McKee can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.mckee@tribstar.com.