Developer in Chargers stadium proposal faces multiple lawsuits

Thomas Enterprises, the Georgia-based development company, which last month approached the San Diego Chargers about potentially building a new stadium in Oceanside along State Route 76, is facing multiple lawsuits from three different companies on claims of unpaid bills.

The developer is facing litigation, which was filed last week, based on a massive downtown railyard redevelopment in Sacramento, Calif.

According to reports, Thomas owes more than $400,000 to an Oakland law firm (from a suit filed in January), about $88,000 to KP Public Affairs, a Sacramento-based lobbying firm and $11,600 to the Berkeley environmental consultant Design Community & Environment Inc.

In addition, Thomas Enterprises was already facing litigation from its former partner, Jerde Development Company. The Sacramento Bee reported: “Thomas’ former partners, led by renowned Southern California architect Jon Jerde, say the developer has obtained $185 million in loans but has made only a ‘minimal expenditure of funds’ to move the project ahead. In a lawsuit filed last month in New York, the Jerde group says Thomas’ principal, Georgia developer Stanley Thomas, has used money earmarked for the railyard to ’support his other projects around the country.’ The suit contains no details to back up the claim, and the Jerde group’s lawyer declined comment.”

See related: Chargers re-considering Oceanside as possible stadium location |  Sorting out the Chargers stadium issues

Mark Fabiani, special counsel to the Chargers, and point man on stadium issues, told SDNN that he didn’t have any reaction to the lawsuits because he had not yet seen them. He did say that the organization is continuing to move forward with the Oceanside stadium proposal.

Thursday morning, Fabiani, along with team president and CEO Dean Spanos, met with Mel Kuhnel, vice president of West Coast development for Thomas, to further discuss the proposal.

“I wouldn’t say there are any new developments,” said Fabiani. “The meeting pretty much confirmed what we all thought before, which is that we need to get to the bottom of the airport issue, first and foremost, before a lot of other things can move forward. We need to determine whether it can be resolved and how, and how long would it take. Or is it something that there’s no way around it?”

Those specific “issues” relate to the Federal Aviation Administration prohibiting planes from flying lower than 3,000 feet less than three miles from any open-air stadiums that contain more than 30,000 people. 

He said that the airport itself is a topic for public debate. Two weeks ago, the FAA approved a long-term lease for the airport, a ruling which will be put before the City Council on Aug. 12.

Still, with multiple lawsuits filed, the organization will be staying on top of the developments concerning Thomas.

“I really need to stay away from evaluating the lawsuits because I haven’t read them, I know nothing about them,” said Fabiani. “What I can tell you is that in all our dealings with Thomas they have been very professional and very forthright. Obviously, they are a successful company. They’ve built a lot of projects in Southern California and across the country.”

Eric Yates is SDNN deputy managing editor. E-mail: eric.yates(at)sdnn.com.

Tags: airport, development, lawsuits, Mark Fabiani, Oceanside, sacramento, San Diego Chargers, SDNN, Thomas Enterprises

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